Embracing Nature-based Solutions to promote resilient marine and coastal ecosystems

The world is struggling to limit greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the human footprint on nature. We therefore urgently need to think about how to achieve more with actions to address mounting challenges for human health and wellbeing from biodiversity loss, climate change effects, and unsustainable economic and social development. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) have emerged as a systemic approach and an important component of the response to these challenges. In marine and coastal spaces, NBS can contribute to improved environmental health, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a more sustainable blue economy, if implemented to a high standard. However, NBS have been largely studied for terrestrial – particularly urban – systems, with limited uptake thus far in marine and coastal areas, despite an abundance of opportunities. Here, we provide explanations for this lag and propose the following three research priorities to advance marine and coastal NBS: (1) Improve understanding of marine and coastal biodiversity-ecosystem services relationships to support NBS better designed for rebuilding system resilience and achieving desired ecological outcomes under climate change; (2) Provide scientific guidance on how and where to implement marine and coastal NBS and better coordinate strategies and projects to facilitate their design, effectiveness, and value through innovative synergistic actions; (3) Develop ways to enhance marine and coastal NBS communication, collaboration, ocean literacy and stewardship to raise awareness, co-create solutions with stakeholders, boost public and policy buy-in, and potentially drive a more sustained investment. Research effort in these three areas will help practitioners, policy-makers and society embrace NBS for managing marine and coastal ecosystems for tangible benefits to people and marine life.The authors would like to acknowledge the support for funding provided by the European Union. We would also like to thank the editor and reviewers for their valuable insight and comments.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Practitioner insights on challenges and options for advancing blue Nature-based Solutions

The dual environmental crises of climate change and biodiversity loss pose severe threats to human health and well-being. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are promoted as an important component of the response to simultaneously address both crises. However, their uptake in policy and planning has been impeded by evidence gaps and barriers to implementation, particularly in marine and coastal systems. Here, we describe practitioner perspectives on perceived challenges to implementing NbS in marine and coastal ecosystems (blue NbS) and make recommendations to overcome the most significant. These consensus perspectives were obtained through an exploratory, qualitative workshop, attended by environmental policy and practice stakeholders representing government and non-profit organisations from across Northern Europe, that identified and prioritised perceived challenges for in-depth discussion. Key priority challenges were: (1) policy driver and appropriate legislation to support NbS; (2) funding mechanisms; and (3) stakeholder awareness, values, and engagement. Discussions highlighted that successful implementation will require addressing these through better collaboration, communication, longer-term funding of projects, and better integration of top-down and bottom-up approaches to management. The strength, and at the same time difficulty, of NbS is that they draw together diverse actors and approaches, but improved standards are needed for application if they are to realise their potential. Ultimately, reducing uncertainty in the definition and concept of NbS amongst stakeholders is needed to accelerate their deployment in complex marine social-ecological systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Survey data of public awareness on climate change and the value of marine and coastal ecosystems

The long-term provision of ocean ecosystem services depends on healthy ecosystems and effective sustainable management. Understanding public opinion about marine and coastal ecosystems is important to guide decision-making and inform specific actions. However, available data on public perceptions on the interlinked effects of climate change, human impacts and the value and management of marine and coastal ecosystems are rare. This dataset presents raw data from an online, self-administered, public awareness survey conducted between November 2021 and February 2022 which yielded 709 responses from 42 countries. The survey was released in four languages (English, French, Spanish and Italian) and consisted of four main parts: (1) perceptions about climate change; (2) perceptions about the value of, and threats to, coasts, oceans and their wildlife, (3) perceptions about climate change response; and (4) socio-demographic information. Participation in the survey was voluntary and all respondents provided informed consent after reading a participant information form at the beginning of the survey. Responses were anonymous unless respondents chose to provide contact information. All identifying information has been removed from the dataset. The dataset can be used to conduct quantitative analyses, especially in the area of public perceptions of the interlinkages between climate change, human impacts and options for sustainable management in the context of marine and coastal ecosystems. The dataset is provided with this article, including a copy of the survey and participant information forms in all four languages, data and the corresponding codebook.This study received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement MaCoBioS (No 869710). The funders had no role in any part of the research process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A conceptual framework to help choose appropriate blue nature-based solutions

