During last month’s partner event, we braved towering waves, gusts of wind and a thrilling train ride to visit two of our pilot locations. Here we learned more about these pilots and how Nature-based Solutions are used to tackle the challenges of today’s North Sea Region. The LKN.SH brought us on a field trip to one of the Halligen Islands in Germany, and the Danish Coastal Authority took us to our pilot site “Lodbjerg-Nymindegab”. Our team members Luisa Rieth (LKN.SH) and Nikolai Sørenson (Danish Coastal Authority) are keen to take you on a (virtual) recap.
Hallig Nordstrandischmoor
A ‘Lore’ (a small train that travels on a dam in the Wadden Sea) took our participants to our first destination: Hallig Nordstrandischmoor. This is one of the 10 Halligen Islands which are part of our German pilot in Schleswig-Holstein. The Halligen are small marsh islands which get inundated regularly. Luisa: ‘That’s important for their surface growth. But lately this growth cannot keep up with sea level rise. Therefore, it’s crucial to find sustainable, tailored and accepted measures together with communities, NGO’s, science and authorities so that the Halligen can keep pace with rising sea levels in the future.’
‘Our pilot shows that together with local knowledge and technical expertise it’s possible to find good fitting and sustainable Nature-based Solutions (NbS) or hybrid measures for each region’, Luisa adds. The field trip demonstrated to the participants that upscaling co-designed small-scale measures tend to have much less resistance and often lead to far-reaching solutions.
Lodbjerg–Nymindegab
We continued our trip on a 110 km stretch along the west coast of Jutland. Exposed to the energetic North Sea, this pilot site showcases more than 150 years of coastal management where nature-based solutions (NbS) have been the governing solution since 1983. Nikolai Sørenson of the Danish Coastal Authority tells us about this unique location: ‘This site demonstrates a range of approaches: hard (grey) structures, NbS such as sand nourishment, hybrid solutions, and areas where natural retreat is accepted. The diversity within a relatively small stretch highlights how risk levels, coastal dynamics and morphology, and management strategies vary significantly.’
The field trip illustrated that NbS can be effective and scalable also when combined with hard coastal protection methods. It also emphasized the importance of collaboration between state authorities, municipalities, landowners, and contractors. Which can be key elements for mainstreaming NbS approaches like this.
The field trip also illustrated the full force of the North Sea. The group experienced wave heights reaching up to 6.5 m, average winds of up to 18 m/s, and gusts exceeding 25 m/s. Nikolai: ‘This made it clear how extreme the conditions can be and why robust coastal management is essential.’
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