REST-COAST

Project Outline

REST-COAST will provide the tools to address some of the key challenges to coastal ecosystems today - all consequences of a long history of environmental degradation of our rivers and coasts.

Coastal regions provide some of the most productive and biodiverse environments with an important and often underappreciated Carbon storage potential, combined with the highest densities of population, assets and cultural heritage in the world. Rapidly developing and changing, these socially, economically and environmentally important areas are experiencing progressive degradation and escalating risks, further exacerbated by climate change. 

Coastal management is often based on single-sided use of resources proven unsustainable in the long term as the associated environmental pressures remain unresolved. Operating within a limited social and technical consensus and a fragmented policy framework, measures often favour short term interventions leading to poor investment decisions. This, combined with increasing climate and human pressures and decreasing natural capital, results in declining biodiversity and ecosystem services, leading to growing costs and a significant Carbon footprint.