Biodiversity loss and climate change have severely impacted ecosystems and livelihoods worldwide, compromising access to food and water, increasing disaster risk, and affecting human health globally. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have gained interest in addressing these global societal challenges. Although much effort has been directed to NbS in urban and terrestrial environments, the implementation of NbS in marine and coastal environments (blue NbS) lags. The lack of a framework to guide decision-makers and practitioners through the initial planning stages appears to be one of the main obstacles to the slow implementation of blue NbS. To address this, we propose an integrated conceptual framework, built from expert knowledge, to inform the selection of the most appropriate blue NbS based on desired intervention objectives and social-ecological context. Our conceptual framework follows a four incremental steps structure: Step 1 aims to identify the societal challenge(s) to address; Step 2 highlights ecosystem services and the underlying biodiversity and ecological functions that could contribute to confronting the societal challenge(s); Step 3 identify the specific environmental context the intervention needs to be set within (e.g. the spatial scale the intervention will operate within, the ecosystem's vulnerability to stressors, and its ecological condition); and Step 4 provides a selection of potential blue NbS interventions that would help address the targeted societal challenge(s) considering the context defined through Step 3. Designed to maintain, enhance, recover, rehabilitate, or create ecosystem services by supporting biodiversity, the blue NbS intervention portfolio includes marine protection (i.e., fully, highly, lightly, and minimally protected areas), restorative activities (i.e., active, passive, and partial restoration; rehabilitation of ecological function and ecosystem creation), and other management measures (i.e., implementation and enforcement of regulation). Ultimately, our conceptual framework guides decision-makers toward a versatile portfolio of interventions that cater to the specific needs of each ecosystem rather than imposing a rigid, one-size-fits-all model. In the future, this framework needs to integrate socio-economic considerations more comprehensively and be kept up-to-date by including the latest scientific information.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Embracing Nature-based Solutions to promote resilient marine and coastal ecosystems

The world is struggling to limit greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the human footprint on nature. We therefore urgently need to think about how to achieve more with actions to address mounting challenges for human health and wellbeing from biodiversity loss, climate change effects, and unsustainable economic and social development. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) have emerged as a systemic approach and an important component of the response to these challenges. In marine and coastal spaces, NBS can contribute to improved environmental health, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a more sustainable blue economy, if implemented to a high standard. However, NBS have been largely studied for terrestrial – particularly urban – systems, with limited uptake thus far in marine and coastal areas, despite an abundance of opportunities. Here, we provide explanations for this lag and propose the following three research priorities to advance marine and coastal NBS: (1) Improve understanding of marine and coastal biodiversity-ecosystem services relationships to support NBS better designed for rebuilding system resilience and achieving desired ecological outcomes under climate change; (2) Provide scientific guidance on how and where to implement marine and coastal NBS and better coordinate strategies and projects to facilitate their design, effectiveness, and value through innovative synergistic actions; (3) Develop ways to enhance marine and coastal NBS communication, collaboration, ocean literacy and stewardship to raise awareness, co-create solutions with stakeholders, boost public and policy buy-in, and potentially drive a more sustained investment. Research effort in these three areas will help practitioners, policy-makers and society embrace NBS for managing marine and coastal ecosystems for tangible benefits to people and marine life.The study received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement MaCoBioS (contract no 869710), FutureMARES (contract no 869300) and REST-COAST (contract no 101037097).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mangrove ecological services at the forefront of coastal change in the French overseas territories

International audienceThis is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain

Coastal protection assessment: a tradeoff between ecological, social, and economic issues

International audienceMarine coastal ecosystems are crucial to human populations in reducing disaster risk. Least Developed Countries are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as sea-level rise and storm surges. The Mauritanian coast, West Africa, ranks among the most vulnerable worldwide to sealevel rise, and coastal communities in the National Park of Banc d'Arguin (PNBA) are particularly at risk. Here, we assessed the service of coastal protection in PNBA by (1) mapping the coastal marine ecosystems with Sentinel-2 imagery and determining their spatial wave height attenuation rates; (2) assessing the vulnerability of villages and natural habitats to coastal hazard risk; and (3) assessing the applicability of coastal protection measures in the PNBA. We found that a total of 83% of the populated coastline presents a moderate to high risk of flooding and erosion, with Iwik and R'Gueiba being the most threatened villages in the PNBA. As for the ecological risk, two low-elevated islands, which support breeding colonies of birds, are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise. However, in other areas, the rupture in the dune cord created new lagoons that present valuable ecological and economic interests like the Lagoon of Bellaat. Improving the comprehension of wave attenuation provided by coastal habitats, combined with identifying the vulnerability and applicability of coastal protection measures, is essential for achieving the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction goals. In the PNBA, relocation of identified villages at risk is probably the best cost-effective solution with the least disturbance to both breeding and wintering birds. Protection of coastal ecosystems will also ensure a continued provision of other ecosystem services, including food supply for sea dependent populations, and contribute to achieving the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals

