A relatively narrow dune belt with a width of only 100 m to 3 km, constitutes the transition between sea and land. In most seaside resorts the dune belt was replaced by a permanent protective seawall.
The dune acreage, which still amounted to almost 6,000 ha at the beginning of the twentieth century, has almost been halved and, more particularly, highly fragmented. This is the result of urbanization and growing tourist activity. Only a few locations still feature uninterrupted dune complexes.
Over the entire length of the coast the dunes have largely been influenced by man. Everywhere the typical natural dynamism of the dune landscape has all but disappeared. Since the 1990s the authorities have put in great efforts to protect the remaining dune areas from further degradation, to restore the natural dynamism, and to create new dune areas.
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