What are coastal landscapes?

Coastal ecosystems include areas affected by the tide (intertidal zone) as well as those further out on the continental shelf. They also include adjacent land areas. The Nordic coastal region includes the Northeast Atlantic coasts of Norway, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland along with the Baltic Sea coasts of Denmark, Sweden, Åland and Finland. Key coastal habitats here include soft bottom habitats, blue mussel beds, seagrass meadows, kelp forests and seaweeds. 

Coastal landscapes as NbS

Well-functioning coastal ecosystems provide a range of benefits to humans. They include:

 

Coastal graphic: Before

Coastal ecosystem before NbS have been implemented

Coastal graphic: After

Coastal ecosystem after NbS have been implemented

 

NbS that can be implemented in coastal landscapes

Are you unsure how to choose an NbS for a coastal ecosystem? See our general guidance on Nature-based solutions! 

You may also be interested in the S-ITUATION project's factsheet on coastal and marine ecosystems, which describes types of NbS that are typically used to solve various problems in specific land-use contexts.

These pages have been written by Sigrid Engen, Eli Rinde and Evert Mul.