Marine and coastal ecosystems and climate change : a public awareness survey

16th International Conference Littoral22, 12-16 September 2022, Campus de Caparica (Portugal).Hundreds of millions of people worldwide directly rely on marine and coastal ecosystems for their food, livelihoods and ways of life, yet these ecosystems are subject to a variety of pressures (UNEP, 2006; Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2015; Korpinen et al., 2019). These pressures include climate change - one of the most urgent challenges societies are currently facing, with “long-lasting or irreversible” adverse consequences predicted as a result (IPCC 2018). Healthy marine and coastal ecosystems are a pre-requisite for the continuing delivery of ecosystem services, such as the provision of food, climate regulation and carbon storage. Therefore, it is critical to achieve a more sustainable management and effective protection of such valuable ecosystems. Policy makers are increasingly aware of the adverse effects of climate change and environmental degradation on our coasts and oceans. As public opinion influence decision-making on the actions to take and contribute to the success of their implementation (Rasmussen et al., 2017), it is important to understand how well informed the public is about climate change impacts and solutions in marine and coastal systems. In recent years, significant efforts have been made by the scientific community to raise public awareness of climate change and the links between healthy marine and coastal ecosystems and ecosystem service provision, including their role in mitigating and adapting to climate change (Barracosa et al., 2019). However, there has been little consideration of how the public perceives the interlinkages between climate change and its effects on marine and coastal ecosystems. Instead, most efforts have addressed climate change perceptions (van Valkengoed et al., 2022) Mildenberger et al., 2019) and marine threats perceptions (Ankamah-Yeboah et al., 2020; Lotze et al., 2018), separately. In the scope of the research project on “Marine Coastal ecosystems Biodiversity and Services in a changing world” (MaCoBioS) funded by the European Commission, people’s views on climate change, the value of marine and coastal ecosystems and the threats facing they face, as well as potential management options were investigated.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluating the combined effect of climate and anthropogenic stressors on marine coastal ecosystems : Insights from a systematic review of cumulative impact assessment approaches

Cumulative impacts increasingly threaten marine and coastal ecosystems. To address this issue, the research community has invested efforts on designing and testing different methodological approaches and tools that apply cumulative impact appraisal schemes for a sound evaluation of the complex interactions and dynamics among multiple pressures affecting marine and coastal ecosystems. Through an iterative scientometric and systematic literature review, this paper provides the state of the art of cumulative impact assessment approaches and applications. It gives a specific attention to cutting-edge approaches that explore and model inter-relations among climatic and anthropogenic pressures, vulnerability and resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems to these pressures, and the resulting changes in ecosystem services flow. Despite recent advances in computer sciences and the rising availability of big data for environmental monitoring and management, this literature review evidenced that the implementation of advanced complex system methods for cumulative risk assessment remains limited. Moreover, experts have only recently started integrating ecosystem services flow into cumulative impact appraisal frameworks, but more as a general assessment endpoint within the overall evaluation process (e.g. changes in the bundle of ecosystem services against cumulative impacts). The review also highlights a lack of integrated approaches and complex tools able to frame, explain, and model spatio-temporal dynamics of marine and coastal ecosystems' response to multiple pressures, as required under relevant EU legislation (e.g., Water Framework and Marine Strategy Framework Directives). Progress in understanding cumulative impacts, exploiting the functionalities of more sophisticated machine learning-based approaches (e.g., big data integration), will support decision-makers in the achievement of environmental and sustainability objectives

Marine and coastal ecosystems and climate change : dataset from a public awareness survey

The dataset is the result of an self-administered online survey on public perceptions about climate change, the value of marine and coastal ecosystems, human impacts on them and their management. The survey was released in four languages, English, French, Spanish and Italian ('survey' folder). Potential respondents were provided with a participant information form, also available in four languages ('participant information form' folder). The final dataset comprises a total of 709 respondents. The dataset contains mostly numerical coding, except text entries in 9 columns. Version 2 of this dataset presents all responses in English. The corresponding codebook provides the questions and coding information.In the scope of the MaCoBioS research project (funded under EU Horizon 2020 grant agreement No 869710), this survey aims to better understand public perceptions about how climate change may affect the sustainable management of marine and coastal resources. The results of this survey will inform our work on developing clear policy advice on how to manage resilient marine and coastal ecosystems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio