Coastal Defense in NW Portugal: The Improbable Victory

Abstract

Coastal defense in Portugal has a long history. The first attempts to resist coastal change date from early in the twentieth century, when the town of Espinho saw its most seaward streets damaged by wave impact. A coastal defense work (a “muralha”, or wall) was built. The 1980s saw the building of several groins at different locations in Portugal. The fight against the sea continued during subsequent years in a tentative effort to achieve an “artificially stable” coastal zone. Coastal retreat and thinning of beaches continued, especially downdrift of structures. The pattern has progressively revealed the inefficiency of efforts to stabilize the coastline. The underlying causes have not been addressed and indeed are poorly understood. Coastal defense is simply a temporary and palliative means of addressing the impacts of coastal erosion and, sometimes gives a false sense of security to coastal populations. In this chapter an overview of the NW Portuguese coastal defense structures is presented, their efficiency is discussed and some representative examples are described. Some recommendations are presented to create a more efficient coastal zone management policy.