Coastal habitats are among the most productive and biodiverse environments with an important and often underappreciated carbon storage potential, but they are also the ones with the highest densities of population that are developing/urbanizing more rapidly compared to inland regions. Besides that, coastal habitats are experiencing progressive degradation and escalating risks resulting in declining biodiversity (BDV) and ecosystem services (ESS) as the existing efforts often rely on local and short-term ecosystem restoration interventions, based on a fragmented policy framework. REST-COAST will demonstrate how large-scale systemic coastal restoration can enhance costal resilience, harness risks, improving BDV status and ESS delivery thus contributing to reach the Green Deal objectives. To make this possible, the project will drive a transformation in socio-economic governance/finance structures, by overcoming the present technical, economic and governance barriers to support a long-term maintenance of systemic coastal restoration practices. Such an ambitious aim will be demonstrated through a set of vulnerable coastal pilots (deltas, estuaries and lagoons) that present important natural hazards.

• Gains in BDV and ESS through the implementation of large-scale restoration projects for EU coasts (Atlantic, Baltic, Black, Mediterranean, North Seas);
• Enhanced awareness and social engagement addressed to circumvent present policy fragmentation, considering long term priorities and supporting an irreversible commitment to restore coastal BDV/ESS by halting present degradation;
• Definition of homogeneous criteria for ESS/BDV with multidisciplinary indicators/warnings to track restoration effects on coastal status and rank/sequence interventions to be taken, accordingly;
• Replicability and exportation of the large-scale restoration plans and supporting innovative tools tested at the 9 selected pilots to other vulnerable coastal systems worldwide for a coordinated demonstration of the Green Deal coastal benefits.

Lead Partner: Laboratori d’Enginyeria Marítima /Univ. Politècnica de Catalunya (ES)

1: Eurecat (ES)
2: Global Climate Forum (DE)
3: Deltares (NL)
4: Institut national de recherche pour l´agriculture, l´alimentation et l´environnement INRAE (FR)
5: International Union for Conservation of Nature (CH)
6: Pensoft Publishers (BG)
7: ALBIREM (ES)
8: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ES)
9: Secretary for Environment and Sustainability (ES)
10: Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (ES)
11: Centre Internacional d´Investigació i de Recursos Costaners (ES)
12: Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (DE)
13: NLWKN-Forschungsstelle Küste (DE)
14: Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (IT)
15: Consorzio per il coordinamento delle ricerche inerenti al Sistema lagunare di Venezia – CORILA (IT)
16: Provveditorato Interregionale per le Opere Pubbliche per il Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige e Friuli Venezia Giulia (IT)
17: Institute of Hydro-Engineering of Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
18: Institute of Oceanology in Varna (BG)
19: Province of Groningen (NL)
20: Tour du Valat (FR)
21: EGIS (FR)
22: Università degli Studi di Catania (IT)
23: Israel Nature and Parks Authority (IL)
24: University of East Anglia (UK)
25: University of Lincoln (UK)
26: Mediterranean Protected Areas Network – MedPAN (FR)
27: Black Sea Economic Cooperation (TR)
28: SEO / Birdlife (ES)
29: PERNICE Collaborative Innovation Management (IT)
30: The Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative (FR)
31: MEDSea Foundation (IT)
32: Wageningen Marine Research (NL)
33: Wageningen University & Research (NL)
34: Global Center and Adaptation (NL)
35: Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya (IL)
36: Ecoshape (NL)
37: Konsortium Deutsche Meeresforschung (DE)