The continuous degradation of Europe's coasts threatens European living standards .
Date: 2006-10-10
Institutions: European Environment Agency
Subjects: climate change, coastal region, conservation of resources, degradation of the environment, economic development, marine ecosystem, population density, tourism

006

03

ISSN 1830-2246

The continuous degradation of Europe's coasts 
threatens European living standards

Living by the sea is very attractive. People picture coasts as an immutable asset, yet damaging and 

irreversible changes to coastal ecosystems continue unabated. Available trends show that changes in 

land use in coastal areas outstrip those seen elsewhere; for instance, the growth of artificial surfaces 

along Europe's coasts is increasing at a rate one third faster than in inland areas. These changes 

are widespread and driven by a range of factors — demographic changes, economic restructuring, 

increased living standards and leisure time and global trade patterns. In many coastal regions these 

factors have caused rapid changes that have drastically altered the potential long-term viability of 

coastal ecosystems and the services they provide. It is increasingly likely that existing impacts on 

coastal ecosystems will be exacerbated from now on by climate change.

Coastal ecosystems provide 
a wide range of services 
to society. These include 
provisioning services, such 
as supply of food, fuel 
wood, energy resources and 
natural products, and cultural 
(amenity) services, such as 
tourism and recreation. In 
addition, coastal ecosystems 
offer important regulating 
and supporting services, 
e.g. shoreline stabilisation 
and buffering from natural 
hazards or detoxification of 
polluted waters. As coasts 
have increasingly assumed a 
'gateway' function in global 
trade and logistics, they 
have become more and more 
developed and ecosystem 
services have been degraded as 
a result.

These trends are important 
because such services 
represent a significant 
proportion of the total economic 

value of coastal zones. For 
example, Europe's biological 
marine resources largely 
depend on the quality of coastal 
zones. If there are disruptions 
in these natural functions, the 
processes of degradation will 
progressively accelerate and 
make any possible response 
from society difficult. These 
natural functions cannot be 
replaced by technology. 

Despite some successes most 
coastal regions are among the 
least economically developed 
areas of the EU. In 1996, 19 
out of the then twenty-five less 
favoured areas of the EU-15 
were coastal regions and this 
continues to be an important 
issue today in the enlarged 
EU-25. Small islands are 
especially affected by social 
and economic problems (e.g. 
migration and lack of economic 
infrastructure).

So far, development on the 
coasts has been based on 
economic restructuring. 
This has been achieved 
mainly through tourism 
and the associated boom in 
construction, especially in the 
Mediterranean and Atlantic 
regions. In other regions, 
priority has been given to the 
economic restructuring of the 
fishing industry, due to the 
dramatic decline in fish stocks. 
Also, increases in the number 
of harbours and the amount 
of maritime transport have led 
to the emergence of coasts as 
logistical platforms.

At the same time, urban sprawl, 
resort and port development, 
and aquaculture are directly 
affecting ecosystems. Their 
effects extend beyond the 
direct impacts of pollution, 
sedimentation and changes in 
coastal dynamics. Destructive 

fishing practices, over-
harvesting of coastal sea-beds, 
climate change and sea level 
rise are also important threats 
to coastal habitats, such as 
extensive farmlands, wetlands 
and sea-grass beds. 

Added to this, population 
densities in coastal regions are, 
on average, 10 % higher than 
their inland equivalent; in some 
countries this figure is as high 
as 50 %. More disturbingly, 
the conversion of natural areas 
on the coast to human-made 
artificial surfaces is growing 
at an even faster rate than 
population density. Due to 
the irreversible nature of such 
changes, they are seen as 
one of the main threats to the 
sustainability of coastal zones. 
Housing (mostly secondary 
housing in many areas), 
services and recreation are the 
main factors, constituting 61 % 
of total coastal land uptake for 
artificial surfaces.

In the past, most coastal areas 
were considered peripheral. 
However, today more and 
more coastal zones constitute 
prime space for development. 
There are many coastal zones 
in Europe where the share of 
human-made surfaces exceeds 
45 % of the total area of the 
coastal strip (i.e. up to 1 km 
from the coastline). The most 
intensively used areas are 
in the Mediterranean coastal 
zones (France, Spain and some 
parts of Italy). The entire 
French Atlantic coast is also 
intensively populated as well 
as the Spanish Atlantic regions 
(Basque Country and Huelva) 
and important stretches of the 
coast in Portugal. Many North 
Sea coasts are also intensively 

Population trends between 1991 and 001 in the European 
coastal regions

-30°

-20°

-10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

50°

60°

Population trends 
1991–2001 in the 
European coastal 
regions (NUTS3)

Population trends

Decrease of more 
than 40 %

Decrease of less 
than 40 %

Increase of up to 
10 %

Increase between 
10 % and 50 %

No data 

Outside data 
coverage

60°

50°

40°

30°

0

500
20°

1000

1500 Km

30°

60°

50°

40°

30°

Canary Is.

-30°

Azores Is.

30°

0°

Madeira Is.

