Our Coastal Futures: a Strategy for the Sustainable Development of the World's Coasts

At the interface between land and sea, hundreds of millions of people already face increasing pressure from population growth, unsustainable development, and escalating disaster risk as the climate changes and sea levels... [ view full abstract ]

At the interface between land and sea, hundreds of millions of people already face increasing pressure from population growth, unsustainable development, and escalating disaster risk as the climate changes and sea levels rise. Our Coastal Futures (OCF) is a new strategy of Future Earth Coasts mobilizing collective action to unlock regionally appropriate opportunities for the sustainable development of our shared coasts and progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. It is a new global approach to: (a) enable regional stakeholders and institutions to develop a common understanding of their coasts and future prospects; (b) chart desired futures and co-produce innovative pathways to achieve those desired outcomes. This strategy complements and helps to integrate many initiatives that extend from local to global scales. Future Earth Coasts provides access to a growing network of coastal researchers and their connections with a diversity of coastal stakeholders worldwide. The OCF strategy works through co-design and co-production of situational knowledge and innovative pathways, involving local and indigenous knowledge-holders, representatives from the private sector, media, government and non-government organizations, with the support of credible coastal scientists and the international donor and development community. OCF pilots initiated in the Arctic and the western Indian Ocean illustrate the diversity of regionally tailored approaches. Through consideration of alternative coastal futures, OCF facilitates the development of strategies that can be implemented sequentially, reviewed, and modified over time, while building the capability of the people and institutions that guide how we use coastal resources and sustain our coasts and coastal communities.