WRITTEN QUESTION E-0956/01

by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission

(30 March 2001)

Subject: Coastal erosion

Coastal areas are of great economic, environmental, social and cultural significance in Europe, given their importance in an extremely wide range of policy areas, including fisheries, transport, energy, resources management, the protection of wildlife and habitats, employment, regional development, tourism, industry, waste management and education. Nonetheless, and despite the urgency of the matter, very little is being done to find solutions to the problem of coastal erosion, which is largely being ignored.

This irreversible process, which is going on in almost all the EU Member States, is the result of global warming. Italy, which has almost 8 000 kilometres of coastline, is extremely conscious of the need to contain this natural process. However, although it is endeavouring to take action at local and regional level, on its own it can do very little to tackle a problem requiring action at European level which is compatible with the environmental policies of the other countries and includes cross-border cooperation in coastal areas.

The damage caused by melting icecaps and rising sea levels is difficult to quantify and solutions are hard to find and often turn out to be merely stopgap measures which, were they to be upgraded to a formal strategy at Member State level, would prove too costly.

However, the provision of funding for pilot projects would encourage experts and researchers to study the problem more closely and would provide many young graduates and research centres with an opportunity to work on practical projects. Such research could lead to the formulation of viable solutions, and relevant findings and proposals could be made available to all the Member States.

Given the above, would the Commission state:

- how aware it is of the problem of coastal erosion;

- if any steps are being taken to respond to the needs of the Member States in this area;

- if it has made provision for relevant programmes and funding;

- if it intends to allocate funding to pilot projects, and how long it will take for usable findings to be produced?

It must also be pointed out that, since repair work does not yield satisfactory results and does not enable the process to be held in check, the damage caused by coastal erosion will continue to increase.

With a view to a longer-term strategy, what steps will be taken at Community level to meet the needs of the Member States that are having to cope with this problem on a daily basis?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(14 June 2001)

On 27 September 2000, the Commission adopted a Communication to the Council and the Parliament on Integrated Coastal Zone Management: A Strategy for Europe(1). This document is based on the results of a three-year demonstration programme, which analysed the problems of the coastal zones and evaluated potential tools for addressing these problems.

The above Communication cites coastal zone erosion as one of the problems commonly faced in the coastal zone. Furthermore, increased problems of coastal erosion and flooding are cited in various Commission documents and Commission funded studies related to the potential impacts of increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The Commission is therefore well aware of the issue of coastal zone erosion.

The Commission has a number of programmes that may be used to finance projects intended to develop understanding of the mechanisms of coastal erosion, or to develop innovative measures to manage or reduce the impacts of such erosion. An entire section of the Environment and Sustainable Development research programme in the Community's Fifth research and technological development (RTD) framework programme deals with Coastal protection against flooding and erosion, and 7,5 million have been spent recently on RTD projects in this field. Moreover, research in this field has been supported within the Community's RTD framework programmes since 1989.

In addition to the possibility of research funding under the Community's RTD framework programmes, innovative projects intended to address coastal erosion in the context of integrated planning and management of the coastal zone may be presented to the LIFE programme. The Commission's Strategy on Integrated Coastal Zone Management also aims to stimulate the development and diffusion of best practice in coastal zone management through creation of a coastal zone practitioners' network.

The Commission has also proposed a Parliament and Council Recommendation to the Member States on Integrated Coastal Zone Management(2), calling on the Member States to develop national strategies for Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

Furthermore, the Community is working to reduce the probable magnitude of climate change through its actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promote the ratification and application of the Kyoto Protocol.

However, the Commission would like to stress that, in accordance with the subsidiarity principle, the responsibility for the routine management and mitigation of coastal erosion damage lies with the Member States. Specific action will be needed at the local level to introduce appropriate measures; these measures will need to be based on assessments of the technical possibilities and the economic costs and benefits of possible responses (including managed retreat) on a case by case basis. Some measures might be incorporated into Structural Funds programmes, in eligible areas.

The European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP), adopted on 10/11 May 1999 at the close of the Informal Council of Community Ministers responsible for Spatial Planning, serves as a policy framework for the Member States, their regions and local authorities and the Commission in their aim of achieving a balanced and sustainable development of the European territory.

Several policy options of the ESDP explicitly mention the common problems of coastal areas. The ESDP supports effective methods of reducing uncontrolled urban expansion and reduction of excessive settlement pressure, particularly in coastal regions, and encourages the preparation of integrated spatial development strategies for protected areas, such as coastal areas, balancing protection and development on the basis of territorial and environmental impact assessments and involving the partners concerned.

To take concrete steps in applying the ESDP and to improve knowledge, research and information on territorial development, the Commission will co-finance through the Community Initiative Interreg III the setting up of a European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) for the period 2001-2006 ( 6 million over the period 2001-2006).

The ESPON Guidelines for the period 2001-2006 include research on the evaluation of trends affecting certain groups of territories at risk, such as coastal areas, and the territorial management of climate changes (impact of measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases; anticipation of territorial impacts of climate changes) among the topics to be developed.

(1) COM(2000) 547 final.

(2) COM(2000) 545 final.