Pro-Coast project

Coastal ecosystems face escalating threats from biodiversity loss, endangering communities reliant on their resources.

Human activities such as pollution and overfishing exacerbate these challenges, jeopardising the delicate balance of marine life.

As coastal populations bear the brunt of these impacts, urgent action is imperative to safeguard both livelihoods and biodiversity.

In response, the EU-funded PRO-COAST project emerges as a beacon of hope. By integrating cutting-edge science with societal needs, PRO-COAST pioneers a holistic approach rooted in the social ecological systems framework.

Across nine diverse case studies, spanning EU and non-EU regions, PRO-COAST collaborates with local stakeholders to co-create tailored solutions.

With 20 organisations from 14 countries, PRO-COAST unites expertise, fostering resilience and sustainability in transformative coastal communities.

Main objectives

PRO-COAST will develop, apply and validate a cutting-edge operational framework in the study of coastal ecosystem dynamics for the benefit of the population most exposed to risk deriving from biodiversity loss.

Such a framework needs to tackle the complex social-ecological issues at hand, particularly so because these issues involve a dynamic perspective on the social as well as its interaction with the ecological system. Hence, the PRO-COAST framework will be based on the integrative Social Ecological Systems framework (SESF), based on the seminal work of the late Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom.

PRO-COAST will apply and validate its holistic framework for identifying the interactions and dynamics of the different subsystems in a set of nine representative case studies located on the European continent, both in EU and non-EU areas, covering all five European coastal regions.

The coastal ecosystem is the common thread running through all the case studies, but each one presents a specific issue and framework. In each case study we will co-create together with local stakeholders a set of tools and policies for the successful implementation of biodiversity conservation projects.

Two approaches (the Bristol Approach & the Extreme Citizen Science (ECS) framework) to co-creation will be used to develop and establish a participative approach, which is, by virtue, responsive to local contexts.

In line with PRO-COAST’s overall objective to increase capacity and resilience within the transformative communities a change process will be initiated, taking into account technical and social capacity.

While the technical side of the change comprises new technologies and services regarding biodiversity, the social side of the change focuses on the human’s openness and readiness for change.

To achieve its goals, PRO-COAST brings together 20 organisations across 14 different countries, selected on criteria of experience, expertise and most of all complementarity and interdisciplinarity.

Main results

The PRO-COAST project is being tested across ten case studies spanning diverse coastal ecosystems throughout Europe and beyond, addressing the interplay between biodiversity, local communities, economic drivers, and governance arrangements. These case studies cover three Mediterranean sites, three locations along the North-east Atlantic, one in the Baltic Sea, and one in the Black Sea, encompassing both island and continental coastal environments.

In Malta, the project focuses on Comino island, working to restore degraded habitats through citizen science, educational outreach, and sustainable management practices. In Apulia, Italy, efforts center on the protected wetland of Aquatina di Frigole, aiming to raise awareness of its ecological value while addressing threats from pollution and illegal activities. In Slovenia, the Strunjan case study leverages citizen science tools to strengthen environmental awareness around a protected stretch of Adriatic coastline.

Beyond the EU, the project addresses the rich biodiversity of Montenegro’s Boka Kotorska Bay, where actions target sustainable tourism, conservation policy, and the development of a digital species library. In Ireland, work at Streedagh Beach in Sligo focuses on dune protection and community engagement amid rising coastal erosion. In the UK, the Arne Parish case study supports community-led conservation projects, including habitat restoration and species reintroduction. In Norway, two case studies are underway: one in Bergen tackling the problem of lost “ghost fishing” gear through awareness campaigns and large-scale gear removal, and another on Askøy island addressing land-use conflicts around a proposed cruise terminal near the Eidsvika recreational area.

Further case studies in Estonia and Romania round out the project’s scope, focusing respectively on balancing urban development pressures with coastal conservation near Tallinn, and on strengthening environmental awareness and stakeholder engagement around a pristine Black Sea beach in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve.

For more details, please visit https://pro-coast.sycl.net/10/pro-coast-case-studies.

Pro-Coast

Context

Main objectives

Main results

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