ENDURE aims to improve adaptation capacity to climate change by focusing on 2 Seas coastal sand dunes. We will increase the capacity of 2 Seas stakeholders to apply ecosystem-based management approaches, decreasing reliance on hard engineering interventions. We will draw from crossborder expertise to inform & supply new purpose-developed solutions to answer real world dune management problems occurring now under climate change. Our Partnership has been carefully constructed to include the national/regional/local partners needed to really drive through change into clear improvements in dune management across the 2 Seas. We will collaborate to capitalise on the best knowledge & expertise available across the Member States. We will work to improve & restore the ecosystem ability of dunes to act as adaptive, living sea defences for a coastline which is more naturally resilient to erosion, flooding & sea level rise.

We focus on tangible benefits to 110km/25% of 2 Seas coastline & 3302ha dunes via 6 new ecosystem-based solutions. These intelligent & inspiring outputs will increase dune resilience & reduce damage caused by coastal flooding & erosion, saving €314 million compared to hard engineering solutions & offering sustainable protection to people & assets on the 2 Seas coast.

• Sand trapping nets to nourish dunes
• Mussel farming posts to reduce erosion/increase nourishment
• Proactive & strategic approach to access control to prevent erosion damage
• Mapping tool to visualise benefits of different dune management approaches (hard engineering vs. ecosystem-based)
• Early warning system to ID dunes most vulnerable to climate change effects before large scale damage occurs
• Tool to assess if buildings on dunes have positive or negative impacts
• Support stakeholder capacity building via peer-led active learning, training & mentoring, embedding new knowledge & confidence to apply project outputs

The 2 Seas area has the most extensively dune-protected coast in Europe. Coastal dunes behave as a single natural system & are indifferent to political borders. Climate change operates on a global scale & its impacts do not stop at national borders. Poor dune management or climate change adaptations in one country will negatively impact on the adjacent country. Despite clear need for cooperation, dune management usually occurs in isolation at an ad-hoc local level & does not cross borders. We do not currently make best use of existing high concentration of dune management & scientific expertise within the 2 Seas. We do not effectively share assets/ideas & transnational scientific expertise is not reaching dune managers on the ground. A collaborative approach is crucial to combat the current system of isolated working. Our coastlines are shared & this must be reflected in our ways of working to secure dune adaptive capacity & ensure resilience to climate change impacts into the future.