The future of coastal lagoons and why that matters

Important work of coastal researchers

In March 2022, Dr Sian Davies-Vollum presented an online webinar for the Institute of Environmental Sciences entitled “The future of coastal lagoons and why that matters”. The webinar is based on work that has come out of the development of the Resilient Lagoon Network, that Sian co-leads and which is funded by a Global Challenges Research Fund grant. The network brings together coastal researchers from UK, Ghana, Benin and Nigeria and was developed to link researchers, policymakers and practitioners to lagoon communities, providing a platform to share experiences and understand key challenges.

The webinar was recorded and is now available on Youtube. 

Webinar Summary

Lagoons provide an array of fundamental resources and ecosystem services that are necessary for the wellbeing of coastal communities in many parts of the world. However, the sustainability of lagoons and communities who rely on them are under increasing pressure from a complex set of interconnected issues. These are particularly acute in the global south where the impacts of sea level rise and climate change are compounded by increasing coastal populations, unsustainable resource use, habitat fragmentation, and environmental degradation. This webinar looks at the current state of coastal lagoons and offers opportunities to address the issues they face, with a focus on coastal lagoons in West Africa.