Managed realignment in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, German Baltic Coast – An Inventory

Within the ECAS-Baltic project,1 we investigated coastal ecological restoration projects on the German Baltic Coast in the State of Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania. The restoration of near natural coastal hydrological regimes, flood plains and habitats, often involving coastal maanged retreat, is currently being performed for a number of conservation purposes (e.g., climate mitigation, habitat protection and restoration) and contribute to a more resilient coast. The articulation of these closely related goals is an interesting avenue for regional planing and coastal zone management, especially where planed measures are polemic and social acceptance fraught with obstacles. Our goals are: to produce a comprehensive and systematic inventory of coastal restoration projects involving (plans for) MR, to describe the projects identified with a focus on decision-making, planing and implementation, to determine factors that facilitate / hinder their successful implementation, and to reflect on MR potential for coastal zone management and regional planning. We developed a methodology to formalize rich, locally situated empirical data from practitioners to draw lessons learnt from past experiences and identify generic strategies towards resilient coastal land management. We currently have identified 68 projects for the coast of the State of Mecklenburg – Western Pomerania, for which we have collected a range of information. We are in the process of verifying our dataset through iterative expert consultation. Work on our inventory is ongoing and data will be updated until the end of the ECAS-Baltic Project (end of October 2023). Our dataset is currently embargoed, until publications have been approved. After which, the dataset will be made public on this platform.