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How can we develop coastal resilience for nature and people? Telling the holistic approach and story of coastal resilience.
We’ve gathered a collection of leading global experts and leaders to share key initiatives to shape our hope in building coastal resilience.
What are the environmental, social and economic challenges on coastal resilience?
by Lindsay SaundersHow does climate change affect coastal resilience?
by Dr. Andrew HoughHow do we implement sustainable fisheries?
by Gert le RouxDo we have hope to have a healthy ocean from degraded ecosystems?
by Paul FerberHow do we regenerate coastal and marine ecosystems?
by Rachana Thap & Tanguy FreneatHow do we build coastal climate resilience for livelihood and wellbeing of wider coastal communities?
by Sandrine Boucher, Stephanie Mouen, Rachel PomHow do women groups play a role in coastal resilience?
by Arlene SatapornvanitHow can we develop coastal resilience for nature and people? Telling the holistic approach and story of coastal resilience.
We’ve gathered a collection of leading global experts and leaders to share key initiatives to shape our hope in building coastal resilience.
Rising sea temperatures, changes in salinity and pH levels, increasing sea levels, and shifting cyclone patterns are currently observed and anticipated to further affect the marine environment. These broader climate impacts include events like coral bleaching which reduce coral cover.
Tropical fishing regions are forecasted to experience a potential 40% decline in seafood catch by 2050. New ways of sustainable fishing to be more resilient to climate change risks are required especially to manage and govern fish stocks collectively in shared regions.
Staff Consultant
Asian Development Bank
Increasingly our population, livelihoods, and supporting infrastructure have located toward and along our coasts. With limited space coastal ecosystems are being modified exposing communities to floods, and storm damage. Coastal development erodes the ability to resist and recover from shocks such as storms. Smaller traditional communities used nature, such as mangroves and shellfish beds, to shelter from storm events. Modern shoreline development has removed these defenses increasing their vulnerability to, and the costs of, storm and sea surge damage. Exposure continues to increase, with ongoing sea level rise that overwhelms the structural protection designed for lower seas and smaller storms. Reducing exposure to increased storm damage requires extensive reinvestment to rebuild protection of exposed communities. Meanwhile coastal growth continues, lowering coastal ecosystem resilience, increasing our vulnerability to damages and increasing losses due to slower economic recovery.
Climate change is adding oceanic challenges including marine heat, ocean acidification, declining oxygen and primary productivity that impact fisheries. The vulnerability of marine ecosystems has increased due to overfishing, increasing pollution, and habitat destruction. Rebuilding resilience through ecosystem rehabilitation will reduce the impact on coastal livelihoods of fishers. More recent tourism and recreational use target beaches, marine biodiversity, corals and tropical fish assemblages, and marine mammal populations that are threatened and are experiencing algal blooms and hypoxic (dead) zones reducing the quality of experience and tourism revenues whilst adding risks into our food systems. Rebalancing ecosystem resilience will increasingly define coastal economic futures.
The ability to effectively mitigate and manage disturbances in farming conditions due to climate change.
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Sea level rise has increased by average of 8 inches or 23 cm since 1880. Around 3 inches happened in last 25 years.
Every year, the sea level rises by 0.13 inches. This will impacted us one foot increase in 2050.
Director
Community Catch
The climate has always changed, and the coast has naturally responded to such changes. Since the last ice age, the sea level has risen around 120 metres, with some extremely rapid increases over that time. Sea level continued to rise, but much more slowly until the 20th Century when the rate of sea level rise may have increased to 1.8mm+ per year in response to increased global temperatures. The incidence of increased storms, particularly tropical cyclones, may also increase with higher temperatures, but evidence for this is less sure. Coastal resilience is the ability of the coast to respond to changes in sea level (and possibly combined with increased storminess) – in particular the effects of greater wave height in eroding and reforming coastlines, inundation of coastal areas and longer-term changes in groundwater salinity.
The natural resilience of the coast in responding to such changes has now been constrained by the presence of coastal defences, ports and harbours – driven by the demands of increasing populations around the world’s coast. Maintaining habitats and productive coastal environments requires integrated coastal zone planning – in which fisheries must be considered and should participate. Increasing temperature also raises sea temperature, which could affect habitats and the distribution and productivity of fish populations. The timing and extent of changes are difficult to predict, but appropriate monitoring and flexibility of management responses to emerging trends also requires the careful integration, and participation, of fisheries.
Long-term increase in the average level of the world's oceans. Its driven by two main factors: thermal expansion of seawater and the melting of land-based ice such as glaciers and ice sheets.
