Coastal Habitat Conservation - Chapter 7 - The ecological restoration: A way forward the conservation of marine biodiversity

The loss of marine biodiversity is now widely described. Given the complexity of the marine environment, it is difficult to curb because the damage is sometimes irreversible, such as the artificialization of the coastline. Marine Protected Areas present part of the solution, especially with no take zone, but they are not sufficient. Ecological restoration can then take over under certain conditions. When pressures are removed or sufficiently reduced, technical solutions based on species or on habitats have been developed for about 10 years. The synergy between the scientific research and private companies has enabled the development of effective and validated tools, especially in coastal areas where the loss of biodiversity is maximum. In this chapter, we recall the definitions of ecological restoration and present concrete actions carried out on species and habitats. There is still a lot of development and scientific studies to be carried out to enrich the restoration toolbox.