Climate change accelerates sea level rise, intensifies storm regimes, and increases coastal erosion across Europe. At the same time, biodiversity is under pressure and natural landscapes are increasingly scarce, Jan De Nul said.

“ The need for coastal infrastructure that both protects our shores and enhances biodiversity has become urgent. That is why we developed a blueprint for hybrid dune-dike solutions: coastal protection systems that combine reliable man-made structures with dynamic, natural dune landscapes ,” Jan De Nul said .