Marine and coastal ecosystems are under growing pressure. Across Europe, habitats such as seagrass meadows, oyster reefs and salt marshes have been degraded or lost, affecting biodiversity, food security, and the resilience of coastal communities. While the scale of decline is serious, efforts to restore these environments are gaining momentum.
This year, the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme is expanding its commitment to marine restoration. Seven new projects, covering nearly 3 million hectares, are joining existing initiatives in the Solent and along Türkiye’s Turquoise Coast.
“We know the challenges facing our seas, but we also have solutions,” says Berry Mulligan, Seascapes Programme Manager. “This is a chance to act decisively, to restore lost habitats, strengthen resilience and support heathier marine ecosystems. At the mid-point of the UN Ocean Decade and the UN Decade on Restoration, there’s no time to waste.”
To mark World Oceans Day, we asked members of our Oversight and Selection Panel to reflect on the changes they are seeing in three of Europe’s key marine regions: the Baltic, the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean. From the shore, the sea can seem flat and uniform, but each of these regions has unique characteristics that present specific challenges and opportunities for restoration.
The Baltic: A sea enclosed, stressed, and slowly recovering
Surrounded by nine countries and home to over 85 million people, the Baltic Sea is one of the world’s largest brackish water bodies — and one of the most fragile. “It’s shallow, geologically young and nearly enclosed,” says Ottilia Thoreson, a senior analyst at the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. “That makes it uniquely sensitive to environmental pressures.”
Ottilia is a member of the Oversight and Selection Panel for the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, where she brings decades of experience in marine conservation across the Baltic region. She previously led WWF’s regional Baltic Sea programme and has spent her career working on policy, marine protection and cross-border cooperation.
Decades of pollution and overuse have pushed the Baltic to the brink — but Ottilia believes there is still a path to recovery.
How has the Baltic Sea changed, and what are the biggest threats?
Over the past few decades, this delicate ecosystem has undergone profound changes due to pollution, eutrophication, overfishing and climate change. Agricultural runoff, untreated wastewater and industrial discharges have led to large ‘dead zones’ with dangerously low oxygen levels. Maritime traffic, fishing and coastal development have caused further strain, disrupting food webs and threatening biodiversity. These impacts have affected millions who rely on the sea for their livelihoods, food, recreation and cultural identity. In some countries, small-scale fisheries are a dwindling sector, as there are no longer fish to catch or process in local harbours.
Looking ahead, what gives you hope for the Baltic Sea’s recovery?
Despite the challenges, there are reasons for cautious optimism. Regional cooperation through bodies like HELCOM, the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, has led to tangible improvements, including reduced nutrient loads and signs of recovery in some fish stocks. Innovations in sustainable shipping, nature-based solutions, and growing public awareness are contributing to renewed momentum.
Projects such as mussel farming to remove local nutrients, the expansion of marine protected areas, and the introduction of cleaner port technologies all point towards a healthier future. The Baltic Sea remains at risk and, in some areas, is close to catastrophic ecological tipping points. But if collective action continues and science-based policy is strengthened, recovery is still possible.
The Northeast Atlantic: Complex, diverse, and under sustained pressure
The Northeast Atlantic spans from cold northern waters to the warmer Iberian coast, encompassing thousands of islands and some of the most ecologically rich coastlines in Europe. “The Northeast Atlantic is an intriguing and beautiful part of the world to study as a marine biologist or scientist. We have an incredible archipelago of oceanic islands across Macaronesia, from the Azores down to the Cape Verde Islands, combined with thousands of coastal islands lying off incredibly complex coastlines, abundant with estuaries, fjords, lochs and lagoons,” says Professor Joanne Preston, a leading expert in coastal restoration at the University of Portsmouth.
Jo is a member of the Oversight and Selection Panel for the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, and scientific monitoring lead for the Solent Seascape Project. She has dedicated her research to understanding and restoring the function of marine biogenic habitats, such as oyster reefs and seagrass meadows, across complex seascapes.
How has the Northeast Atlantic changed, and what are the biggest threats?
The Northeast Atlantic has changed beyond recognition over the past few centuries, shaped by long histories of coastal development and industrial activity. In the last 50 years, overfishing, land reclamation and pollution, especially nutrient inputs, have had some of the most significant impacts. Harmful algal blooms and mats now affect mudflats, saltmarshes and seagrass beds.
We have lost more than 99 per cent of native oyster reefs, over half our seagrass and saltmarsh, and large areas of kelp forest. These losses have weakened food webs and made ecosystems less resilient. With them go the nursery grounds and feeding areas that support coastal fisheries. Climate change is intensifying these pressures through sea-level rise, stronger storms and heat extremes.
This also reduces the coastline’s ability to buffer erosion, support fisheries and maintain water quality. Destructive practices like indiscriminate dredging, even within protected areas, continue to cause damage. The loss of habitats such as saltmarsh also carries a catastrophic climate cost. Between 2000 and 2019, global saltmarsh decline was responsible for an estimated 16.3 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year.
