This review explores the potential synergies between marine conservation and climate adaptation strategies, which are critical for addressing climate change impacts in European coastal and marine areas. The article, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, identifies and evaluates integrated approaches that support both marine ecosystem protection and climate adaptation.

On 14 November 2024, the district of Wittmund (Lower Saxony, North Sea coast, Germany) hosted a workshop addressing key challenges at the intersection of marine and coastal protection, sustainable tourism, and climate adaptation. For the first time, marine protection will feature as a dedicated focus in the district's climate protection and adaptation concepts, reflecting a progressive approach to tackling climate impacts in the North Sea region.

On 10 December 2024, the Ecologic Institute and AquaEcology, on behalf of the German Environment Agency (UBA) under the MEER:STARK project, hosted a workshop exploring the critical role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in climate adaptation and marine resilience. The online event brought together leading experts to discuss innovative strategies, cutting-edge research, and cross-sectoral approaches for strengthening marine protection in the face of climate change.

The poster ‘Synergies and Strategies for Marine Protection and Climate Adaptation’ presents key results and approaches of research on the integration of marine protection and climate adaptation. It shows how these two areas can be linked in order to effectively meet the challenges of climate change in marine and coastal ecosystems.

On 4 July 2024, an expert dialog on nature-based coastal protection took place at Ecologic Institute in Berlin. This event was intended to foster cross-sector dialogues between experts from different fields and thus contribute to the further development of nature-based coastal protection in order to meet the challenges of climate change and protect biodiversity in coastal regions.

The first expert dialogue as part of the MEER:STARK project was held on 21. November 2023 at the IOW in Warnemünde. Around 30 participants discussed the topic of "Resilience and Climate Adaptation for the North and Baltic Seas and their Estuaries" at the expert dialogue. The aim of the expert dialogue was to initiate a discussion and develop recommendations for action for climate adaptation measures and the protection of seas, coasts and estuaries. A special feature of the expert dialogue was the cooperation between the MEER:STARK project and the BluEs project.

The aim of the project, in short: 'Resilience and Climate Adaptation for North and Baltic Sea', is to develop concrete, cross-sectoral proposals for measures to strengthen marine protection and climate change adaptation. These proposals are to build on the field of action "Seas and Coasts" in the German Adaptation Strategy (DAS) and the Adaptation Action Plan and support the German government's planned marine strategy. Furthermore, the project is fundamentally intended to promote cross-sectoral dialogue on marine protection and climate change adaptation at national, European and regional level.