European workshop on coastal risks: the IRICOT project in Brussels

In a context where climate change is increasing risks for maritime regions — sea level rise, flooding, coastal erosion — strengthening resilience and adaptation strategies is a priority at all levels of governance.

This event brought together specialists from 7 countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Portugal, and France) representing institutes, research infrastructures, and universities, as well as representatives from the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region, to discuss the challenges related to coastal risks in the context of climate change.

The discussions aimed to address three main questions:

• What scientific barriers need to be overcome to improve the understanding of coastal risks and their anticipation?
• Which public policies need to be developed or strengthened to better adapt to these risks?
• How to structure an integrated research approach at the European level?

These discussions laid the groundwork for drafting a position paper on structuring European research on coastal risks, emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach co-developed with managers and decision-makers. They also highlighted the need to strengthen modeling approaches, long-term observation, management and decision-support tools, interdisciplinarity, as well as the definition of an integrated European strategy.

List of participants: Arjen Luijenkijk (Deltares /TU DELFT) Dano Roelvink (IHE Delft and Deltares), Annelies Bolle (IMDC), Joris Vanlede (Flanders Hydraulics), Nassos Vofeidis (Kiel University), Javier Benavente (University of Cadiz), Svetlana Jervrejeva (National Oceanography Center), Susana Costas (Univ. Algarve), Annaig Le Guen (CNRS/ IR ILICO), Nathaniel Bensoussan (IFREMER/JERICO), Jeanne Dachary-Bernard (INRAE), Philippe Quevauviller (AFPCN), Delphine Jouvin (Region Nouvelle Aquitaine), Antoine Videau (Region Nouvelle Aquitaine), Goneri Le Cozannet (BRGM), Thomas Dewez (BRGM), Cyril Mallet (BRGM), Aldo Sottolichio (Université de Bordeaux) et Vania Ruiz Gonzalez (Université de Bordeaux).