D4.3 Guidelines for building adaptation-through-restoration pathways (tested at Pilots)

The REST-COAST Project (Large scale RESToration of COASTal ecosystems through rivers to sea connectivity) is an EU Horizon 2020 research project (Grant agreement No. 101037097) whose overall goal is to address with effective and innovative approaches and tools the key challenges faced by coastal ecosystem restoration across Europe. The approach chosen for this project will deliver a highly interdisciplinary contribution, with the demonstration of improved practices and techniques for hands-on ecosystem restoration across several pilot sites, supported by the co-design of innovative governance and financial arrangements, as well as an effective strategy for the dissemination of results. Work Package 4 (WP4) focuses on the development of scalable adaptation-through-restoration plans (for each pilot of REST-COAST) based on adaptation pathways that incorporate ecosystem services (ESS) and biodiversity value (BDV) from NBS building blocks. It is envisaged that these plans will be suited for upscaling restoration in coastal systems worldwide, supported by the global scale analysis of coastal risks, costs and governance performed in WP 2/3/5. Deliverable 4.3 aims at providing guidelines for building adaptationthrough-restoration pathways, based on NBS and technical measures that deliver ESS and BDV gains, tested and validated at the Pilots. When using the adaptation pathway guidelines, it is important to apply them with flexibility to accommodate the specific needs and contexts of individual pilots. While it is recommended to follow the methodology in Chapter 2—‘Generic Stepwise Approach’—to develop pathways, pilots should view these methods as flexible rather than rigid, to fit their unique restoration goals, timelines, environmental and social conditions. Chapter 3—‘Restoration Pilots’—serves as a reference to provide insight from three pilots with pilot-specific approaches to build the pathways. The guidelines should be seen as a dynamic tool that can evolve based on feedback, local stakeholder input, or new scientific data, ensuring that each pilot tailors its pathway to address local uncertainties, opportunities, and challenges.