Protected coastal areas (PCAs) provide a multitude of ecosystem functions and services able to improve the delicate ecological balance and human well-being (Rousseau and Deschacht, 2020; Samuelsson et al., 2020). They are essential for reducing the effects of climate change through the protection of coasts from erosion and of the hinterlands from storm surges, flood events, and extreme winds (Yáñez-Arancibia and Day, 2004; Spalding et al., 2014; Epanchin-Niell et al., 2017; Littles et al., 2018; Ferro-Azcona et al., 2019). Thanks to the presence of a rich biodiversity, these areas reduce greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering and storing large amounts of carbon, help to improve water quality, and regulate water availability through filtration, groundwater renewal and maintenance of natural flows (Spalding et al., 2014; Epanchin-Niell et al., 2017; You et al., 2018).

At the same time, PCAs are places of interest for tourism and for recreational and leisure activities, thus contributing to the socio-economic growth of entire territories (You et al., 2018; Zhai et al., 2020).

In many cases PCAs host lowland forests that act as windbreaks (You et al., 2018), preventing sand and marine aerosol from reaching agricultural land and plantations, and thus enabling their use.

In the past few decades, PCAs have been subjected to serious threats deriving mainly from climate change which, together with an increase in intensity and a reduction in the duration of rainfalls, higher temperatures, and the rise of sea level, favours a rapid alien species invasion (Epanchin-Niell et al., 2017) and coastal habitats fragmentation and loss (Yu et al., 2017; You et al., 2018).

Other stressors are related to human activities represented by urban expansion, agricultural production, industrialization, mining, tidal flat farming, development of tourist infrastructures, logging, and land reclamation, which have caused phenomena of marine pollution, soil degradation, loss of biological diversity, and reduced resilience of coastal communities (Kim et al., 2017; Yu et al., 2017; Adhikari and Hansen, 2018; Xie et al., 2018; You et al., 2018; Zhai et al., 2020).

Hence the importance of implementing actions to safeguard and redevelop PCAs in order to ensure the continuous supply of ecosystem services, prevent biodiversity loss, and achieve sustainable and integrated management of landscapes and natural resources, according to the goals outlined by the Agenda 2030, the Treaty 2002/413/CE ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management), the Directive 2008/56/CE (Marine Strategy Framework Directive, MSFD), the Commission Decision 2010/477/UE, and the Directive 2014/89/UE (Maiolo et al., 2020).

In the ongoing discussion on the need for a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the time is ripe for showcasing the essential role of PCAs in maintaining biodiversity, and promoting global human health should be deemed essential. It is equally important to remember that the protection of natural capital, including ecosystem resilience and regeneration, biodiversity protection and adaptation to climate change, can also be an economic multiplier (Hepburn et al., 2019). Investments in nature-based solutions can foster long-term health and promote job creation (Hockings et al., 2020). In the last few years, the number of research papers on coastal restoration has considerably grown (Zhang et al., 2018), together with the many restoration projects implemented worldwide (Bayraktarov et al., 2016), many of which are centred on the return to a condition of the ecosystem as close as possible to the original one. However, these restoration activities might not be entirely feasible in the future due to various obstacles, such as climate change and anthropic activities (Hobbs and Norton, 1996). In addition, empirical research and experimental tests over recent decades have demonstrated that incorporating indirect positive interactions among transplants and between foundation species can increase ecosystem resilience (Zhang et al., 2018). Therefore, ecological engineering is focussing on restoring habitats in a sustainable manner, taking into account both man and the environment, especially in places where human pressure is greater (Mitsch, 2012). In particular, the coastal protection infrastructures are considerably growing and will continue to do this according to the increase of populations and related intensification of hazards (Scyphers et al., 2011; Hinkel et al., 2014). However, the downsides of common coastal armouring strategies (e.g., seawalls, revetments, groins) also need to be considered: habitat loss (Titus, 1998), lower floral and faunal biodiversity (Gittman et al., 2016), and depressed socio-economic resilience (Smith et al., 2020), especially due to their expensive maintenance cost. In this view, ecosystem-friendly alternatives to traditional coastal defence structures are emerging, such as natural and nature-based infrastructure (Sutton-Grier et al., 2018), nature-based solutions (Nesshöver et al., 2017), hybrid infrastructure (Sutton-Grier et al., 2015), ecosystem-based coastal defence (Temmerman et al., 2013), soft ecological engineering (Strain et al., 2019), and living shorelines.

