Ocean Recovery
Conference 2022

Programme

9.30 - 9.55
Keynote 1 - Ministerial Presentation - Minister Rebecca Pow, Defra

Chair: Charles Clover, Blue Marine Foundation 

10.00 - 11.15
Session 1 - Coastal Governance

Chair: Amy Pryor, TEP & Coastal Partnership Network

Objective: To provide an update on major projects which are seeking to improve coastal governance.                 

Championing Coastal Coordination – The 3C’s project – Damian Crilly, Environment Agency

One Coast and levelling-up Britain’s periphery – Nicola Radford, Coastal Communities Alliance

Barriers to Diversity – Surshti Patel, ZSL

Progressing National Marine Parks – Natasha Bradshaw, Blue Marine Foundation
& Kathryn Deeney, Plymouth City Council

11.25 - 12.40
Session 2 - Adapt or Die – different perspectives of coastal adaptation

Chair:  Rachael Hill, Environment Agency

Objective: The impacts of climate change at the coast are very evident now and so how we invest, design and engage communities in adaptation will be a growing challenge – for us all.

Coastal Adaptation – the national picture – Karen Thomas, Head of Coastal Partnership East & Adaptation Lead, LGA Coastal SIG

Coastal Voices – a community view of erosion and adaptation – Sharon Bleese, Coastal Partnership East

Design Solutions – an architects view – Robert Barker, Director – Stolon Solutions

Coastal Adaptation & Nature-based Solutions – Emily Cunningham, Lead Officer of the LGA Coastal SIG

12.40 - 13.10
Lunch Break
13.10 - 14.25
Session 3 - The legal & political context for the next decade

Chair: Chris Tuckett, Marine Conservation Society

Objective:  To highlight a number of key points of the political agenda which are setting the context for the work in the coastal and marine environment.

The thin green line: the laws to restore nature? – Richard Benwell, Wildlife & Countryside Link

Water pollution out of control in our rivers and coasts – back to the bad old days – Hugo Tagholm, CEO, Surfers Against Sewage

The Office for Environmental Protection OEP – Natalie Prosser, interim CEO, OEP

14.35 - 15.50
Session 4 - Restoring Estuarine and Coastal Habitats (REACH) – Progress

Chair: Roger Proudfoot,  Environment Agency

Objective: To illustrate progress with examples of practical habitat restoration and nature-based solutions

Progress with seagrass restoration in West Wales – Dr Richard Unsworth, Swansea University

Tees Tidelands – Zahra Ravenscroft, Environment Agency

The Sussex IFCA Nearshore Trawling Byelaw: An Ecosystem Approach To Management – Tim Dapling, Chief Fishery Officer, Sussex IFCA & Professor Peter Jones, University College London

How Healthy is Chesapeake Bay After Three Decades of Restoration Efforts and Why – Rich Batiuk, Co -Founder Coastwise Partners

16.00 - 17.15
Session 5 - Innovation in practice

Chair: James Bussell, Natural England

Objective: to understand and reinforce what innovation is and provide some practical examples from four sectors where innovation is happening.

Innovation in nature conservation – if you’re not innovating you have a problem – Chris Davis, Natural England

Greening the recreational boating sector from vessels to infrastructure – Phil Horton, Environment & Sustainability Manager, RYA

Ports as hubs for sustainability as well as trade – innovation, investment and action – Alex Pepper, Senior Policy Lead, ESG, UK Major Ports Group

Developing youth programmes & building capacity  – Mhairi McCann, Founder & CEO of Youth SYEM 2030

17.25 - 17.50
Keynote 2 - The evolution of protected species mitigation associated with offshore wind energy development in the US: the past, present and future - Dr. Mari Smultea, CEO/Chief Scientist Smultea Sciences

Chair: Olivia Thomas, The Crown Estate