40°

10°

Source:   EEA, 2006, based on population census 1991 and 2001, Eurostat.

built-up (Netherlands and 
Belgium).

Higher standards of living 
across the EU, the liberalisation 
of European air routes, the 
resulting growth of low-fare 
airlines together with the 
development of trans-European 
road and rail links, have greatly 
increased the mobility of 
Europeans, and their access 
to coastal areas in particular. 
In addition, the growth in 
personal incomes mean more 
people are investing in second 
homes especially in coastal 
areas, because they offer both 
good value and new leisure 
opportunities. The development 
of the facilities and services to 
support 'second-homers' and 
tourists (e.g. hotels, aquatic 
parks, golf courses and cart 
circuits) means that many 
coastal areas now stand to lose 
their local identity.

Coastal regions face an 
additional threat from 
climate change. The various 
aforementioned non-climatic 
pressures may have already 
affected adversely the long-
term viability of coastal 
ecosystems and hence 
their ability to cope with 
the additional pressures of 
climate change. The natural 
floodplains of the main 
European rivers have already 
been predominantly lost to 
development (e.g. Rhine, Elbe 
and Po). Coastal lowlands have 
also experienced similarly rapid 
rates of development with 
an increase of 1 900 km2 in 
artificial surfaces between 1990 
and 2000. This trend shows 
no sign of abating. As a result, 
so called 'coastal squeeze' is 
being experienced in many 
coastal areas. 'Coastal squeeze' 
refers to when buildings and 
infrastructure both spread and 



The continuous degradation of Europe’s coastal areas threatens European living standards

Land cover change within 10 km coastal zone of 17 European 
countries, 1990–000

Net change in land cover % of initial year 

8.00

6.00

4.00

2.00

0.00

– 2.00

Source:   EEA, 2006.

Artificial areas

Arable land and 
permanent crops

Pastures and 
mixed farmland

Forested land

Semi-natural vegetation

Open spaces/bare soils

Wetlands

Water bodies

grow closer to the shoreline at 
the expense of natural systems, 
which normally act as buffers 
between the sea and the land. 
This squeeze increases the 
vulnerability of coastal areas to 
climate change and sea level 
rise, especially during extreme 
events, such as storm surges.

Improving coastal zone 
management, especially with 
respect to spatial planning, 
has the potential of reducing 
the vulnerability of coastal 
regions to the consequences 
of climate change. National 
climate change adaptation 
strategies are now emerging 

006

03

in several countries, offering 
clear guidance for increasing 
the natural resilience of coasts 
and improving sustainability. 
For example, the principle of 
managed retreat, which aims 
to reduce the vulnerability 
of social-environment 
systems from climate change 
impacts, serves well the basic 
idea of integrated coastal 
management.

Since 1995, concern about the 
state of European coastline 
has led to a number of EU 
initiatives, which build on the 
concept of integrated coastal 
zone management (ICZM). 
ICZM attempts to balance 
the needs of development 
with protection of the very 
resources that sustain coastal 
economies. The specific 
objective of the EEA work is 
to contribute to the review in 
2006 of the Recommendation 
of the European Parliament 
and the Council concerning 
the implementation of ICZM 
(2002/413/EC). The European 
Marine Thematic Strategy also 
addresses coasts by promoting 

Built-up area in the 0–1 km coastal strip versus the entire 10 km zone, 1990–000

%

50

40

30

20

10

0

Belgium

Bulgaria

Germany

Denmark

Estonia

Spain

Finland

France

Greece

Ireland

Lithuania
Italy

Latvia
Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Sweden

Slovenia

% 1990 10 km

% 2000 10 km

% 1990 1 km

% 2000 1 km

Source:   EEA, 2006.

The continuous degradation of Europe’s coastal areas threatens European living standards

3

Coastal erosion patterns in Europe, 004

-30°

-20°

-10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

50°

60°

Coastal erosion
patterns in Europe
(2004)

Status of coastline

60°

50°

40°

30°

Canary Is.

-30°

Azores Is.

30°

0°

Madeira Is.

40°

10°

60°

Aggradation

Erosion

Stable

No data

Outside data
coverage

50°

40°

30°

0

500
20°

1000

1500 Km

30°

Source:   EEA, 2006, based on Eurosion, 2004.

006

03

T
H
-
A
M
-
0
6
-
0
0
3
-
E
N
-
N

an ecosystem-based approach 
and proposing Marine regions. 
The EU has also embarked 
on the development of a 
Maritime policy. All of these 
new policy developments have 
the potential to contribute 
to improving the integrated 
management of coasts and 
their ecosystems. A key 
measure of success will 
be the design of coherent 
actions across these policies 
and their implementation 
through improved governance 
mechanisms.

References

EEA (2006), The changing 
faces of Europe’s coastal 
areas, EEA Report No 6/2006, 
European Environment Agency, 
Copenhagen.

European Environment Agency
Kongens Nytorv 6
1050 Copenhagen K
Denmark

Tel.: +45 33 36 71 00
Fax: +45 33 36 71 99

Web: eea.europa.eu
Enquiries: eea.europa.eu/enquiries