The FAST approach fuses recent advances in integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), climate change adaptation and the application of ecosystem services concepts into a next generation software package for foreshore management based on the unprecedented spatio-temporal coverage of the ambitious European Earth Observation Programme Copernicus (www.copernicus.eu).

Using an agile development approach end-users will cooperate throughout the entire project, providing input into the selection of case study sites, fieldwork, algorithm development and strategies to ensure the long-term sustainability of the service (presently code named MI-SAFE).

The FAST approach consists of the following activities:

1. Linking data from satellite images to the biophysics of coastal wetland systems (WP3 and WP4).

2. Developing generic algorithms for the classification of coastal wetland characteristics on satellite images (WP3).

3. Linking biophysical characteristics of coastal wetlands to wave and/or flow attenuation and erosion/deposition patterns for different water levels and wave heights/flow speeds through field measurements (WP4).

4. Translating the effects of foreshores and floodplains on waves/flow and stability into impacts on engineering requirements for flood safety infrastructure (WP5).

5. Developing a service for the improvement of flood and erosion risk management strategies in coastal wetlands, including a prototype user-friendly software tool (MI-SAFE) where linkages between biological and morphological features of foreshores/floodplains and requirements for flood safety infrastructure are automated (WP5).

6. Ensuring end-user commitment and involvement in a user-driven approach to product design and implementation, relying on interactive consultation and regional workshops (WP5).

7. Dissemination of results and activities of FAST project (WP6).