The grey – green spectrum: A review of coastal protection interventions

In the face of uncertainties around coastal management and climate change, coastal engineering interventions need to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Nature-based solutions and other non-traditional, integrated interventions are gaining traction. However, system-based views are not yet embedded into coastal management strategies....

Factors regulating sediment fluxes over an engineered foredune and adjacent dune slack

This study aims to identify and understand the annual scale sediment transport patterns in a fully engineered dune-dune slack system that was created from seabed sediments for grey dune and moist dune slack habitat creation at the Delfland coast (the Netherlands). The annual morphological development was analysed using LiDAR elevation data....

Editorial: Building with Nature perspectives

This publication offers an overview of the latest cross-disciplinary developments in the field of Building with Nature (BwN) for the protection of coastal regions. The key philosophy of BwN is the employment of natural processes to serve societal goals, such as flood safety. The starting point is a systems-based approach, making interventions...

Experimental assessment of the flow resistance of coastal wooden fences

Wooden fences are applied as a nature-based solution to support mangrove restoration along mangrove coasts in general and the Mekong Delta coast in particular. The simple structure uses vertical bamboo poles as a frame to store horizontal bamboo and tree branches (brushwood). Fence resistance is quantitatively determined by the drag...

Coastal engineers embrace nature: Characterizing the metamorphosis in hydraulic engineering in terms of four continua

Hydraulic engineering infrastructures, such as reservoirs, dikes, breakwaters, and inlet closures, have significantly impacted ecosystem functioning over the last two centuries. Currently, nature-based solutions are receiving increasing attention in hydraulic engineering projects and research programs. However, there is a lack of reflection...