Sustainable and Resilient Coastal Cities (SARCC)

The overall objective of SARCC is to help mainstream nature-based solutions (NBS) into coastal management and policy making, whether that is as stand alone projects or NBS-hybrids, where they are integrated into existing grey infrastructure and flood defences. The project builds the capacity of urban leaders, decision-makers and officers involved in coastal flood defences to deploy NBS and understand the additional benefits that they offer in comparison to traditional grey infrastructure.

Essentially the project aims to enable the Urban Partners to embed new techniques, methodologies and practices into coastal management and planning policies and demonstrate the value of NBS and share this knowledge with other coastal urban landscapes across the 2 Seas Programme area. SARCC aims to develop a mechanism to positively engage local communities that are involved in public consultations, highlighting the value/benefits of NBS to coastal communities and supporting the approval process for the investment.

Expected project outputs are:

• New Framework and Monitoring Tool for the selection of the most suitable nature-based solutions to deploy along coastal urban landscapes;
• Four Nature-Based Solution Capacity Programme to engage with urban decision-makers, leaders and officers involved in coastal management;
• A Visualisation Toolkit for local stakeholders (citizens, businesses) to support the approval of Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Management;
• To deploy a series of 8 Nature-Based Solution Investments, highlighting added value in comparison to traditional grey infrastructure;
• To Mainstream Nature-Based Solutions into long-term coastal management strategies of the Urban Partners.