Reflecting on the Coastal Futures Conference

By Athena Allen, Marine Ecologist

Three weeks after the annual marine professionals’ pilgrimage to the Royal Geographical Society in London for the Coastal Futures Conference (delivered by Ocean and Coastal Futures ), our marine team have summarised their thoughts and feelings on the content delivered over the two day event. 

This year’s conference theme focused on one of the most hotly debated current topics in the environmental field – the path to 2030. From the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to the North-East Atlantic Environment Strategy 2030, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Climate agreement, 2030 is a deadline etched across environmental policy in the UK and beyond. The conference therefore aimed to cover major themes on this topic in the estuarine, coastal, and marine sectors, to see where we stand just 5 years from 2030.

The conference began with an opening address from Emma Hardy MP, Minister for Water and Flooding which emphasised the government’s focus on promoting sustainable energy and reaching 2030 targets, whilst recognising that this will be no mean feat. This sentiment was echoed by the first keynote speaker, Michelle Willis - Acting CEO of the Marine Management Organisation, who promoted the need for transformation in order to hit 2030 targets. 

The conference was divided into six sessions: land-sea interactions, sustainable seas, across the water, ocean stewardship, future fishing, and restoring nature. Each session was followed by a panel debate with some of the leading experts in the relevant fields. As usual, the quality of the talks delivered by the speakers was incredibly high. Some of the notably captivating talks reported by our marine team include a presentation from Dialogue Matters about the language used when discussing the transformation to sustainability and a talk from the Sea Rangers Service in the Netherlands which combines social science and marine restoration. Both talks provided a notably fresh perspective on the challenges we face in reaching environmental targets in the next 5 years.

The overwhelming message from the conference was that of a need for immediate action. It has been proven time and again by marine professionals across the UK, Europe and the globe how it is that we need to change, and the time has come for these changes to be delivered. It was repeated many times during panel debates and with discussions with colleagues in the networking breaks that we must not let perfection get in the way of progress, and that although we do not know everything about how to move towards sustainability, we certainly know enough to make a start. 


Photo: Left: Athena Allen (Marine Ecologist), Middle: Sarah Fowler (NB Director), Right: Lissa Batey (Senior Marine Ecologist)

Our marine team were busy at the conference, with Lissa Batey (Senior Marine Ecologist) presenting a poster on our work with the German Government on CITES-listed shark species under the across the water conference session, and Athena Allen (Marine Ecologist) nominated for the Bob Earll Award for early career recognition. Here is a quote from each of them about their time at the conference: 

“Networking and catching up with everyone was brilliant, as always, especially so for me this year in my new role at NatureBureau. The quality of the speakers was very high as to be expected, but there was a lot of talk about the process of acting and not a lot about how, when or by whom!” - Lissa

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Coastal Futures 2025. It was great to meet up with colleagues in the field, network with fellow nominees for the Bob Earll award and meet university students to speak about Early Careers. The take home lesson is clear, less talk and more action!” - Athena