Coastal protection / hazard mitigation

In 2012 Marks & Spencers funded a volunteering initiative, the Big Beach Clean-up, through which their staff were able to volunteer to clean local beaches and waterways to make local environmental improvements. This initiative is part of M&S’ Forever Fish campaign which is funded by the profits from the 5p carrier bag charge in M&S foodhalls. The 4th annual Big Beach Clean Up (which took place in 2015) aimed to clean 135 beaches and canals up and down the country with over 8,000 people (3,000 M&S employees and 5,000 M&S customers) (ref. 5). As part of this initiative, around 30 members of staff from Nottingham’s local high street store went down to the canal, between Castle Meadow retail park and Meadow Lane Lock, and spent the day removing masses of litter from the water (ref. 3).

The project relating to the waterfront of San Girolamo di Bari is an important piece of the mosaic that provides a new design for the entire city waterfront, from North to South: Santo Spirito, Palese, (precisely) San Girolamo, the connection between Bread and Tomato and Torre Quetta, temporary uses on the San Giorgio waterfront, up to the redevelopment of the South promenade. The project which is almost completed, regenerated the seaside part of Bari, making the seaside accessible and link the city with the coastal area by creating a multi-functional space where playgrounds, a cycling path and green open spaces were built to enhance the liveability of the area. In this way, what was previously considered just as an economic and working part of the city became a new center of social interaction by creating a new institutional green space. (Ref.1, Ref.6).

The "PROSIT" project aimed at undertaking a series of actions based on environmentally compatible mechanisms to protect and recover the coastal rural territory of Cinque Terre. Today, the terraced landscape is characterised by intense processes of land abandonment and disuse, caused both by practical and economic difficulties of maintenance and by social changes. There is a risk that the damage caused by land abandonment can compromise the area's delicate hydrogeological balance, especially in an area where landslides and floods are highly common (1). A demonstration project to recover abandoned terraces was carried out in five areas of the park (1).

"The National Park of Circeo, established in 1934, on the Tyrrhenian coast south of Rome, contains ecosystems of invaluable scientific interest. The site is, however, regularly invaded, during the summer season, by thousands of holidaymakers who tend to
park their cars on the sand dunes near the beach with a consequent heavy impact on the whole dune system. The LIFE project aimed to complete the preventative and natural restoration measures started under two earlier projects financed by the EU" (1).

The project focuses on a total re-qualification of the coastal area of Ostia. The project involves the construction of new residential areas, recreational areas, a new green park and the recovery of the sand dunes (1).
Regarding the implementation of the project, the project was halted as the public administration changed with new elections, in 2015 several people were arrested and are facing charges due to poor project management (5).

LIFE VIMINE is a project that aimed to define and apply a new type of integrated approach to the management of the territory, based on the erosion protection of the most indigenous barns and marshes in the Laguna of Venice. These unique habitats are rapidly disappearing due to natural processes and human impacts of varying nature. The project has contributed to repair and protect salt marshes borders as soon as erosion starts, build micro soil bioengineering works that are able to absorb wave energy, reduce erosion, promote sedimentation with a low effort and cost and improve coastal resilience and protection (1).

The project aims to reintroduce Patella ferruginea in the three Protected Marine Areas (AMP) (Portofino, Bergeggi and Cinque Terre), where the causes of extinction have been eliminated and an adequate level of protection is ensured (1). The project expects to achieve the following results: Biodiversity recovery and restoration of ribbed Mediterranean limpet by re-establishing a local population starting with 100 specimens; Reproduction and production of juveniles (some 6 000 larvae per year) to be introduced to the target areas for restocking; Full recovery and new population development of ribbed Mediterranean limpet in the target area; Restoration of the population translocated from Tavolara by introducing juveniles from controlled reproduction; and Strengthened territorial promotion and reinforcement of the “clean sea” message" (4).

Hellenikon Metropolitan Park will be a large urban park located in Hellinikon, Athens, Greece. The park will be the central attraction of the Hellinikon project. It will provide Athens with a much needed ecological boost. When finished the park will be the largest in Europe. It will be approximately 200 hectares spanning the site of the former Hellenikon International Airport (Ref 4). The project will follow an integrated approach to sustainability. The objective is to boost greenery and create high-quality spaces while minimizing the natural resources used, protecting and enhancing the ecosystems in the region, and also raising awareness and educating the public on sustainability issues (Ref 1). Initially, the project was planned to start in 2008 and to be completed by 2013, but with the unfortunate and unseeing financial crisis worldwide, was shelved. A part of the project has been completed in the first 5 years. In 2013, a new design strategy for the project was submitted as part of The Hellinikon Project. The team included Foster & Partners, Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture, ARUP and a group of Greek design consultants. The design was revised and resubmitted to the Greek government in 2018 (Ref 3). The project is now under the consideration of the Greek Ministry of Culture for infrastructure and monuments (Ref 1).

"The Lez is a small Mediterranean river 28.5 km long, born from a karstic exurgence whose supply zone extends north of the source, over more than 150 km2. The “Le Lez” site was proposed in February 2001 because of the presence of several species and natural habitats protected at European level. The designated part concerns the upstream course of the Lez river, its riparian forest and associated agricultural environments. Covering an area of ​​144 hectares, the area stretches over 14 km from the Lez sources in Saint-Clément-de-Rivière to the Concorde bridge, in the town of Montpellier" (Ref. 4). Strong economic and demographic development near Le Lez implies urban pressure on peripheral sectors, particularly north of Montpellier where many residential areas are developing. The river became protected thanks to the "Natura 2000 European network" which aims to reconcile human activities and the conservation of biodiversity on the basis of the main principles of sustainable development (Ref. 4).

The initiative is comprised of a project to recover the coastal line of Alicante, from El Campello to Elx (approx. 21 km long). The Municipality called an ideas' competition with the aim of developing a sustainable coastal corridor project that includes an intervention on the entire Alicante coastline and generates a continuous itinerary integrated into the landscape with new places of opportunity for the residents of the city (Ref. 7). The two-stage competition sought proposals for a new ‘coastal passage’ featuring the creation of new multi-purpose public spaces promoting biodiversity and accessibility (Ref 13). The winner was announced on the beginning of 2019 and the Municipality planned to start the development of the first 2 parts of the project. The winning project of the competition bears the slogan "My connected archipelago" and is the work of the Grupo Aranea and Subarquitectura studios from Alicante (Ref 14), a project that considers ecological and sustainable principles (Ref. 9).