The Masterplan Vlaamse Baaien aims at adapting the coastal region in Belgium to climate change by taking measures in light of the expected sea level rise and more extreme weather in 2100.

The Masterplan Vlaamse Baaien views the climate change from an integrated point of view of the complete coastal area: safety, attractivity, ecology, durability and economic development are the five main aims of the project.

The aims of Vlaamse Baaien are achieved by different building stones (concepts). A few of them are seen as ‘no regret’-solutions.
They solve the current problem without making future solutions impossible to
apply. Other concepts need further elaborate study and can therefore only be
implemented in the near (2020) or far (2050) future. All concepts fit within
the integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) of the Belgian coast.

The following concepts form part of the Masterplan Vlaamse Baaien:

• expanding the dynamic sandy coast and implementing alternative forms of maintenance (apart from the standard beach nourishments);
• constructing a large western dam for the harbor of
  Zeebrugge, to form a link with the planned energy-atol near the coast;
• safeguarding the accessibility of coastal harbors like Zeebrugge and Blankenberge;
• creation of dune islands to the east of the harbor of Zeebrugge taking into account the accessibility of the Scheldt estuary for maritime and inland navigation.

The first concept is considered to be appropriate for implementation in the near future and will be used as the basis for a possible VB project.