MANABAS COAST partners gather in Bruges to advance coastal solutions

From 12 to 14 March, partners of the Interreg North Sea Region project MANABAS COAST gathered for a pivotal meeting in Bruges, Belgium. During the meeting, participants conducted a baseline assessment for pilot sites, identifying key themes for ongoing discussions, including sand nourishment, salt marshes, monitoring, and Natura2000. Teams were formed to delve deeper into these topics. The Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation will ensure exchange with trilateral expert groups, particularly focusing on salt marshes and Natura2000.

The gathering featured a symposium at the Flanders Maritime Laboratory in Oostende on 14 March, emphasising NbS implementation and research for managing the Flemish coast. Hosted by the Flemish Department of Mobility & Public Works (MOW), the symposium engaged external stakeholders in crucial discussions.

The meeting concluded with a visit to the Living Lab Raversijde, demonstrating innovative coastal protection measures. Located in a typical Belgian coastal town, Raversijde shows us the importance of engaging partners in field tests and monitoring to enhance understanding of soft coastal defenses.

MANABAS COAST aims to develop a framework, tools, and guidelines based on pilot examples along the North Sea Coast, ultimately facilitating the widespread adoption of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in the region. The next partner meeting is scheduled for October 2024 in the Wadden Sea, which will see further collaboration among project partners.