The impact of coastal realignment on the availability of ecosystem services: gains, losses and trade-offs from a local community perspective.

Coastal realignment is the procedure of repositioning or removing coastal defense structures to restore tidal flooding and facilitate the development of intertidal ecosystems in a previously reclaimed area from the sea. A key policy objective of coastal realignment is to increase ecosystem services provided by intertidal ecosystems and thereby contribute to human well-being. However, the social response to coastal realignment is often negative, raising the question as to what extent communities living nearby project locations recognize, value and benefit from the goods and services provided by restored intertidal ecosystems.