Coastal Restoration Agreements Under Climate Change: Barriers and Enablers

Coastal ecosystems are becoming less resilient under climate (e.g., sea-level rise, warming, acidification) and human (e.g., urbanization, coastal hardening, and river regulation) pressures, forcing local communities to face increasing risk levels. This lack of resilience is linked to an adaptation deficit that can be recovered through restoration. Yet, restoration faces barriers related to governance, funding, technical practice, and social context. To overcome such barriers, the REST-COAST project has developed a framework that reckons with coastal restoration platforms and restoration agreements, supported by “enablers” that support the upscaling and implementation of restoration projects. The proposed agreements and platforms can effectively overcome barriers by embedding governance, technical, financial, and social enablers into the agreements among stakeholders. Tailored, place-based approaches foster collaboration, long-term adaptive management, and the scaling of restoration to address accelerating climate-driven risks. The proposed agreements build on hands-on restoration lessons, offering transferable insights for global coastal resilience.