The loss of habitat is a direct cause of change in coastal ecosystems, and immediately responsible for the loss of marine biodiversity. With ECOncrete we elevate marine infrastructure to create habitat. On this Biodiversity Day we are proud to highlight how we have been ‘part of the plan’ for over a decade, and how we prevent loss of coastal biodiversity and ecosystems with our experience in engineering and marine biology, research and scientific monitoring.
Loss of marine biodiversity is highest in coastal areas largely due to conflicting uses of coastal habitats. With the increase in humans populating coastal areas, concrete based coastal and marine infrastructure (CMI) such as ports, piers, industrial facilities, and coastal defense elements dominate coastal zones worldwide.
ECOncrete’s solutions and technology are part of the plan to halt and reverse this massive and accelerating loss of biodiversity, where for more than a decade we have been building, integrating our technology into infrastructure projects, monitoring the outcomes, collecting reliable data, and changing the way marine infrastructure is built. Instead of building gray, biologically deprived waterfronts and coastlines, we can build with the environment in mind, and create life on concrete.
Each project starts with identifying the local environment’s needs and planning how to facilitate target species by creating favorable habitats for local organisms to thrive. Water-retaining elements, designed niches, tidal pools, overhangs, and caves, allow a diverse ecosystem to thrive on the infrastructure.
The combination of our patented ECOncrete Admixture, optimizing the concrete’s chemical properties to encourage diverse settlement, with nature-inclusive design and engineering, leads to significant enhancement of biodiversity at scale without compromising the structural integrity of the project – be it coastal protection, offshore infrastructure, ports and working waterfronts.
Our technology is optimized and proven to integrate seamlessly with standard construction methods, and meets all structural requirements and standards.
Biological monitoring of infrastructure projects around the world shows ECOncrete’s abilities to create and restore flourishing ecosystems, and to enhance biodiversity on any marine infrastructure – as seen in the image below, taken 27 months post deployment in the port of San Diego. Any marine biologist looking at this photograph will not need further explanation- the once biologically deprived riprap turned into a healthy ecosystem.
ECOncrete is proud to be “part of the plan” of infrastructure construction projects around the world. And with biodiversity becoming a priority in construction today – not only on Biodiversity Day but every day – we are seeing regulators, policy makers, project owners and developers around the world recognizing the feasibility of building infrastructure that is engineered for us AND for the environment. Creating habitat, countering a main cause for the loss of marine biodiversity.
For detailed reports, please contact info@econcretetech.com
For further reading about ECOncrete’s technology and research:
White Paper: Achieving Biodiversity Uplift on Marine Infrastructure
PHYSICAL EVALUATION OF THE HYDRODYNAMIC STABILITY OF AN ECO-ENGINEERED ARMOURING UNIT
Eco-engineering for Climate Change—Floating to the Future
The Design, Production and Validation of the Biological and Structural Performance of an Ecologically Engineered Concrete Block Mattress – A Nature Inclusive Design for Shoreline and Offshore construction
Blue Is the New Green: Eco-engineering for Climate Change
See a selection of case-studies in our website projects section >>