Innovation Project Stronger Shores hosts First Annual Conference at Iconic Spanish City

Experts from around the country gathered at the beautiful Spanish City in Whitley Bay for the inaugural Stronger Shores Conference – held on 21st May 2024.

The key theme – Beyond Concrete: Nature Based Solutions for Coastal Erosion Risk Management – aimed to help bridge the gap between experts who would like to use nature based solutions as an alternative to hard coastal defences, but are concerned about the limited evidence available to back up benefits of nature based solutions. The Conference aimed to clarify that nature based solutions were not being pushed as a replacement for hard line defences, but rather that they could work in conjunction with these defences if given the chance.

Wildlife and environment champion Trai Anfield facilitated the day, with attendees receiving presentations from all of the Stronger Shores Delivery Partners, consultants and the engagement team.

Colleagues also heard from a Panel made up of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management professionals, engineers and academics who explored both challenges and opportunities of nature based solutions in the marine and coastal environment. This provided a balanced view of how realistic nature based solutions are as a solution to coastal issues increasingly facing our coastal communities, whilst also sharing benefits of using them.

After lunch, two 30 minute roundtable discussions took place across 10 tables, providing an opportunity for attendees to discuss a variety of topics relevant to marine nature based solutions for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management. Roundtable sessions were led by an organisation involved in the Stronger Shores project, combining their own knowledge and expertise with those attending discussions. This helped enable varied and insightful discussions, and the inclusion of multiple perspectives in the outputs of each roundtable.

Roundtable discussions covered regulation, evidence gaps, funding, engagement, the future of Stronger Shores and its legacy. This offered a thorough overview of what the project is achieving well, and areas where there is still scope to identify gaps, expand and improve.

Overall, the Stronger Shores Conference provided an excellent opportunity to introduce Stronger Shores to a wider audience, encourage discussions and knowledge sharing, and provide insights into the work carried out on the project so far.

We are hoping to repeat the Conference on a yearly basis until the project ends in 2027, aiming to refine and change the focus each year. Next year’s conference will reflect priorities for the project at that time, in agreement with Delivery Partners.

We would like to thank everyone who attended, presented, facilitated and contributed to this year’s conference and made it a success – together we can provide learning to help secure a future for our coasts, communities and their management.

Find the full Stronger Shores Conference Report and Presentations from the day below: