Dunes are an important part of the coastal defence system in the 2 Seas region. In many places along the coast, the development of the dunes is altered by the presence of buildings and other infrastructure in the coastal zone. These buildings disturb the natural processes that occur on the beach and in the dunes (Figur 1).

Their presence does not directly endanger coastal safety, but considering future effects of climate change (e.g. sea level rise) that make it more difficult to ensure dune resilience, it is important to mitigate the impact of these structures. In the Netherlands, the effect of buildings on dunes must be known for (1) testing the strength of the dunes and (2) granting permits for buildings along the coast.
However, coastal managers and decision makers do not have a (quantification) tool to
estimate the magnitude of these effects. Therefore, the goal of this project is to develop
a practical tool that calculates the effect of buildings on dunes.

The project is conducted from the Dutch point of view because the research and implementation of the effect of buildings on dunes is most advanced in this country. To allow comparison to the other countries in the 2 Seas region, this report firstly discusses the Dutch coastal management framework. Subsequently, a literature review is conducted because this project builds on previous studies that already explored the different effects of buildings on dunes.