Webinar: The importance of saving coastal ecosystems

Restoration, revitalization and protection of mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows

Coastal ecosystems are of paramount importance in many ways. They represent one
of the most biodiverse places on earth: 90% of all maritime species are at home in
coastal areas – and 90% of marine fishery is dependent on them. Furthermore, coastal
wetlands such as salt marshes, seagrass meadows and mangroves play an important
role in the protection against the impacts of floods: they protect coasts from erosion
and can provide flood plains. Lastly, coastal wetlands are able to sequester and store
carbon dioxide.

However, due to land use change, the modification of coastal waterways, water
management and other influences, coastal wetlands are degrading and decreasing
rapidly. Nature-based solutions, such as a sustainable use of these ecosystems or the
enlargement of flood plains, can contribute to the protection of existing coastal
ecosystems as well as to the restoration of degraded ones.

Therefore, the fifth CITIES TALK NATURE webinar focuses on coastal habitat
restoration and revitalization.

- Francisco Martínez Vázquez, Wildlands Conservation Manager,
WILDCOAST, will share with us his experience as head of the WILDCOAST
Mangrove Recovery Program in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

- Dr. Finn Andreas Viehberg, Head of the WWF-office Baltic Sea, will share
his practical experiences in the implementation of coastal protection measures,
such as the renaturation of polders and salt marshes. Furthermore, he will
present ways municipalities can take to support the protection of coastal
ecosystems. The event is free of charge and is being held in English and Spanish, translation is provided.

The webinar is part of the CITIES TALK NATURE events of the INTERLACE project.
INTERLACE aims to empower and equip European and Latin American cities to
effectively restore and rehabilitate (peri)urban ecosystems towards more liveable,
resilient and inclusive cities. CITIES TALK NATURE offers a series of events to create
and promote learning and cooperation between municipalities, their stakeholders and
initiatives in Latin America and Europe.

CITIES TALK NATURE is facilitated by a unique cooperation between the Latin
American Federation of Cities, Municipalities and Associations of Local Governments
(FLACMA) and the National Union of Local Governments (UNGL), as member of
FLACMA as well as Climate Alliance (CA) and United Cities and Local Governments
(UCLG). It was developed within the INTERLACE project, funded by the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

If you're interested in this event, register here!