NRW marine experts to speak at Coastal Futures conference

As marine scientists, experts and specialists gather for the Coastal Futures annual conference in London, NRW’s Nicola Rimington and Lily Pauls will be sharing some of the work we are doing to help protect our coastal environments. Here they explain what it’s all about.

Coastal Futures attracts around 750 delegates who can take part in presentations and debates on current and forward-looking issues affecting our coasts and seas with leading professionals and practitioners. 

As part of this, we will be presenting on some areas of work NRW is concentrating on.

Nicola, lead specialist advisor Marine and Coastal Policy & Planning, will talk about NRW’s approaches to integrated coastal management for future generations in Wales during session one.

“I will be explaining how NRW has established our Integrated Coastal Management Programme to co-ordinate, plan and prioritise our work with respect to physical management of the coast, in a way that follows the principles of sustainable management of natural resources.

“I will also share some examples of recent work on improved access to information, the Coast Snap project and approaches to stakeholder engagement for coastal adaptation. These tools will support NRW and our partners and stakeholders in working towards sustainable coastal management in the light of climate change and key drivers such as the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.

“I’m really looking forward to attending the Coastal Futures conference. It gives us the opportunity to show how we are trying to respond to the climate change risk at the coast, and to hear and learn about the work being done by others,” she added.

In session five, Lily, who is team leader for Marine Projects will give a presentation on building resilience in marine ecosystems through Nature Networks.

“The conference provides a great opportunity to share some of the work we are doing in Wales to build resilience for our coastal communities, habitats and wildlife.

“I will be talking about the marine projects we are running in our Nature Networks programme, a Welsh Government funded programme, which aims to return protected sites into favourable condition as well as increase biodiversity and enhancing the resilience and connectivity of our habitats and species across terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments.

“I will share information on our work which includes biosecurity planning to tackle threat of invasive non-native species like the carpet sea squirt and Chinese mitten crabs.

“Work like saltmarsh restoration, trying to understand impacts of coastal squeeze and bait collection impacts. We are also looking at the decline of species like horse mussels, mearl and sponges to inform future management plans.

“And I’ll touch upon projects like derelict vessel removal and prevention, understanding the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals and of course improving marine conservation advice.

“We hope by talking about our work at Coastal Futures that it will help galvanise efforts more widely,” she added.

• Coastal Futures 2024 is held on January 24 & 25 at The Royal Institution, London and online