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Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes

Richard Unsworth Orcid Logo, Leanne C. Cullen-Unsworth, Emma Fox, Benjamin L.H. Jones, Flo Taylor, Sue Burton, Jetske Germing, Ricardo Zanre

Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures, Volume: 4, Pages: 1 - 19

Swansea University Author: Richard Unsworth Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1017/cft.2025.10021

Abstract

Near-shore marine habitats are well-documented as diverse and productive social-ecological systems; their degradation and loss have led to growing interest in marine restoration. However, the literature offers limited consideration of the interactions between these projects and stakeholders and loca...

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Published in: Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures
ISSN: 2754-7205
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71190
first_indexed 2026-01-05T11:59:15Z
last_indexed 2026-01-30T04:30:45Z
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We present a case study showing how a stakeholder engagement strategy ultimately led to the co-production of a marine restoration project among scientists, stakeholders and local communities. Alongside biological recovery, we present the complex social, logistical and ecological lessons learned through this stakeholder engagement strategy. Principally, these relate to how the success of the project hinged on the point at which the project was co-developed with the input of local communities and strategic stakeholders, rather than in a disconnected, independent manner. This project demonstrates that for marine restoration to truly be successful, projects need to engage and work with local people from the outset, through open and early stakeholder engagement and particularly with the people possibly impacted by its presence. Projects need to be created not just for ecological design but also to be relevant and beneficial to a wide range of people. 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spelling v2 71190 2026-01-05 Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes b0f33acd13a3ab541cf2aaea27f4fc2f 0000-0003-0036-9724 Richard Unsworth Richard Unsworth true false 2026-01-05 BGPS Near-shore marine habitats are well-documented as diverse and productive social-ecological systems; their degradation and loss have led to growing interest in marine restoration. However, the literature offers limited consideration of the interactions between these projects and stakeholders and local communities. We present a case study showing how a stakeholder engagement strategy ultimately led to the co-production of a marine restoration project among scientists, stakeholders and local communities. Alongside biological recovery, we present the complex social, logistical and ecological lessons learned through this stakeholder engagement strategy. Principally, these relate to how the success of the project hinged on the point at which the project was co-developed with the input of local communities and strategic stakeholders, rather than in a disconnected, independent manner. This project demonstrates that for marine restoration to truly be successful, projects need to engage and work with local people from the outset, through open and early stakeholder engagement and particularly with the people possibly impacted by its presence. Projects need to be created not just for ecological design but also to be relevant and beneficial to a wide range of people. What we show here is that co-producing a project with communities and stakeholders can be complex but lead to long-term sustainability and support for the project, with strong ecological outcomes. To achieve this requires an open and flexible approach. Finally, this work showcases how the restoration of marine habitats can be achieved within a social-ecological system and lead to benefits for people and the planet. Journal Article Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures 4 1 19 Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2754-7205 blue carbon; biodiversity; restoration; marine; social science; engagement 1 1 2026 2026-01-01 10.1017/cft.2025.10021 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) WWF International; Sky Ocean Rescue 2026-02-18T09:50:39.6587593 2026-01-05T11:49:34.9826569 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Richard Unsworth 0000-0003-0036-9724 1 Leanne C. Cullen-Unsworth 2 Emma Fox 3 Benjamin L.H. Jones 4 Flo Taylor 5 Sue Burton 6 Jetske Germing 7 Ricardo Zanre 8 71190__36254__21c3c26c4ae94c21860edf03c7033008.pdf 71190.VoR.pdf 2026-02-18T09:43:31.9964477 Output 4210052 application/pdf Version of Record true © The Author(s), 2025. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence. true Eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
title Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes
spellingShingle Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes
Richard Unsworth
title_short Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes
title_full Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes
title_fullStr Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes
title_full_unstemmed Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes
title_sort Coproduction of marine restoration with communities facilitates stronger outcomes
author_id_str_mv b0f33acd13a3ab541cf2aaea27f4fc2f
author_id_fullname_str_mv b0f33acd13a3ab541cf2aaea27f4fc2f_***_Richard Unsworth
author Richard Unsworth
author2 Richard Unsworth
Leanne C. Cullen-Unsworth
Emma Fox
Benjamin L.H. Jones
Flo Taylor
Sue Burton
Jetske Germing
Ricardo Zanre
format Journal article
container_title Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures
container_volume 4
container_start_page 1
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 2754-7205
doi_str_mv 10.1017/cft.2025.10021
publisher Cambridge University Press (CUP)
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
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description Near-shore marine habitats are well-documented as diverse and productive social-ecological systems; their degradation and loss have led to growing interest in marine restoration. However, the literature offers limited consideration of the interactions between these projects and stakeholders and local communities. We present a case study showing how a stakeholder engagement strategy ultimately led to the co-production of a marine restoration project among scientists, stakeholders and local communities. Alongside biological recovery, we present the complex social, logistical and ecological lessons learned through this stakeholder engagement strategy. Principally, these relate to how the success of the project hinged on the point at which the project was co-developed with the input of local communities and strategic stakeholders, rather than in a disconnected, independent manner. This project demonstrates that for marine restoration to truly be successful, projects need to engage and work with local people from the outset, through open and early stakeholder engagement and particularly with the people possibly impacted by its presence. Projects need to be created not just for ecological design but also to be relevant and beneficial to a wide range of people. What we show here is that co-producing a project with communities and stakeholders can be complex but lead to long-term sustainability and support for the project, with strong ecological outcomes. To achieve this requires an open and flexible approach. Finally, this work showcases how the restoration of marine habitats can be achieved within a social-ecological system and lead to benefits for people and the planet.
published_date 2026-01-01T09:50:41Z
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