The substitution of hard structures with environmentally-friendly interventions and nature-based infrastructures (NBS), after having properly analysed the bio-geomorphic feedbacks concerning the ecosystems, is thus fundamental in order to create a more sustainable coastal economy (Speybroeck et al., 2006; Warnken and Mosadeghi, 2018; Ružic et al., 2019). Even the high cost involved in the use of NBS and their potential failures need to be taken into account, together with the specific nature of the area to be restored (Maiolo et al., 2020).

In addition to the NBS there are various measures of environmental improvement such as a correct landscape conservation design, dune, beach and shore face nourishments, re-location and retreat from coasts or decision support tools (Powell et al., 2019). The correct landscape conservation design is addressed to the habitat migration and to the extension of protected areas. These actions allow coastal habitats to: respond dynamically to sea level rise; secure additional long-term protection of habitat for fish, plants, and wildlife (Morelli et al., 2016); reduce habitat loss and degradation; maintain the diversity of habitats; facilitate shifts in species’ range, distribution, phenology and adaptation in response to changing conditions by providing corridors for migration and dispersal (Bartuszevige et al., 2016); secure freshwater and sediment inflows.

Dune, beach and shore face nourishments have been termed an environmentally friendly alternative to hard coastal protection structures, such as groins, revetments or breakwaters (Schoonees et al., 2019; Staudt et al., 2021). Unlike hard structures, these “soft” or “green” measures are believed to adapt to rising sea levels or changing sea states, and do not lead to scour or erosion of down drift beaches (Dean, 2002; Bird and Lewis, 2015). Beach nourishments increase the beach volume and can be used to restore or create new habitats for coastal and marine flora and fauna, such as seabirds, sea turtles etc. (Jones and Mangun, 2001; Van Egmond et al., 2018).

Re-location and retreat from coasts (e.g., shoreline setbacks and rolling easements) help protect coastal ecosystems by reducing anthropogenic impacts such as from structures that inhibit dynamic responses of habitats (e.g., shoreline armouring) and from runoff that can increase water pollution. They also enable the natural migration of the shoreline up to a point by reducing impediments from the built environment, if based on long-term estimates of erosion or sea level rise, and reserve habitat for vulnerable species, such as by prohibiting new development or construction within a certain distance from the coast. Lastly, decision support tools that allow managers to integrate and continuously update predictions of risk from climate change, land use, and human population growth projections can increase the effectiveness of different natural infrastructures and support short- and long-term biological, cultural, social, and economic goals (e.g., Bartuszevige et al., 2016; Powell et al., 2019). Some management options (e.g., retreat from coasts and open space preservation) could focus on risk reduction by moving people and property out of harm’s way, often with economic incentives like flood insurance discounts. When combined with other zoning and land use protections, these actions could create the secondary and tertiary benefits of increasing the persistence and resilience of natural habitats and species. For example, managing lands after the re-location of people or infrastructure in the coastal zone could enable the natural migration of coastal systems as needed in response to the relative sea level rise.

It often happens that restoration actions are carried out on an area with minimal or no knowledge of the natural resources state or how plant and animal species react and adapt to climate changes and human activities, as well as of what kind of interventions can reduce land degradation and biodiversity loss (DeAngelis et al., 2020; Binley et al., 2021). Unfortunately, the lack of funding has progressively reduced the monitoring activities both before and after the implementation of preservation projects and plans, allowing for only small-size interventions in limited areas (maximum 350 acres), and so reducing their efficacy (DeAngelis et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2020).

In this context, the main goal of the present paper is to illustrate a proposal of a detailed monitoring activity and an ecological restoration plan in a protected area located on the Ionian coast (southern Italy) in order to allow the conservation and provision of ecosystem services and to improve the resilience of coastal habitats. The case study is Pantano forest of Policoro where continuous phenomena of intensive deforestation, hydraulic reclamation actions, and fires have reduced the native species of particular naturalistic value, favouring the advancement of desertification, coastal erosion, and saltwater intrusion.

