Developed within the European Horizon 2020 REST-COAST project, the innovative mobile app provides knowledge on pressing challenges to coastal biodiversity and the potential restoration solutions.
Coastal regions are among the most productive and biodiverse environments, offering essential ecosystem services, such as fisheries and carbon storage, and supporting dense populations, rich cultural heritage, and valuable assets. Yet these vital areas face unprecedented pressures from climate change, human activities and eroded habitat quality. Until recently, coastal management prioritised short-term solutions, operating within fragmented policies and “grey infrastructures”, leaving environmental, social, and economic risks unresolved. The result is declining biodiversity, diminishing ecosystem services, and rising costs, both ecological and financial.
Against this background, the Horizon 2020 project REST-COAST developed a mobile application that translates complex scientific knowledge into an accessible, interactive learning experience. It allows users to explore real-world climate and environmental challenges affecting nine coastal pilot sites, while showcasing how nature-based restoration measures can enhance biodiversity, climate resilience, and socio-economic benefits. As such, the My REST-COAST app serves as a timely solution, empowering stakeholders with the tools and insights needed to support sustainable coastal management, protect natural capital, and make informed decisions for resilient, thriving coastal communities.
Available on Google Play and Apple App Store, the app, designed to raise public awareness and engagement in coastal ecosystem restoration across Europe and Israel, features interactive maps, site-specific biodiversity information, classified environmental threats, and restoration measures grounded in validated project data. Users can navigate through different threat–measure–outcome scenarios and discover how targeted interventions contribute to ecosystem restoration and disaster risk reduction.
Covering nine pilot sites in Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, and Israel, the app offers multilingual content in English and nine national languages, ensuring accessibility and local relevance for diverse audiences. Its intuitive, visually appealing interface is designed for students, public authorities, environmental professionals, tourism services, and interested citizens.
A key element of the app is its gamified learning path, which encourages users to explore restoration strategies and understand their environmental, climate, and socio-economic impacts. The app’s sustainability rating system highlights solutions with high potential for biodiversity restoration, climate adaptation with a focus on Blue Carbon and economic benefits, promoting informed reflection on nature-based solutions.
My REST-COAST demonstrates how digital tools can bridge the gap between science and society by encouraging users to explore real restoration scenarios. The app fosters understanding, dialogue, and engagement around coastal resilience.
This project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Innovation Action under grant agreement No 101037097.