Erosion poses danger to 60 percent of the Brazilian coast

A report commissioned last year by the Ministry of the Environment warns that the Brazilian coast is at risk due to erosion. The study estimates that about 60 percent of Brazilian seaside (which is 7,500 kilometers long) is affected by erosion and the accumulation of sediments. In 2003, when the first version of the investigation was published, the percentage stood at 40 percent.

The North and Northeast regions are the most affected, the report informs, with 60 and 65 percent of the coast in these regions being at risk. In Bahia state, for example, 20 percent of the areas by the sea have been affected; in Sergipe, 38 percent. One of the problems in these states is that the beaches have a lower slope, making it easier for the sea...