The Paris Conference of Parties (COP21) agreement renewed momentum for action against climate change, creating the space for solutions for conservation of the ocean addressing two of its largest threats: climate change and ocean acidification (CCOA). Recent arguments that ocean policies disregard a mature conservation research field and that protected areas cannot address climate change may be oversimplistic at this time when dynamic solutions for the management of changing oceans are needed. We propose a novel approach, based on spatial meta-analysis of climate impact models, to improve the positioning of marine protected areas to limit CCOA impacts. We do this by estimating the vulnerability of ocean ecosystems to CCOA in a spatially explicit manner and then co-mapping human activities such as the placement of renewable energy developments and the distribution of marine protected areas. We test this approach in the NE Atlantic considering also how CCOA impacts the base of the food web which supports protected species, an aspect often neglected in conservation studies. We found that, in this case, current regional conservation plans protect areas with low ecosystem-level vulnerability to CCOA, but disregard how species may redistribute to new, suitable and productive habitats. Under current plans, these areas remain open to commercial extraction and other uses. Here, and worldwide, ocean conservation strategies under CCOA must recognize the longterm importance of these habitat refuges, and studies such as this one are needed to identify them. Protecting these areas creates adaptive, climate-ready and ecosystem-level policy options for conservation, suitable for changing oceans.

Because of climate change and the need for sustainable water systems, water management has changed considerably in recent years, from river management to basin management. This change is illustrated for both the main Dutch river system and a small, representative regional water system in the Netherlands. This change results in four major challenges, (1) creating an effective regional administration which functions as a network authority, (2) increasing collaboration with other water managers, (3) increasing efficiency and achieving goals at minimum cost, and (4) communicating in an open manner with stakeholders. The article outlines the way in which water managers try to address these challenges. Special attention is given to the need for increased coordination between environmental policies and water policies.

Many coastlines throughout the world are retreating, as a result of erosion and sea level rise. The damage incurred to property, infrastructure, coastal flood defence, and the loss of ecosystem services and agricultural land have substantial economic repercussions. For many coastal regions located in developing countries, the assessment of the spatial extent of coastal erosion is very time-consuming and is often hampered by lack of data. To investigate the suitability of global open access data for coastal erosion assessments at regional scale six biogeophysical variables (geological layout, waves, sediment balance, tides, storms, and vegetation) were integrated using the Coastal Hazard Wheel approach (CHW). Original datasets with global coverage were retrieved from the internet and from various research institutes. The data were processed and assigned to the CHW classes, so that the CHW method could be applied to assess coastal erosion hazard levels. The data can be viewed in the Coastal Hazard Wheel App (www.coastalhazardwheel.org) that also allows the coastal erosion hazard levels to be determined for each point at coastlines around the world. The application of the CHW with global open access data was tested for the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Colombia and revealed a high to very high erosion hazard along 47% of the Caribbean coast and along 23% of the Pacific coast. The application provides additional information on capital stock near the coast, as a tentative indication of assets at risk. This approach provides a straightforward and uniform erosion hazard identification method that can be used for spatial planning on coastal developments at a regional scale.

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