"Sea level rise and coastal flooding from storms mean that we need to take action to protect coastal communities,” says Dr Suzana Ilic, from the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University. ”An important way to do that is to use natural protection that adapts to the changing environment.”

Suzi has been appointed an independent member of the North West Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, which was set up by DEFRA to develop strategies for managing the risk of flooding and coastal erosion, working across local authorities, Natural England and other interested parties.

Suzi is keen to use the learning she has gained from leading a long-term research project investigating coastal processes and erosion at Cleveleys beach, on the Fylde coast near Blackpool.

“I’ve been studying how beaches respond to wave and tidal processes to understand better how the whole system works naturally. I’ve also been looking at manmade structures like sea walls, breakwaters and groynes, investigating how we can change these structures and deploy them to make the smallest possible impact on the natural environment.

“A lot of areas around the North West, like Fylde, Morecambe and Blackpool, are quite low level and so, with sea level rise accelerating due to climate change, we need to find ways to protect these communities.

“I want to encourage the Committee to look beyond manmade flood barriers to explore solutions such as creating new salt marshes, making spaces to safely hold excess water and changing the ways we build and plan our towns and cities in the future.

“This obviously needs to involve working with the people whose land would be affected, to find out what their priorities are and to communicate possible solutions to them.”

Suzi hopes to build on her experience working with local authorities in the North West and recently with the Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group in Cleveleys while working on the Coast Watchers project.

More recently she has been collaborating with researchers and local governments in Croatia, her home-country, to establish coastal monitoring. “It is really important that the research we do in universities is applied and shared at a local level. What really motivates me is working with committee members evaluating coastal problems and developing possible solutions based on evidence from research and most importantly building together sustainable resilient coastal communities.”