Environmental Science and Sustainability

RRR-Coast

Towards a green and inclusive post-pandemic recovery of the Blue Economy and coastal communities

This project aims to provide science-based guidance for post COVID recovery of coastal communities and sectors of the 'Blue Economy' through a trans-national comparative study across coastal areas in Costa Rica, Germany, Scotland (UK), and the USA. Coastal regions experienced significant drops in numbers of tourists and economic losses for other industries, which all impacted coastal communities. Impacts, responses and their consequences on vulnerabilities and equity in coastal communities, and potential for recovery, are so far under-studied.

The research will:

• Investigate the impacts of COVID-19 and subsequent response measures on the Blue Economy and specifically changing inequalities and vulnerabilities of selected coastal regions as well as their natural environment
• Assess opinions and preferences for recovery in each sector of the Blue Economy
• Investigate current financing as well as regulatory/policy bottlenecks towards a greener/more resilient and equitable future for the Blue Economy
• Characterise key enabling factors across all regions that lead to response performance so as to inform the development of future strategies for a green and inclusive coastal recovery, benchmarked against the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.