RECONCILING WITH THE PACIFIC, TRUJILLO COAST RESTORATION, PERU

Vulnerable shoreline communities in Trujillo have already faced tsunamis, floods, and storms that are likely hit hardest by climate change.

Additionally, port infrastructures and sea-level rise cause coastal erosion flooding neighborhoods, transport infrastructure, and other critical services, as well as destroying wetlands. Furthermore, mining, agricultural and industrial wastewater discharges have made the shoreline and the Moche River one of the most polluted areas of the Peruvian coast. To protect Trujillo's communities from these devastating impacts, and enable coastal ecosystems to survive and thrive, the project relies on four strategies:

1. Prevent coastal erosion. A massive sand human-made deposition would form dune ecosystems and beaches through marine currents and the wind while providing access to the shoreline and protecting the infrastructure and neighborhoods.

2. Reduce water pollution in both the river and the coast. Yacu Motor or water motors, a proposed system of wetlands, would transform both the river and wastewater treatment plants, into green-blue corridors that provide public space, store and filter water through phytodepuration processes of native species.

3. Enhance the biodiversity of the disturbed ecosystems by enlarging and redefining both the natural and artificial wetlands, which would host an immense variety of species and their dynamic relationships.

4. Strengthen the relationship within the city and its ecosystems. Proposed bike paths and pedestrian corridors would connect and access the series of public and recreation spaces introduced, hence engage the communities to preserve the region's natural landscapes.