AMSTERDAM - the Dutch government agreed plans on Friday to reinforce defences protecting the coastline from rising sea levels as a result of climate change.
The government will move extra sand where necessary to maintain the coastline at 13 beach resorts.
"The maintenance of current protection offers security and is therefore positive for investment in these tourist attractions," the cabinet said in a statement.
But local governments will have to pay if they want more protection than that provided by the defences in place or if they want to build barriers for new seaside developments.
The Netherlands, two thirds of which lies below sea level, has battled for centuries to claw back land from the sea and protect itself against floods.
The country is considering a variety of strategies to respond to rising sea levels, blamed on heat-trapping gases from burning fossil fuels melting ice caps, including allowing more land to flood to save more valuable areas.
Scientists predict climate change could cause sea levels to rise by almost a metre (three feet) by the end of the century and bring more floods, droughts and storms.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
