Introduction 

The coastal zone is particularly important for the economy, the environment, and local communities globally. Coastal ecosystems support a wide range of human activities and well-being as they support a multitude of activities such as transportation, tourism and recreation, as well as food-related activities such as fishing and aquaculture. 

Greece has a coastline with a total length of 20,739.96 km, the longest of any other Mediterranean or European country, representing nearly 1/4 of the European Union’s coastline. In the coastal zone are located, 80% of Greece’s industrial activities, 90% of leisure and tourism activities, 35% of agricultural land, as well as fishing and port infrastructure. Additionally, almost 1/3 of the country’s population lives in coastal areas, i.e., areas that are 1-2 km from the coast, while the country’s largest urban centers (Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion) have developed in the wider coastal zone. 

The Greek coastal zone also presents a great diversity of coastal habitats, significantly contributing significantly to the survival of the country’s biogenetic reserves, while at the same time contributing to their protection, through ecosystem services. The coastline of Greece is geomorphologically classified into three main categories: (a) rocky shores and/or hard material cliffs (44%), (b) coasts of soft Neogene and Quaternary sediments (36%), cliffs of conglomerate and/or soft rocky formations often containing small (<200m) enclosed beaches (14%), and (c) deltaic areas (6%), with the latter two showing moderate to high vulnerability to erosion. 

Impacts of Climate Change 

The most significant impacts of climate change expected to affect the coastal zone are mean sea level rise (SLR), increased wave height and storm surges, strong winds, meteorological tides and increased frequency of swells, sea temperature rise, storms as well as an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events. 

Mean sea level rise (SLR) is expected to cause coastline retreat and erosion of coastal zones, further salinization of coastal waters and soils, damage to coastal infrastructure, crops, cultural heritage monuments and other protected areas (especially in river deltas) as well as changes in land uses/covers in the broader coastal zone. The vulnerability of an area to the SLR, however, also depends on local factors such as the coastal morphology, specifically the slope and the lithological composition of the coast, the tectonism of the area especially in tectonically active zones, the balance of stereoprovisions in areas of mouths of large rivers where Deltas are formed, etc. 

According to studies, more than 20% of the total coastline is threatened by erosion, ranking Greece the 4th country in terms of coastal vulnerability among the 22 coastal EU member states. More focused research on Greece’s beaches indicates a high vulnerability of the Aegean coasts (approximately 58% exhibit very high vulnerability, 32% of the coasts high while only 10% moderate vulnerability), and a high risk of retreat, with unfavorable scenarios estimating that the 2/3 of the beaches are at risk of complete loss. 

Finally, the impacts of climate change on coastal zones are added to those related to coastal ecosystems and biodiversity, as the composition of many current coastal ecosystems may change, due to the increasing risk of species extinction, especially those with limited climatic distribution or those vulnerable to habitat alterations. 

Suggested Solutions 

The Coastal Zones sector is one of the fifteen priority sectors included in the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) (MEEN, 2016). The indicative actions and measures proposed in the Strategy for the sector’s adaptation to climate change impacts aim to:  

• integration of climate change adaptation in the institutional and legislative framework of the sector (e.g., implemention of Integrated Coastal Zone Management based on the principles and directions of the Barcelona Convention protocol of the same name, institutional adaptation policies), 

• preparation of studies to specify individual adaptation measures (e.g., assessment of the risk of climate change impacts on coastal zones, determination of risk zones based on the character of each coastal zone, assessment of impacts on coastal areas from sea level rise), 

• implementation of adaptation measures that aim to avoid the impacts of climate change (e.g., organized retreat of anthropogenic activities, such as the creation of buffer zones between the coast and the residential development zones, discouraging or even prohibition of residential and business development in coastal areas facing severe erosion risks, relocation of buildings and facilities, incorporation of relocation capability into new coastal constructions), or that aim to reduce the intensity and extent of climate change impacts (e.g., modification of anthropogenic activities and uses in affected coastal areas), or that aim to protect against extreme weather events (e.g., internalizing risks from SLR impacts) or other adaptation measures (e.g., implementing hard and soft protection techniques), 

• institutionalizing new and/or improving existing coastal zone monitoring systems to take into account climate change and the evaluation of actions and policies by region (e.g., cost-effectiveness assessment of various adaptation actions), 

• informing and raising public awareness through policies for behavior change. 

(*) The main purpose of the proposed measures and actions is to serve as general guidelines supporting adaptation efforts in the Coastal Zones sector. 

Related Links

• European Platform for Climate Change Adaptation – Climate-ADAPT – Coastal Zones Sector 
• Regional Climate Change Adaptation Framework for the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Areas