Status and prospects of nature-based solutions for coastal flood and erosion risk management in the Federal State of Schleswig–Holstein, Germany

Political attention for and research on nature-based solutions in coastal flood an erosion risk management has increased significantly in recent years. Literature suggests that there remains a historical inertia towards nature-based solutions due to the continued predominance of classical grey infrastructures like dikes and stone revetments. In this regard, Schleswig–Holstein can act as a living laboratory as it has a long tradition of applying grey and green infrastructures as well as nature-based measures like salt marsh enhancement techniques to protect against coastal flooding and erosion. Based on an assessment of structural and non-structural coastal flood and erosion risk management measures in Schleswig–Holstein, this paper elaborates on the prospects of grey and green infrastructures in the context of stronger sea level rise.

This article concludes that nature-bases solutions for coastal flood and erosion risk management are not a recent development. Nature-based management of green infrastructures can significantly improve their functionality, also with regard to the expected stronger SLR, and includes non-structural measures like codes and prohibitions. Green infrastructures and their nature-based management successfully complement and support grey infrastructures i.e., as green as possible, as grey as necessary. However, with the exception of dunes as natural flood defenses, green infrastructures cannot render grey infrastructures superfluous.