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COAST-SCAPES Project Secures EU Funding: A New Opportunity for Coastal Resilience Research

11 Mar 2025

A new research project, COAST-SCAPES, has recently been approved for funding under the EU Mission Adaptation to Climate Change. Titled “Rethinking COASTal landSCAPES with climate-resilient interventions: systemic land-to-sea solutions”

Mekong River at Can Tho, Vietnam

© Liang Emlyn Yang, 30. Sept. 2023

A new research project, COAST-SCAPES, has recently been approved for funding under the EU Mission Adaptation to Climate Change. Titled “Rethinking COASTal landSCAPES with climate-resilient interventions: systemic land-to-sea solutions”, this ambitious initiative has been awarded an impressive 8.92 million Euros in funding. Coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Spain), the project unites a consortium of 31 international partners to develop innovative strategies for enhancing coastal resilience across Europe and beyond.

LMU’s key role in COAST-SCAPES

LMU München plays a pivotal role in this groundbreaking project. Dr. Liang Emlyn Yang from the Department of Geography leads Work Package 4 (WP4), titled “Replication and transfer of systemic resilience-through-adaptation scalable plans”. This work package focuses on knowledge exchange and comparative analysis of coastal resilience strategies and practices, aiming to create scalable and transferable solutions for coastal regions worldwide.

LMU’s involvement is supported by a 500,000 Euros share of the total budget, which will fund two researcher positions over the project’s four-year duration. This contribution underscores LMU’s commitment to advancing cutting-edge research in climate resilience.

A global perspective: The Vietnamese Mekong Delta

A standout feature of LMU’s contribution is the inclusion of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) as a comparative case study. Dr. Yang successfully advocated for integrating international coastal regions beyond Europe, ensuring a truly global perspective. The VMD, a region highly sensitive to climate change, will serve as a networking coastal case, with Can Tho University in Vietnam as a key partner.

This comparative study aims to foster knowledge exchange between European and non-European coastal regions, enriching the project’s outcomes and ensuring that resilience strategies are adaptable to diverse contexts. By bridging local and global insights, LMU is helping to shape a more inclusive and impactful approach to coastal resilience.

Project kickoff expected in September 2025

The Grant Agreement is currently being discussed and compiled by all consortium partners. More preparations are now underway, with the official kickoff scheduled for September 2025. Over the next four years, the COAST-SCAPES team will work collaboratively to develop and implement systemic solutions for coastal resilience, addressing the urgent challenges posed by climate change.

COAST-SCAPES represents a major step forward in climate resilience research, bringing together expertise from academia, industry, and policymakers. Dr. Yang and the Department of Geography invite colleagues and researchers to engage with the project and explore potential collaborative opportunities. If you have questions or would like to get involved, please feel free to reach out at climate.resilience@lmu.de