The proposed actions are derived from a preliminary analysis on maps, UAV-images, climate data, and from meetings with the local community. In this direction, a process involving the population has been set in motion, aiming at choosing and sharing environmental recovering actions and interventions leading to a River Agreement (Antunesa et al, 2009; Voghera, 2020). This will allow strengthening people’s bond with nature and thus their commitment to the environment (Camargo et al., 2009; Aceves-Bueno et al., 2015; Jakobcic and Stokowski, 2019), since the local community would be more aware of the actions to be adopted for the sustainable management of their own territory. This way, conflicts between the different stakeholders would be reduced and the conservation programs could benefit long-term (Cooper et al., 2007; Aceves-Bueno et al., 2015).

The operative process detailed in this article could be applied to other protected areas which are subjected to the same phenomena and problems.

The preliminary analysis described above showed the presence of worrying phenomena such as desertification, coastal erosion, and saltwater intrusion. As regards the presence of the seawater intrusion in the study area, the analysis of the concentration maps of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), groundwater electrical conductivity, and of the ions present in seawater generally indicated that seawater contamination is relevant along a strip of land stretching for 2.5-3 km from the coastline inwards. The highest concentrations above 1000 mg/L have been recorded near the shoreline along rivers. One of the causes of this phenomenon is that in the altimetrically depressed areas during the periods of low pressure and absence of runoff, seawater through the high tides rises up the river beds and infiltrates the aquifers (Polemio et al., 2003).

Consequently, it is strongly advised to intervene before the progress of these phenomena completely compromises the habitats and biodiversity of the area. For this reason, a new planning of actions that would contribute to the upgrading of aspects related to the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems is required.

Various meetings in the area, involving various stakeholders, allowed addressing some actions and interventions in order to recover and enhance the environment and landscape, while favouring the socio-economic growth of the territory at the same time.

These meetings are part of a bottom-up participation process started in 2019 by the consortium FLAG Coast to Coast within the local development operational program EMFF (European Maritime and Fisheries Fund) 2014-2020 Basilicata, leading to the Sinni River Agreement.

River Agreement (RA) represents an innovative governance model that can help in the drafting of potential plans and practices for a sustainable management of fluvial territories (Antunesa et al, 2009; Voghera, 2020). It is an advanced form of negotiated planning that involves social actors in order to: improve people’s knowledge of existing territorial conditions and the effects of human activities; increase social awareness; include society in the identification and implementation of solutions; encourage innovative changes in setting objectives and urban and architectural design, starting with the legal and planning framework of an Action Plan. In other words, RA allows the development of a convergence and coordination between bottom-up and top-down strategies and practices, as well as an integration between multi-level and multi-scale actions carried out by the main actors in the territorial systems.

The Sinni River Agreement is aimed at giving value to the fluvial and coastal landscape and achieving the delicate balance between the exploitation of natural resources for socio-economic development and the conservation of ecosystem services needed for community well-being.

Currently, about 60 actors among public and private entities have joined forces: 16 municipal administrations of the concerned river basin; 1 regional tourism promotion company; 1 national park, 7 trade organisations; 26 associations; 4 companies; and 3 schools.

So far, a first document has been drawn up detecting 4 macro-sectors such as Environment, Identity, Landscape and Local Development, which correspond to medium-long term interventions for the achievement of the objectives of the European strategy: Safety and Prevention of Hydraulic Risk and Hydrogeological Disruption; Improvement of the river state ecology; Sustainable use of resources, Sustainable development, Territorial identity and landscape enhancement, Protection of ecosystems and biodiversity; Protection of groundwater and surface water resources ( Figure 11 ).

Within each macro-sector, the actions indicated in Figure 12 are aimed at: improving the health of the rivers and surrounding areas; the rediscovery and enhancement of the historical and cultural heritage of the area; reconstituting the link between inland and coastal areas; the sustainable use of soil and natural resources; the diversification of production processes; reversing the trend of migration of young people; and generating wealth from the redevelopment of rural areas.

The proposal described below belongs to the macro-sector Environment and considers an integrated monitoring activity on hydraulic, hydro-geological, geomorphological, ecological and landscaping aspects, in order to have detailed knowledge of the area and a first ecological restoration plan.

The present paper reports an improvement action plan, which should be implemented at the Pantano forest of Policoro, a protected area located on the Ionian coast of southern Italy, in order to stop the biodiversity loss and fragmentation of habitat.