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The quantity of overfished stocks globally has tripled in the past fifty years, with one-third of the world’s evaluated fisheries currently exceeding their biological capacity.
In few countries bottom trawling were intensively active in the 50s, 60s, 70s such as in UK, Portugal Spain then declined significantly. This increasing fishing efforts are still happening in Cambodia and Gulf of Thailand, where 40-60% stock decrease since 2017.
Aquaculture and Fisheries Specialist
Woolworths South Africa
Target 14.4 of ‘UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below water’ sought to end overfishing; illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and destructive fishing practices; and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks by 2020; but has not been met. A significant number of fish stocks still have low biomass and high fishing pressure compared with maximum sustainable yield (MSY) based targets and concerns about IUU fishing and destructive fishing practices persist.
The failure to meet Target 14.4 shows that there is no definite or explicitly clear and optimistic path forward to implement sustainable fisheries and restore fish stocks. What is clear is that in regions and countries where fisheries are intensively and effectively managed, stock abundance is generally improving or remaining near fisheries management target levels.
Key components of effective fisheries management include scientific research and data collection, including conducting stock assessments; establishing strong regulatory frameworks; and ensuring that regulations are followed through monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) systems, which include patrolling, satellite tracking, and penalties for non-compliance. It is also critically important to engage fishers, local communities, industry representatives, scientists, and non-governmental organizations in the decision-making process to ensure that management measures are practical, equitable, and supported by those affected.
Implementing sustainable fisheries will be significantly accelerated and enhanced through improved collaboration among the sustainable seafood movement, fishers and governments; and by holding retailers and foodservice companies more accountable for the sustainability of the seafood products that they sell.
Level of fishing activity that can be maintained over long term, conducted sustainably and conserving health and productivity of fish stocks. This balances catch rates with natural regeneration rates of fish stocks.
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Ecosystem restoration, which involves revitalizing important landscape processes or features, is a successful mitigation strategy for various environments, including coral reefs, mangroves, and tidal flats. This method produces positive outcomes by either returning ecosystems to a nearly natural state or transforming them into hybrid systems that maintain beneficial ecological functions.
Founder
Marine Conservation Cambodia
Without hope, what do we have?
I have brought up 4 young children whilst watching the human assault on our natural world. They grew up with ocean in harmony with nature. But they have also witnessed the rapid destruction of our oceans firsthand and I’ve had to navigate many difficult questions from their young inquisitive minds, “why do they kill the dugongs and dolphins”, “why do they destroy the sea grass”, “why is there so much plastic in the ocean”. To answer these questions honestly I must offer hope for their future. Nature is strong and resilient. Our restoration programs are based on removing destructive human impacts, and providing artificial habitats to kick start regeneration. With sadness, I know that it will never in my lifetime have the diversity and abundance that it had when I first experienced it, but if we commit ourselves to doing what is right, even when it is hard choice or puts us at risk, then we have hope.
Within the Kep Archipelago the results of MCC’s work can already be seen: fish are more abundant with a higher diversity of species within the no-take zones and now spilling out to other areas, seagrass meadows are regrowing providing food and shelter for marine animals, dolphin populations are returning with new calves being seen frequently, dugong trails in the restored Ovalis beds and occasional elusive sightings show dugong returning. These are signs of an ecosystem in recovery. So yes, there is hope. Our successes give hope.
Restoring and revitalizing marine habitats and species within an ecosystem that has been degraded or damaged due to human activities or natural events. The goal is to rehabilitate marine ecosystems to a state where they can function effectively, support diverse marine life, and provide ecosystem services essential for coastal communities.
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The materials, construction, and deployment of a fisheries productivity structure unit cost around $500 USD. These units are intentionally designed to be affordable to produce, simple to construct, and easy to deploy. It enables other coastal communities to adopt similar strategies, thereby reducing the reliance on fisheries patrols and minimizing interactions with illegal fishers.
Executive Director
Marine Conservation Cambodia
Financial Manager
Marine Conservation Cambodia
Anthropogenic activities are putting continuous and increasing pressure on coastal and marine ecosystems. To begin the regeneration of these ecosystems, it is essential to identify the activities that have the most negative impact, such as habitat destruction and overfishing. Consulting all stakeholders in identifying these issues and subsequently designing a coordinated strategy involving local and national governments is crucial. This approach will enable direct action against destructive activities while minimizing potential conflicts that might arise from these measures.
