About

For four and a half years, REST-COAST has been working to provide the tools to address some of the main challenges to coastal ecosystems today – all consequences of a long history of environmental degradation of our rivers and coasts exacerbated by climate change.

Backgound

Even today coastal management is often based on single-sided use of resources proven unsustainable in the long term. These inherent problems are now exacerbated by climate change. For example, rising sea levels cause coastal erosion and loss of soil fertility in coastal areas due to infiltration of salty water in the aquifers, as seen in the Ebro Delta, a key rice-producing region in Spain. Similarly, numerous dams and barrages upstream many European rivers have drastically reduced the natural transport of sediments from mountainous areas towards the sea. The reduced deposition of sediments causes the retreat of deltas visible in just a few decades and is often measured in many square kilometres of fertile land lost to the sea.

Results

Improve coastal restoration practice and techniques

through new hands-on restoration projects within the REST-COAST Pilots, supported by Restoration Platforms to demonstrate and scale-up measures for wider use.

Explore Pilot Sites

Generate new tools and data to assess risk reduction

at different climate change levels to provide consistent risk estimates across time scales and lower financial, social and political barriers to large scale restoration.

Quick Scan tool Digital Dashboard

Design innovative financial arrangements and bankable business plans

that support restoration upscaling by introducing co-financing options and long-term plans based on strategic investment pathways.

Early-stage public/philanthropic funding
Long-term revenue generation (tourism, carbon, PES)
Cost savings/value capture (dredging, flood protection)
Increasing private-sector contributions

This diversification is essential to reduce risk and ensure the long-term financial sustainability of restoration efforts.

Develop a scalable plan for coastal adaptation

through large scale restoration based on trade-offs and synergies between biodiversity and socio-economic development, aiming for financially viable solutions incorporating climate-resilient ecosystem services.

Co-design innovative governance arrangements and policies

to overcome present barriers against large scale restoration to promote transformative shift in governance from local to national and EU levels.

Policy-relevant recommendations

Support the Green Deal social transformation and engagement

through a new Digital Platform dashboard, a Carbon Footprint Counter (policy and practice) and a new App and Video game (society) for decarbonising coastal adaptation.

Interactive tools

Engage and transfer REST-COAST restoration tools, data and expertise and demo material

to project stakeholders, EU Green Deal officers and international organisations to ensure uptake and exploitation.

Work Packages

WP1

Hands-on restoration of coastal ecosystems and upscaling potential technical aspects

WP2

Climate risk reduction through innovative restoration

WP3

Financial arrangements and business plans for restoration upscaling

WP4

Adaptation management for restoration and upscaling

WP5

Transformative governance for restoration upscaling

WP6

Dissemination, exploitation and social transformation tools

WP7

Management and cooperation at EU and International levels

WP8

Ethics requirements