The global flood protection savings provided by coral reefs

Nature Communications
2018
Beck, Michael W.; Iñigo, J. Losada; Menéndez, Pelayo; Reguero, Borja G.; Díaz-Simal, Pedro; Fernández, Felipe
PublisherNature
Source N/A
Volume / Issue9
Pages N/A
Total Pages9 pages
Article Link
ISBN N/A
DOI10.1038/s41467-018-04568-z
Editor(s) N/A
Conference / Book Title N/A
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Tagsengineering; natural hazards; ocean sciences
Other N/A
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Conference Date N/A
Publication DateJune 12, 2018
Article Date N/A
GS Citation N/A
AbstractCoral reefs can provide significant coastal protection benefits to people and property. Here we show that the annual expected damages from flooding would double, and costs from frequent storms would triple without reefs. For 100-year storm events, flood damages would increase by 91% to $US 272 billion without reefs. The countries with the most to gain from reef management are Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico, and Cuba; annual expected flood savings exceed $400 M for each of these nations. Sea-level rise will increase flood risk, but substantial impacts could happen from reef loss alone without better near-term management. We provide a global, process-based valuation of an ecosystem service across an entire marine biome at (sub)national levels. These spatially explicit benefits inform critical risk and environmental management decisions, and the expected benefits can be directly considered by governments (e.g., national accounts, recovery plans) and businesses (e.g., insurance).
Created: 7/30/2018 10:37 AM (ET)
Modified: 7/30/2018 10:37 AM (ET)
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