Eco Marine recently attended the 30th annual Coastal Futures conference which took place at the Royal Geographic Society in London in January 2023. The conference delivers a comprehensive annual review of coastal and marine activities and developments, both briefing and pointing to future trends for practitioners. Presentations and discussions were held by both public and private sector industry specialists and focussed on our ocean and coastal future for the next decade.
Talks that were given covered a broad range of topics including ‘Balancing Act: Strategic compensation and spatial prioritisation’ and ‘Delivering Marine Restoration: Net gain, blue carbon, restoration and rewilding’ which were particularly valuable with discussion around the future of compensation sites in the UK and how we will prioritise the seabed as a range of industries are being developed there. The conference also provided the first opportunity to convene in person since 2020 and so it was great to see some familiar faces.
A primary take home message was that action to conserve our marine habitats, species and resources needs to happen now. We look forward to seeing the progress made due to this vital discussion facilitated by the conference.
