Oceans and coastal areas are globally utilized as a source of food, energy and raw materials, as a transport route and for tourism. These activities are encompassed in the term Blue Economy. The Blue Economy is one of the fastest growing economic branches worldwide. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, however, its sectors were severely disrupted, experiencing significant decreases in revenues. The direct consequences and response measures to combat the pandemic, as well as how both affect vulnerability and equity in coastal regions and their Blue Economy and the potential for recovery, have so far been insufficiently researched and consequently cannot be fully exploited. Therefore, the overall goal of the collaborative project "Towards a green and inclusive post-pandemic recovery of the Blue Economy and coastal communities (RRR-Coast)" is to provide science-based guidance for post COVID recovery of coastal communities by investigating three main aspects:
i) the socio-economic impacts brought by COVID-19 on their communities,
ii) how these responded to the crisis
iii) what elements of resilience can be identified in their response to the pandemic that could be considered efficient to further support and transfer to other regions, and to minimize future crises
