Coastal protection

"Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment". Chapter 17 refers to the protection of the oceans and coastal areas. Coastal States commit themselves for the sustainable development of coastal areas. Chapter 18 identifies floods as a threat enhanced by climate change and aims to reduce its consequences by anticipating those events.

Delta Act on Flood Safety and Freshwater Supply. This law amends the Water Act and the Infrastucture Fund Act in connection with the protection against floods.

Act on Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programs and of Specific Projects (EIA). It applies to a certain extent to coastal waters regarding certains plans and projects. Indeed, "the environmental vulnerability of the geographical areas that can be expected to be affected by projects must be taken into account, in particular: (c)(i) wetlands areas along banks, estuaries, coastal areas and the marine environment".

Decree on general spatial planning rules. It aims the protection of national spatial interest and applies to primary flood defence and the building in the coastal foundation outside urban areas (Title 2.3 applies to coastal foundation).

Executive Order on subsidies from pools for dikes and other coastal protection. According to § 1, the "coastal directorate may provide grants to municipalities and coastal protection teams for (1) the establishement or reinforcement of dikes in the Wadden Sea".

National EZK and LNV subsidies scheme. The Mission F states that the Netherlands is and will remain the best protected delta in the world, even after 2100. It includes the MMIP F1 on the sustainability and coast control of water management implementation projects. This includes the prevention of floods and coastal erosion.

Coastal Protection Act. According to § 1 "the purpose of coastal protection is to protect people and property by reducing the risk of floods or coastal degradation from the sea, fjords or other parts of the lake territory". It defines regulations regarding facilities protecting land against flooding and for ensuring coastal protection.

Nature Conservation Act. It replaces since the 1/1/2017 the Nature Conservancy Act, the Fauna and Flora Act and the Forestry Act. It is the main law regarding the protection of the environment and is applicable in the territorial sea as well as in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Planning Act. This Act takes coastal protection into account and defines rules for planning in the coastal areas (§ 5 b). It also covers flood defence (§ 13, § 15)

National Water Plan 2016-2021. It "describes the main outlines principles and direction of the national water policy in the period 2016-2021, with a look ahead to 2050". It covers coastal flood defence.

Executive Order on the classification and determination of objectives for the state of nature in international nature conservation areas. It applies to Natura 2000 sites.

Green Projects Regulation 2016. The regulation contains rules on projects located in the Netherlands and that are in the interest of protecting the environment. Article 12 applies to "the construction and design or redevelopment of retention areas to prevent flooding at regional or local level, provided that the rentention areas have a natural component".

Order on the administration of international nature conservation areas and the protection of certain species with regard to coastal protection measures and the establishment and expansion of certain facilities in the territorial sea.

Natura 2000 Wadden Sea Management Plan (2016-2022). It aims the protection of marine and coastal habitats. It covers flooding.

Executive Order on environmental assessment of plans and programs and of specific projects. Specific precautions may apply in case the project is located within the coastal zone.

Primary flood defense regulations 2017. It contains rules "for determining the hydraulic load and the strength and procedural rules for assessing the safety of primary flood defences".

The Delta Programme 2019 aimed to continue the work on the detla: adapting the Netherlands to climate change in time. The Delta Programme 2020 aims to continue to work on the delta: sober, alert and prepared. It includes the Delta Plan on Flood Risk Management and the Delta Decision on Flood Risk Management.

Regulation designating categories of sustainable energy production and climate transition 2020. This Act applies to some extent to flood defence works.

Water control regulation. This regulation contains rules regarding the management and use of water systems. It applies to a certain extent to flood defence works.

National Environmental Vision: Sustainable perspective for our living environment. It covers topics like coastal flood defence and coastal protection.

Building Code. According to the code, munipalities must define a land-use plan which takes "the interests of coastal or flood protection and flood prevention, in particular the avoidance and reduction of flood damage" (§ 1.6.12).

Federal Waterways Act. Like the Water Management to which it refers, this Act aims coastal flood defence.

Law on the joint task "Improvement of the agricultural structure and coastal protection".

Spatial Planning Ordinance. It applies to dykes and dams.

Regional Planning Act. § 2 (Principles of spatial planning) underlines that preventive flood protection on the coast and inland must be ensured. It defines rules for the establishment of regional spatial plans which must take those elements into consideration.

Water Management Act. This Act refers to the Directive 2007/60/EC (Flood Directive) and applies to coastal waters. The management of coastal waters is covered by Section 3. It aims among other to keep coastal waters clean and the good status of marine waters. Section 5 covers water development, dyke, dam and coastal protection structures. Section 6 establishes a legal framework on flood protection (assessment of flood risks, risk management plans...).

Federal Nature Conservation Act. One of its main objective is "to protect marine and inland waters from impairment and to maintain their natural self-cleaning ability and dynamism; this applies in particular to natural and semi-natural waters including their banks, floodplains and other retention areas; Flood protection must also take place through natural or near-natural measures; preventive groundwater protection and a balanced rainfall-runoff budget must also be ensured through nature conservation and landscape management measures" (§ 1.3.3). It also protects specific coastal habitats.

Executive Order on conservation and game reserves in the Wadden Sea. It promotes the sustainable management of the Wadden Sea. It covers the coastal protection and coastal defence projects and dike works.

Executive Order on the Wadden Sea National Park. Creates the National Park Vadehavet and defines the rules and principles applying to it including regarding fisheries

Law of environmental conservation. It aims the protection of coastal zones but does not include specific regulations for coastal protection and coastal flood defence.

Executive Order on assessment and risk management for floods from the sea, fjords or other parts of the maritime territory.

Infrastructure Fund Decision. It covers the infrastructures for improvement and maintenance (facilities at sand extraction sites for coastal replenishment) and all facilities necessary for the above infrastucture to function (equipment for the construction and maintenance of flood defences, implementation of coastline maintenance and flood control) and primary infrastructure (primary flood defences)

Water Planning Act. It aims among others to mitigate the effects of floods.

Environmental Impact Assessment Decree. The decree covers "the construction, modification or extension of coastal works to combat erosion, of maritime works that can modify the coast through the construction of, among other things, dikes, piers, jetties and other coastal defense works, with the exception of the maintenance or repair of these works" (Part D on the activities, plans and decisions to which the procedure as referred to in Articles 7.16 to 7.20 of the Act) applies.

Executive Order on the Environmental Objectives etc. Act for International Nature Conservation Areas (Environmental Objectives Act).

Third Coastal Note: tradition, trends and future. Policy goals are included in the Nationaal Waterplan which became the Nationaal Waterprogramma with the adoption of the Omgevingswet.

Act on Investigation, Prevention and Remediation of Environmental Damage (Environmental Damage Act). This act aims to "ensure that the person responsible for an environmental damage or an imminent danger of an environmental damage prevents and remedies the damage or danger and bears all coasts for this". It applies pursuant to the envirwonmental protection act, the act on the protection fo the marine environment, the law on watercourses, the law on nature protection, the law on forests, the law on raw materials and the rules laid down in accordance with the coastal protection act.

Spatial Planning Act. It ensures that space is reserved for coastal flood protection.

Act amending the Coastal Protection Act, the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programs and Specific Projects Act (EIA), the Nature Conservation Act, the Hunting and Game Management Act and various other acts.

Wadden Sea Structural Vision. It includes the PKB Wadden Sea (Key National Planning Decision) regarding its binding aspects.