Sustainable And Resilient Coastal Cities UK Conference

The overall objective of SARCC (Sustainable and Resilient Coastal Cities, 2019-2022) was to help bring nature-based solutions (NBS) into mainstream coastal management and policy making, either as stand-alone projects or NBS-hybrids, where they are integrated into existing infrastructure and flood defences. The project aimed to inspire urban leaders, decision-makers and officers involved in coastal flood defences to deploy NBS and understand the additional benefits that they offer in comparison to traditional grey infrastructure.

The project came to an end in early 2023, with the SARCC Final Conference that December, where we provided a forum for information sharing regarding nature-based solutions (NBS) in coastal cities. The conference was free to attend in Southend-on-Sea, UK, however with limited spaces or opportunities for travel, the entire event was also available as a live-stream online.

The conference provided an overview of the SARCC project, detailing the outputs and results to disseminate results and address policy changes. It included panel discussions with stakeholders involved in coastal management, opportunities to interact with our 14 project partners and learn about specifics of the pilot NBS trialled across the project countries of UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. 

Last but not least, we covered an essential aspect of mainstreaming NBS - mechanisms to positively engage local communities that will be involved in public consultations, highlighting the value/benefits of NBS to coastal communities and supporting the approval process for the investment into NBS.

On behalf of the SARCC partnership, we thank you for your contributions, time and participation!