Better protection and restoration of coastal ecosystems




ReDuna - Restoration of S. João da Caparica Sand Dunes

ReDuna aerial view

One of the consequences of global warming is the sea level rise. In urban settings along coastlines, rising seas threaten not only houses, but also several types of infrastructures such as industries,  roads, power plants, freshwater aquifers, etc. Rising sea-level also pushes destructive storm surges further inland, posing very high risks for coastal populations, as storm surges can push water kilometers inland, causing extreme flooding far from the coast. 

The Portuguese ReDuna project aims to restore the natural capacity of the Almada sand dune-beach ecosystem to healthily...


Mangrove restoration in Costa Rica

A pilot mangrove restoration project in Costa Rica demonstrating how mangrove planting can benefit habitat and species conservation, whilst boosting the local economy. About 40% of Costa Rica’s mangroves were deforested following the collapse of the country’s banana boom in the 1980s. A vigorous fern species has taken over much of the deforested area, preventing the mangroves from re-establishing. A pilot restoration project of 30 ha of mangrove in a protected wetland was implemented, involving clearance of the ubiquitous fern, planting of saplings, and continued fern removal for a few...


Alcaldía de Medellín - Green Corridors Initiative

Medellín, like many other cities, faces rising temperatures, worsened by the urban heat island effect—concrete and tarmac absorbing the sun’s power, radiating it out as heat and keeping the city warm long after the sun has gone down. It doesn’t have to be that way, as Colombia’s second-largest city, Medellín, is showing by embracing nature-based solutions.

With the Green Corridor project, which won the 2019 Ashden Award for Cooling by Nature Award, supported by the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program and in partnership with Sustainable Energy for All, Medellín’s city authorities...



Habitat enhancement of stone clad sea walls.

Seawalls are usually seen only as flood alleviation structures rather than as having other possible functions to benefit the wide environment. Where new walls are being installed there is opportunity to include more sympathetic “nature friendly” textured finishes to improve or maintain biodiversity. Where seawalls are already installed, retrofit enhancement measures provide significant opportunities. Small alterations were made to the mortar pointing between decorative stone cladding of a section of vertical concrete wall during construction of the Shaldon and Ringmore Tidal Defence Scheme...


NAIAD Case Studies: Brague Demonstration site (France)

Nature Based Solutions management is more than a technical problem: specific design and integrated decision-making frameworks are needed. From a more global point of view, choice of Nature Based Solutions and effectiveness assessment require specific principles mixing pluridisciplinary quantitative and qualitative criteria and indicators. It is important to note that the choice and definition of NbS’ effectiveness indicators highly depend on time, spatial scales and decision-making contexts. La Brague DEMO proposes some pathways to contribute to this objective. It is indeed essential to...


ECO-Park development (Balaton lake) of Balatonfűzfő city

Eco-Park of Balatonfűzfő
  • Development of an ecological park at the lake Balaton

The plans of the municipality and the local civic organzation were to develop a pleasant, ecological park filled with different kind of leisure activities from the neglected gulf.

The objective is a comprehensive reconstruction of the area in Balatonfűzfő, from Fövenyfürdő Beach to Tobruki Beach is enabling the semi-natural utilization of the area near the city and near the lake. This project has two phases:

  1. The first phase a semi-natural promenade with special playground was created
  2. ...

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