The study area has a high biodiversity and is rich in habitats. In fact, it shows 27 species of fauna of community interest according to the Habitat Directives (42/93/EEC) and the “Birds” Directive (79/409/EEC) and, in particular, 21 species of birds, 2 of mammals, 2 of reptiles and 2 of invertebrates.

According to the analysis on maps, UAV images and climate data, described in this paper, for years the area has been subjected to desertification in the hinterland, with a drastic reduction in soil fertility, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion. These phenomena have led to a significant disappearance of the retro-dune plants, exposing the pioneer maquis to the negative effects of the marine spray and winds and to the growth of invasive alien species, which threaten the biodiversity and ecological integrity of the autochthonous vegetation. The past reforestation projects addressed to the reconstruction of the dunes and the planting of native species along the coast did not have a significant effect on the prevention of the coastal erosion and biodiversity loss, having concentrated only in some areas.

Various meetings on the area, involving over 60 actors among public and private entities and aimed at reaching a River Agreement, have underlined the need for a more detailed knowledge of the area and the realisation of a first ecological restoration plan.

Therefore, the present work illustrates some actions that can help improve the resilience of coastal habitats, reduce desertification, coastal erosion, and saltwater intrusion phenomena, as well as contribute to the enhancement of an area, so favouring its socio-economic growth.

In particular, a detailed monitoring activity addressed to the analysis of the hydraulic, hydro-geological, geomorphological, ecological and landscaping aspects will be fundamental to identify and fill any gaps in knowledge that are relevant to saving threatened species and habitats (Knight et al., 2008).

Census activities on tree and floristic species should be carried out to provide insights on the potential ecological consequences of the change, and help decision makers determine how management practices should be implemented. They should include advanced and recent methodologies, such as the next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques (Hajibabaei et al., 2011; Mardis, 2013; Van Dijk et al., 2014; Fadiji and Babalola, 2020; Arora and Tollefsbol, 2021), and the backward interpretation of orthophotos (Walz, 2008; Malavasi et al., 2013; Acosta and Ercole, 2015), in order to investigate how the different habitats have been influenced by the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities and, thus, to identify the actions of different habitats adaptation to the main environmental factors. At the same time, water discharges and quality parameters measurements should be performed within groundwater and surface water, in order to know their behaviour towards the external stressors and evaluate their resilience (Hanckmann et al., 2022; Leal et al., 2022; Parizi et al., 2022; Suponik et al., 2022). At present, there are still significant data gaps and the existing ones have provided only qualitative assessments rather than quantitative evaluations. This issue is mainly due to the limited research funding. The first findings of this monitoring activity suggested an ecological restoration plan that prioritises the recovery of coastal sand dunes, rather than other land uses. This type of ecological restoration plan could be implemented through a project aimed at eliminating alien vegetation, planting native species to stabilise sandy soil, protecting inland areas from sea currents and winds with windbreak barriers in semi-rigid natural and degradable material (wood and reeds), and reducing the trampling phenomenon by swimmers through the building of elevated walkway and fences. Cleaning and re-naturalisation of the existing drainage canals are also predicted both on the banks and in the riverbed, with techniques at low environmental impact, and the recovery of a lake connect with the drainage canals and the natural hydrographic network to facilitate the repopulation of fauna and flora and to create a reserve of freshwater in order to hinder the intrusion of the saline wedge.

The ecological restoration plan is a long-term strategic task. In an era of climate change, rapid coastal population expansion, and habitat degradation, restoration is becoming an increasingly important strategy for combating coastal biodiversity loss and maintaining ecosystem services. The most recent contribution in literature on the ecological restoration refer to the resilience of vegetated coastal dunes (Figlus et al., 2014; Silva et al., 2016; Ajedegba et al., 2019) and to hybrid coastal protection structures (Spalding et al., 2014; Figlus et al., 2015). A recent systematic review shows how most studies on the implementation of ecological restoration plans are performed in North America, with about eighty-three percent, followed by 11% in Asia and 7% in Europe (Smith et al., 2020). In Italy, although coastal dunes are among the most threatened environments, especially during summer due to intense trampling and degradation by uncontrolled access of tourists, few are the areas subjected to suitable restoration plans.

