About Dune Front

DuneFront is a Horizon Europe project that advances nature-based coastal protection by co-designing and demonstrating hybrid dune–dike systems (DD-hybrid NbS). By combining the natural buffering capacity of vegetated dunes with the reliability of engineered seawalls and dikes, DuneFront aims to deliver coastal safety under climate change while enabling biodiversity gain, recreation and aesthetic value. The consortium studies twelve "Demonstrator sites" across the Mediterranean, Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic basins to evaluate designs, sediment dynamics, vegetation development (including Annex I habitats and invasive species), safety performance and governance contexts. This multidisciplinary evidence is integrated into physical and predictive digital twins to create a Decision-Support System, blueprints for new coastal and marine infrastructures, and the installation of new prototypes along highly recreated coasts in Belgium. DuneFront is coordinated by Ghent University and funded by the European Union under the Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters". The project engages stakeholders through co-creation, mainstreaming biodiversity into infrastructure planning and developing market-ready business plans for adoption at scale. 

Biodiversity is not an add-on but the organising principle of DuneFront’s approach. The project explicitly mainstreams biodiversity by (i) mapping EU-wide physical, ecological and socio-economic boundary conditions and species distributions to guide siting and design; (ii) developing trait-based vegetation modules and connectivity analyses to quantify how plants build and stabilise dunes and how dune–dike systems act as corridors; (iii) integrating these mechanisms into a Predictive Digital Twin and a practitioner-oriented Decision-Support System so that protection, biodiversity, life-cycle impacts and multi-use can be optimised jointly; and (iv) translating evidence into market-ripe Blueprints and a LEED-inspired rating for ‘blue infrastructure’ that values ecosystem services. 

• Define physical, ecological and socio-economic boundary conditions for dune–dike NbS along European coasts. [cordis.europa.eu]
• Evaluate 12 Demonstrators across four basins to optimize biodiversity, coastal safety and life‑cycle costs. [dunefront.eu], [cordis.europa.eu]
• Translate insights into a predictive Digital Twin and design tools for effective DD‑hybrid NbS installation. [dunefront.eu], [cordis.europa.eu]
• Implement co‑creation to deliver roadmaps and blueprints prioritizing protection and biodiversity gain

• Pan‑European evaluation of existing dune–dike designs and new monitoring at 12 Demonstrator sites. [dunefront.eu], [dunefront.eu]
• Remote sensing & machine‑learning habitat mapping, vegetation/arthropod surveys, trait‑based analyses. [dunefront.eu]
• Scaled flume experiments & numerical morphodynamic modelling, integrated into physical & predictive digital twins. [dunefront.eu], [cordis.europa.eu]
• Stakeholder engagement and co‑creation for decision-support tools, blueprints and business plans.

• Multifunctional coastlines: balancing flood safety with tourism/recreation/aesthetics -Governance & permitting diversity: ownership/use/investment frameworks vary across jurisdictions
• Sediment supply, storm variability & vegetation establishment impacting longterm performance
• Data harmonisation across diverse sites/basins

Horizon Europe (Mission Ocean); Grant Agreement 101135410

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