Sustainable development of coastal regions

H2020 PONDERFUL: The deurbanization of La Pletera

A de-construction project where a failed attempt of urbanization was substituted by a fully functional salt marsh ecosystem. La Pletera is a coastal salt marsh located in a very touristic zone and was affected by building works for a residential estate in the late 80s, and then discontinued in the 90s. After that, the area was protected and an ecological restoration project was developed, aimed to satisfy a long-held local aspiration: the restoration of the ecologically highly valuable saltmarsh that was partially destroyed by a construction project at the end of the 1980s.

NBSEduworld NbS Case Study: Vigie-Nature École – citizen science programme on biodiversity and associated actions

Vigie-Nature École is a biodiversity monitoring program focused on multiple groups of organisms. The primary goals of this data collection is to provide data to researchers in urban ecology and provide education to children in all the subjects related to biodiversity that we can cover. Our last development focuses on actions that pupils or children can take in order to improve both biodiversity and well-being within the schools.

NBSEduworld Case Study: ReDuna Project – Ecological restoration of sand dunes at São João da Caparica and Cova do Vapor beaches

Almada municipality:Ecological restoration of a coastal sand dunes ecosystem

The ReDuna project aims to restore the natural capacity of the Almada sand dune ecosystem to healthily respond to natural drivers, enhancing its resilience to sea level rise and storms, and providing an excellent teaching tool to demonstrate, in a practical way, the benefits of nature-based solutions to both residents and visitors of this beach area.

Las Llamas Park, Santander: Wetlands and permeable car parks

Panoramic view of the Las Llamas Park. In the right, the east side with the Palacio de Deportes, at the left, the west side with the Arenas bridge.

The D4RUNOFF project’s goal is to create a novel framework for preventing and managing diffuse pollution from urban water runoff. This will be achieved by designing hybrid nature-based solutions (NbS) and a data-driven AI-platform to support policy and decision making.

The case studies have been identified for the implementation and validation of this approach in varying environments. The replicability of these results will then be assessed at five replication sites. The Las Llamas Park in Santander has been chosen as one of three case study sites as part of the D4RUNOFF project.

Restoring a Healthy Vejle Fjord

The environmental condition of Vejle Fjord has been categorized as bad in the inner and outer fjords. For the past 40 years, the Vejle Fjord has struggled to mitigate the runoff from industries and cities around the area, causing eutrophication and biodiversity loss. 

The 5-year-project (2020-2024) was initiated by the Nature and Environment Committee and the Board of Directors for Vejle Ådal & Fjord, with a budget of 25 mio. DKK. The project aims to improve the ecological condition of the fjord and strengthen biodiversity by:

  • Restoring eelgrass beds

    • ...

The Nabben Multifunctional Wetland in Åland

A newly built multi-functional urban wetland in the Nabben area, Åland, recently won the Nordic Council Environmental Prize 2022 focused on nature-based solutions. The wetland, which was finished in 2019 and lies adjacent to the coast, aims to increase the biodiversity in the area and contribute to the improvement of the water quality of the Baltic Sea by reducing nutrient runoff. Furthermore, it is used as an area for recreation, social cohesion and education for the city residents. 

There are several components to the Nabben wetland ecosystem. The first separates the microplastics...

Multifunctional Wetlands in Åland

The Nordic Council of Ministers programme, Nature-based Solutions in the Nordic Region, is financing a project in Åland to improve four multifunctional wetlands for better water quality, sustainable food production, climate adaptation and increased biodiversity.
 
For several years, the drinking water from the Åland lakes and streams was assessed as insufficient and water samples showed a declining quality. This led the water supply company Ålands Vatten in 2015 to initiate research and an urgent new management plan to ensure a sustainable water supply. One study showed that...

Biodiversity in Urban and Coastal Areas in Iceland

Hjörtur Þorbjörnsson in the field with caraway growing in the foreground

The Nature-based solutions in the Nordic region programme has allocated 650,000 DKK to a pilot project in Iceland that aims to increase biodiversity in Reykjavík.
 
Grasagarður Reykjavíkur is the name of the outdoor collection of living plants located in the capital of Iceland. The park conserves some 3000 plant species in eight plant collections. The collections give an idea of the enormous diversity of vegetation in the northern temperate zone.

Among the staff are Hjörtur Þorbjörnsson and...