When it comes to protecting the world’s coasts, the best solutions may depend less on modern infrastructure, and more on rethinking how we value existing natural resources. A new report recommends using engineering and insurance models to re-evaluate the benefits of habitats like mangrove forests and coral reefs, instead of building walls against floods and rising seas.

It is well documented that reefs and mangroves reduce the impact of waves hitting coasts, thus decreasing the risks of flooding and erosion. But until now, the economic argument for investing in such habitats has been less clear. Managing coasts with natural solutions: Guidelines for measuring and valuing the coastal protection services of mangroves and coral reefs seeks to address this evidence gap, and to reorient the cost-benefit analysis between built or “gray infrastructure,” and “green infrastructure” based on environmental processes...

Attached link

Taxonomy

• Coastal Engineering
• Flood Management
• Coastal
• Flood damage
• Coastal Erosion