Coastlines protection is crucial for environmental balance, local economies and community wellbeing. The escalating threats posed by climate change, such as rising sea levels and increased storm intensity, have made the need for innovative sea defence solutions more pressing than ever. The fight against coastal erosion is ongoing and requires the collective effort of governments, communities, scientists and industries. This erosion is not just a loss of land but a threat to homes, businesses, and historical sites. Natural coastal defences such as sand dunes, salt marshes and sea cliffs protect against floods, storm, waves and natural disasters but have seen a significant reduction in extent over the decades and this – not only affects the wildlife that depends on them – but also reduces the natural protection they provide to coastal communities. The most common practice for protecting coastal areas relies predominantly on conventional hard engineering solutions, such as building seawalls or bulkheads. Those grey infrastructure may be highly effective in many cases but require a huge quantity of resources for construction and maintenance, are environmentally intrusive and can often shift problems elsewhere along the coast. Therefore a major attention is needed to nature-based solutions and soft engineering that offers a more sustainable and holistic approach, working with the natural environment to enhance coastal resilience, providing protection at the lower cost. Techniques like sandscaping, dune regeneration, mangroves or dense vegetation, and ecological principles, may generate resistance capacity against wave energy, currents, turbulent flows, and the synergic use of advanced engineering and technology signify a promising shift towards embracing innovation in coastal defence and erosion prevention. In fact, in the expert’s opinion, both hard and soft engineering methods have their drawbacks, often leading to a change in where and how erosion occurs, rather than preventing it altogether. Integrated Coastal Zone Management has emerged as a method where all coastal elements (land, water, people and the economy) are managed with one integrated strategy. This approach aims to protect the coastal zone while allowing sustainable development and involving all stakeholders in the decision-making process. Innovative solutions include the enhancement of natural defences that emphasise the importance of preserving and enhancing the natural processes that have protected coastlines for thousands of years, together with advanced engineering techniques and technology integration, each offering unique benefits and effectiveness. These include, for example, restoring tidal habitats like kelp beds, oyster reefs and seagrass meadows, with breakwaters and artificial reefs constructed using eco-friendly materials to minimize environmental impact, or wave energy converters not only to protect the coast but also to harness the power of the sea to generate renewable energy. The integration of technology in coastal protection is revolutionizing how we understand, monitor, and defend against the forces of nature, and new AI-driven remote sensing and early detection systems will help to evaluate coastal schemes and to enhance nature-based solutions, with innovative approaches that offer a more dynamic, responsive, and effective way to protect in a more sustainable and secure future the coastal areas worldwide. When combined with AI and remote sensing, the effectiveness of natural defences can be monitored and predicted over time, ensuring they are functioning as intended and adapting to any changes in the coastal environment. This proactive approach is crucial for adapting to the dynamic nature of coastlines and the increasing unpredictability brought about by climate change. Research in this direction keeps growing, and sophisticated tools and models have been developed to assess risks from flooding and erosion and to estimate coastal protection benefits from natural habitats. There are also global initiatives and regional initiatives, as the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, or the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Water Framework Directive, which highlight the need for the generation, use, and validation of local data.
Updates on the panel will follow.
Speakers
Welcome
Laurence Martin
Federazione del Mare
Secretary General
Opening speakers
Abdulla Ziyad
Republic of Maldive
Ministry of Tourism and Environment
Minister of State
Gianmaria Sannino
ENEA
Division Models, Observations and Scenarios
for Climate Change and Air Quality
Avv. Prof. Luca Fiormonte
Honorary Consul Republic of Maldives
Gianni Lattanzio
General Secretary of AmbienteVivo
Moderator:
Edward Mura
Corporate Advisor/Lawyer and Chairman of Commonwealth Club of Rome
