Coastal erosion is the wearing away of material from a coastal profile including the removal of beach, sand dunes, or sediment by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, drainage or high winds (see also beach evolution). Waves, generated by storms, wind, or fast moving motor craft, can cause coastal erosion, which may take the form of long-term losses of sediment and rocks, or merely the temporary redistribution of coastal sediments; erosion in one location may result in accretion nearby.

Coastal erosion is a global issue, costing many hundreds of millions each  year in property loss and damage.  Shoreline hardening, including rock jetties, groins and seawalls have unfortunately exacerbated this situation by deflecting and increasing wave energy directed at unprotected shores.  Increasingly agencies,  municipalities, and even engineering firms have begun to realize that natural vegetation can play a key role in maintaining beaches and reducing the loss of shorelines. 

Vegetation and reinforced vegetation both “roughen” and provide root reinforcement to the shoreline, serving to better absorb wave energy and dampen the forces of erosion.   Read “Beach Erosion- What can be done?” via http://soilerosiononline.com/article-37-beach-erosion.html