For example, in two pilot field studies in the Salento coastal area, south of Italy, an innovative mineral grout colloidal silica-based consolidation technique for coastal sand dunes was tested (D’Alessandro et al., 2020). This ecological restoration demonstrated to be more resilient to near-surface wind effects and/or minor storms events, to reduce the volume of dune erosion and the dune scarp retreat rate, to favour the vegetation growth, and to be at zero impact on the environment. The latter is very important for tourism and recreational purposes.

A second example is the plan of coastal protection at Calabaia Beach, located in the Marine Experimental Station of Capo Tirone (Cosenza, Italy). It consists in planting Posidonia oceanica meadows beyond the groynes, which serve as lung, larder, nursery of the sea and as a shelter where several marine species can thrive. The main purpose of this intervention is to reduce the effects of waves and currents (Maiolo et al., 2020).

The last example is the foredune restoration along the North Adriatic Italian coast (Della Bella et al., 2021). This consolidation was achieved through the plantation of seedlings of focal species (i.e., C. arenaria subsp. arundinacea) produced from local germplasm. The Authors have demonstrated that, after a one year-long monitoring activity, human disturbance can significantly affect the sustainability of foredune restoration already in the earliest stages, limiting the survival and growth of both transplanted and spontaneous seedlings. The only passive conservation measures (e.g., closure of accesses and no entry areas) are not enough to ensure restoration success. They should be combined with a correct management of the area, including a strict control of touristic fluxes through the design of appropriate accesses to the beach (fences, boardwalks, etc.) accompanied by information panels (Acosta et al., 2013; Muñoz-Vallés and Cambrollé, 2014; Prisco et al., 2021). Furthermore, an early-stage awareness campaign and educational activities are necessary to stimulate a pro-environmental behaviour and lead visitors to act in a way that benefits the natural environment, or at least does not result in adverse environmental impacts (Kim, 2012).

Compared to the three examples here reported, the plan described in this paper is more than a simple ecological restoration action, representing a whole sustainable and integrated approach including the monitoring activity, coastal protection interventions, and community involvement at the same time. As underlined in the last example, in fact, an ecological restoration plan is not successful without the involvement of the local population. Close cooperation and joint efforts between the local administrators and citizens are thus necessary. Information and education activities can serve to improve knowledge of coastal lands and to foster consciousness of the need for their protection (Jiang et al., 2015). Moreover, the participation of stakeholders in coastal management may help solve funding problems in order to improve the methodology and applications of success evaluation of landscape-scale restoration (Zhao et al., 2016). In fact, an innovative and advanced governance method such as the River Agreement, involving the main institutional and social actors of the territory, is being built in the study area in order to drive the development and realization of interventions and actions focused on improving ecosystem services, increasing the land resilience, and favouring the sustainable management of natural resources.

What has been presented in this paper is justified by a current context in which most countries of the world, in response to COVID-19, are investing great amounts of money in sustainable management of protected areas. According to Kroner’s analysis (Kroner et al., 2021), the ‘Next Generation EU’ recovery package proposes to allocate € 215 billion of its stimulus funds (30% of the total € 714 billion) to green initiatives, of which € 10 billion for “natural capital and circular economy” (other funds would support decarbonisation, green infrastructure and renewable energy). It also specifies ‘do no harm’ environmental safeguards. The recovery package would help to implement the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, fostering the protection of at least 30% of Europe’s lands and seas in effectively managed protected areas, as well as sustainable agriculture by reversing the decline of pollinators and reducing the use of dangerous pesticides. The recovery plan in Italy foresees about € 60 billion for the green revolution and the ecological transition, part of which will be allocated to sustainable management and increasing the resilience of the territories.

In conclusion, these proposed actions could be funded under the post-COVID-19 recovery plan, in an effort to both conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services as well as remediate degraded natural habitats. Some of the secondary effects could be promoting job creation and favouring fair employment, while providing an opportunity to test innovative approaches and tools in order to elaborate a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and successful responses to the global crises that are happening at an accelerating pace.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

DM was in charge of the conception and design of the work and supervised the data analysis and interpretation. RD and GS performed data analysis and interpretation. All authors wrote the manuscript, read and approved the submitted version.

This research has been supported by the MIUR PON R&I 2014–2020 Program (project MITIGO, ARS01-00964).

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.