Polish coastal zone erosion in the aspect of need for coastal defence

The balance of changes of the position of the coastline and of land area changes, made for the period 1875-1979, and of changes of the waterline and dune/cliff foot line for the period 1960-1983, has shown that in the last decades erosional processes are steadily increasing. At present 22% ( 110 km) of the Polish coastline is protected by structures. The growing rates of erosion, and the widening reach of damages, indicate that coastal protection works should be intensified and/or the hitherto used method should be verified.