Coastal protection is currently based mainly on the concept of building in nature to ensure the protection of the population against natural hazards. However, the effects of coastal protection on the natural environment have been largely ignored. Given the increasing pressure of use and the effects of climate change, the established, proven coastal protection must be supplemented or transformed into an ecosystem strengthening coastal protection to be able to guarantee a responsible and sustainable life and economic activity in harmony with nature, embedded in the grown cultural landscape.
The project aims to test robust, multifunctional and, in particular, ecosystem strengthening coastal protection measures and to ensure that these are simultaneously taken into account in the planning and approval by the responsible state authorities and are accepted by civil society.
In subproject 5, the Ecological Economy team focuses on socio-ecological and economic dimensions in collaboration with associated partners and actors in real-world laboratories. The task of the team is to collect knowledge and preferences of relevant actors and to analyse conflicts and synergies of interests and preferences of these actors concerning the future development of Lower Saxony coast based on participatory processes such as surveys, focus groups and workshops.
