Climate Change Adaptation through ecologically sensitive coastal infrastructure (Ecostructure)

Ecostructure aims to raise awareness of eco-engineering solutions to the challenge of coastal adaptation to climate change by providing developers and regulators with accessible tools and resources, based on interdisciplinary research in the fields of ecology, engineering and socioeconomics. Ecostructure aims to promote the incorporation of secondary ecological and societal benefits into coastal defence and renewable energy structures, with benefits to the environment, to coastal communities and to the blue and green sectors of the Irish and Welsh economies. Ecostructure is an operation to be delivered directly by an interdisciplinary partnership bringing together expert staff from five leading research-intensive universities in Wales and Ireland.

The principal outputs of Ecostructure are stakeholder-focused tools and resources, designed to raise awareness and facilitate uptake of opportunities to employ coastal eco-engineering solutions to climate change adaptation.  Each output is accompanied by a targeted awareness-raising initiative, using social media, fact sheets, e-newsletters and Ecostructure’s own innovative GIS-based information gathering and transfer mechanism to connect with potential end-users.