The first step to effective ecosystem regeneration is to break the cycle of destruction affecting marine habitats by implementing and enforcing protection schemes. Since marine habitats are the foundation of marine ecosystems, alleviating the long-standing pressure on them allows these ecosystems to regenerate naturally. This has been observed with the regrowth of seagrass meadows in Southeast Asia, for example. Additionally, deploying various artificial structures can enhance regeneration by providing protection from destructive activities, substrates for the colonization of marine organisms (algae, bivalves), and habitats for various marine species, essentially functioning as underwater oases in areas often depleted of natural habitats.
Finally, direct measures for habitat rehabilitation, such as coral farming and seagrass seeding, have proven effective, though they are time-consuming and labor-intensive. By integrating these strategies, we can pave the way for sustainable and resilient marine ecosystems.
Rachana added, ”Based from what I have learned from working/living on the island and especially with the Community Fisheries, I do believe no works could be done if we didn’t have the understanding from the people (for instance Community Fisheries and fishermen) whose lives depend on the ocean. I do believe fishermen and Community Fisheries are the key elements to balance the fisheries sustainability.”
Protection and rearing structure allowing native aquatic organisms to grow and regenerate. The structure also function as anti-trawling blocks made of concrete. Their purpose is to disrupt trawler nets, either by slowing them down or compelling them to cease operations.
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Fisheries co-management globally employs five key strategies: access restrictions, permanent closures, periodic closures, species restrictions, and gear restrictions. Each strategy offers distinct benefits but also has drawbacks. Some strategies are better suited for specific objectives and particular species.
Country Director
Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
In simple terms, creating coastal climate resilience involves protecting areas near the ocean from severe weather, floods, and rising sea levels. Although, preparing for the disasters is not simple. Coastal communities have to first understand the challenges, identify if their daily activities are affecting the ocean, and learn how to plan and prepare for changes. Fishery communities must evolve and explore options of sustainable tourism and fishing. At the same time, it is important to recover natural barriers including mangroves and coral reefs. All parties, including the authorities, businesses, and communities, must pay attention to this issue. Together, we can build a more resilient shoreline for future generations.
The collaborative and participatory process of regulatory decision-making among representatives of user-groups, fisherpeople, government agencies and research institutions.
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One in two seafood workers is a woman. Women represent half of the global workforce in the seafood industry, contributing significantly to fisheries, aquaculture, processing, and related services. However, their participation varies across segments, with fewer women in industrial fishing and leadership roles.
On average, women make up 47 percent of the 120 million individuals working in the capture fisheries and post-harvest sectors. Excluding the People’s Republic of China, the proportion of women in these roles rises to nearly 60 percent.
Chief of Party
USAID Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support
Women’s groups are cohesive and strong as they work together towards the same goals. They play a role in coastal resilience as they are active in local community engagement, and are knowledgeable about topics affecting their communities, such as environmental or climate change impacts. Women’s groups are also good in organizing so what needs to be done usually gets done. Being part of a women’s group can empower the members due to the activities being conducted and the responsibilities they had to take up, including the ability to manage their time. Women’s reproductive roles include a nurturing nature and community service, and when given the ability and agency to do so, women’s groups can accomplish many things. They can contribute to policies and to decision making, ensuring that the end product has the voice of women, as they are integrated in plans and interventions relevant to coastal resilience, including disaster management and gender equality. Women are natural leaders, therefore when they form a group they can get things done, as they know how to prioritize tasks and what it will take to accomplish them. They can group together to bring the concerns of community members to the local council, and together women’s groups can work with the local community in advocacies and capacity building to further strengthen community members towards challenges and impacts brought about by climate change and other factors. Aside from the technical, women’s groups can provide moral support through encouragement and strengthening of interpersonal relationships, strengthening the community during times of despair and hopelessness brought about by adverse impacts from many factors, especially disasters, global warming, or losses.
The increased capacity of women to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from economic resources and opportunities (e.g., jobs, financial services, property, skills development); increases ability to negotiate fairer distribution of benefits derived from economic growth.
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About
The Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries platform is produced by The Lexicon with support from the Asian Development Bank. SCMF regenerates ecosystems, improves fisheries management and surveillance, and develops community businesses towards more sustainable fisheries. It develops sustainable resilient coastal and marine fisheries resources, resulting in recovered fish stocks and better coastal economy
Team
Lexicon of Impacts is based on the Ecological Benefits Framework (EBF). This new paradigm provides a foundational architecture to radically transform global carbon, biodiversity, and ecological benefits markets. Coordinating financial institutions, UN agencies, NGOs, companies, and catalytic capital will bring attention to—and help create—a shared pathway for accelerated solutions, providing economic support for the people and projects that need it most.
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