Looking ahead, what gives you hope for this region?
My hope, which sometimes wanes, is based on the understanding that none of this is impossible. We know what we need to do. We know that nature can recover. We understand these ecosystems and have the knowledge and skills to restore what we have lost, whether by removing pressures or replanting damaged habitats.
Time and again, people have achieved extraordinary things. We have landed on the moon, explored deep ocean canyons, repaired the hole in the ozone layer, and developed life-changing medicines and vaccines. But until we fully recognise that we are part of nature, and entirely dependent on it, we will continue to undervalue what the ocean provides, both socially and economically.
The coastal seascape is a dynamic boundary where marine, terrestrial and human systems interact. It offers a clear opportunity to restore and strengthen ecosystem integrity and resilience for the benefit of both people and planet. To achieve a healthy ocean, and to meet climate and biodiversity goals, we need to restore multiple habitats at large scale. This is the essence of seascape restoration.
By restoring food webs and improving biodiversity, we can also recover the ecosystem services we depend on, such as carbon storage, coastal protection and improved water quality. These benefits rely on a healthy and connected set of coastal habitats, maintained by the natural flows that link them.
The Mediterranean: Ancient, rich, and under growing strain
The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most biologically rich and culturally significant marine regions in the world. It makes up less than one per cent of the global ocean by area, but supports around 11 per cent of known marine species. Of the 17,000 species identified, up to 30 per cent are found nowhere else.
“Around its 46,000 kilometres of coastline, across 22 countries and three continents, the Mediterranean has shaped civilisations for millennia,” says Aniol Esteban, Director of the Marilles Foundation. A marine biologist and environmental economist, Aniol has worked for over two decades to connect nature and economic policy. “The Mediterranean is not only a hotspot for biodiversity, it’s also a cradle of cultures.”
One of its defining features is the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, an endemic species to the Mediterranean forming meadows that are more than 5,000 years old. In the Balearic Sea alone, over 400 fish species have been recorded, including five newly described in the last 35 years. Half of Spain’s remaining seagrass is found in the Balearics. However, effective protection is still limited. Only 9 per cent of Mediterranean waters are formally designated as protected, and many of these sites provide little effective protection in practice..
“There’s clear evidence that when marine protected areas are well managed, they bring major benefits,” Aniol says. “One study in Mallorca by the Marilles Foundation showed that for every euro invested in an MPA, ten euros are returned to the local economy.”
How has the Mediterranean changed, and what are the biggest threats?
The Mediterranean has faced many pressures, but the scale of change in recent decades is particularly striking. It is now one of the most overfished seas in the world, with around two-thirds of stocks overexploited. Vulnerable species have declined sharply. Hammerhead sharks are estimated to be at just one per cent of their historical population. Sawfish have been extinct in the region for over a century.
Coastal development, urbanisation and tourism continue to rise. In 2019, the Mediterranean welcomed over 400 million international visitors. That figure is expected to reach 500 million by 2030. As human activity increases, so do pressures on marine biodiversity.
Perhaps the most urgent threat is warming. The Mediterranean is heating almost twice as fast as other oceans. Each year brings more episodes of mass coral mortality, especially in the first 15 metres of depth. Warmer waters are also accelerating the spread of invasive species, with serious ecological consequences.
Looking ahead, what gives you hope for this region?
Those of us working in the business of change tend to be optimistic by nature. Despite the scale of the challenge, there is new momentum in the Mediterranean. When conservation is done well, it works. We have seen the recovery of bluefin tuna stocks, and growing numbers of monk seals. In the Balearics, fishing fleets that reduced effort and supported protected areas are now seeing better catches and higher profits.
Marine protected areas, when managed effectively, are delivering more fish, greater diversity and larger individuals. If we can achieve the 30 by 30 target — with at least 10 per cent of the sea as no-take zones — the results could be transformative. Crucially, this would also make the region more resilient to the uncertainties of climate change.
I am also encouraged by how well civil society is now working together. Platforms like the show that coordination is improving, and this is attracting attention from funders. The Mediterranean has shifted from being seen as a lost cause to a place with real potential. With the right investment, we can protect what remains and recover what has been lost.
Action for change
Restoring Europe’s marine and coastal environments is no longer a distant goal. It is a necessary response to centuries of ecological decline, and one that is beginning to gain
The seven newly funded projects build on existing efforts to restore at scale, bringing coordinated action to rebuild habitats, improve ecological connectivity and strengthen protections across Europe’s marine and coastal environments.
Recovery is achievable when action is grounded in science, shaped by local context and supported over the long term by solid partnerships
“There’s real urgency, but also real momentum,” says Berry Mulligan. “We know that if we reduce pressure and restore key habitats, marine ecosystems can respond surprisingly quickly. This is our chance to show what’s possible when marine restoration is properly supported”.
The path to recovery is clear. With continued investment and cooperation, Europe’s seascapes can support a more sustainable future for people and nature alike.
