Coastal and estuarine habitats in Europe have been decimated over the last 200 years.

In England, we have lost 85% of our salt marsh, extirpated seagrass from 50% of our coastal waterbodies and removed 95% of our oyster habitat. Yet these habitats are some of the most important for carbon-storing and other provisioning services such as fisheries, improving water quality, and coastal defences, which Nature-based Solutions so depend on.

An increasing evidence base illustrates the critical value of these coastal habitats individually. In this UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the number and scale of restoration efforts is increasing and now is the time to reflect on the potential of the seascape to deliver for nature and people at a large scale. The role of habitats as part of a dynamic and resilient system is beginning to be understood. With the recently proposed EU Nature Restoration Law presenting a legally binding requirement to restore 20% of the EU marine territory, and with the Decade on Ecological Restoration and the Ocean Decade both underway, now is the time to reflect on what seascape connectivity could mean and what can be achieved in the longer term. Symposium sessions will focus on ecological connectivity, climate mitigation, resilience, restoration potential and benefits of restoration of threatened coastal habitats.

This two-day symposium provided a comprehensive review of the current state of science surrounding habitat connectivity in temperate coastal systems and provide a firm basis for discussion and networking relating to the policy and practical importance of this understanding. It brought together a varied audience of scientists, policy makers, restoration practitioners and interested parties looking to provide evidence and delivery of seascape restoration. This symposium contributed to the aims of the ReMeMaRe Connectivity in Estuarine, Coastal and Transitional Ecosystem Restoration (ConnECTER) Special Interest Group (SIG).

Image: Seagrass bed beneath the Helford River SAC in Cornwall, providing crucial habitat to a small-spotted catshark © Lewis Michael Jefferies

Resources:

To view the printed version of the full programme with Abstracts and Biographies, click here.
To view the programme overview click here.

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Speakers:

Dr Tundi Agardy, Sound Seas
Dr Ronald Baker, University of South Alabama, USA and Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Dan Crockett, Blue Marine Foundation
Alison Debney, Zoological Society of London
Professor Michael Depledge CBE, University of Exeter Medical School & Eden Project
Dr Rachel Dunk, Manchester Metropolitan University
Dr Philine zu Ermgassen, University of Edinburgh
Angus Garbutt, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH)
Gwenaël Hanon, ARK Nature
Dr Juhyung Lee, Northeastern University, USA
Dr Dominic McAfee, University of Adelaide, Australia
Professor Pippa Moore, Newcastle University
Dr Nathalie Pettorelli, Zoological Society of London
Dr Joanne Preston, University of Portsmouth and UK Native Oyster Network
Roger Proudfoot, Environment Agency, UK
Dr Simon Reeves, The Nature Conservancy, Australia
Professor Steven Simpson, University of Bristol and University of Exeter
Courtney Stuart, Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab, University of Oxford
Dr Ruth Thurstan, University of Exeter
Dr Richard Unsworth, Project Seagrass
Dr Stephen Watson, Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Dr Jakub Wejchert, Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Dr Thomas Worthington, University of Cambridge

Organisers:

Alison Debney, Conservation Lead, Wetland Ecosystem Restoration, Zoological Society of London
Celine Gamble, Native Oyster Network - UK & Ireland Coordinator and Wild Oyster Project Manager, Zoological Society of London
Dr Joanne Preston, Reader in Marine Ecology and Evolution, Biodiversity and Blue Carbon Lead, University of Portsmouth
Dr Philine zu Ermgassen, Marine Ecosystem Restoration Expert and Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh

Further Information:

Location: This was a two-day symposium, held in person at the Huxley Lecture Theatre, ZSL Meeting Rooms, the Outer Circle, Regent's Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK (number 2 on the map).
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The symposium is co-funded by the European Union, and opinions expressed however will be those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority CINEA can be held responsible for them.