Aim
To assess the challenges facing the conservation and protection of the marine and coastal environment in light of coastal urban regeneration projects, the emergence of the ‘blue economy’, new environmental designations and climate change (SDG 11.4 and 11.5).
Potential presentations
- Marine planning, especially its integration with terrestrial planning in the inter-tidal zone (SDG 11.4).
- Marine National Parks: a tool for conservation protection and/or tourism promotion and development? (SDG 11.4).
- Development of the ‘blue economy’, especially marine renewable energy and its implications for marine and terrestrial planning (SDG 11.4).
- Assess the long-term implications of natural disasters on the coast resulting from climate change for planning policy and building standards (such as wetter and more extreme winters, with severe storm and flood events; rising sea levels, which will exacerbate the height of storm surges together with increased erosion and inundation of low lying land; and hotter and drier summer temperatures with droughts and heat-related mortality [especially amongst the elderly]) (SDG 11.5 and 11b).
- Innovative planning for flood risk and sea level rise adaptation strategies using hard and soft infrastructure (SDG 11.5 and 11b).