SustainMV 2026

Focus topic: Coastal Futures – Building Sustainability on Regional Potential

With its long Baltic Sea coastline, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is home to one of the most important coastal areas in Germany. The region is an important economic and living space—characterised by tourism, fishing, port industry, and, increasingly, renewable energies such as offshore wind power. At the same time, dunes, lagoons, and protected areas are particularly valuable ecologically and shape the region’s natural and landscape areas.

Also in a global context are coastal areas of increasing importance: they are centres of high biodiversity, comprise some of the largest marine protected areas and provide food for more than three billion people. This opens up opportunities for sustainable development, for example, through nature-friendly tourism, the protection of ecosystems and renewable energies. At the same time, they face challenges such as climate change, sea level rise, coastal erosion and growing conflicts over land use. According to estimates, up to 70% of the world’s population are expected to live in coastal regions in the next 50 to 100 years. Sustainable development therefore requires integrated strategies that combine nature conservation, economic use and climate adaptation.

SustainMV addresses these issues and uses the example of the Baltic Sea coast to bring together ecological, economic and social perspectives in order to analyse challenges and discuss interdisciplinary approaches that are not only relevant for a sustainable development of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern but also for coastal regions worldwide.