Building Coastal Resilience, Naturally
October 19, 2022
Kraw Lecture Series on Science and Technology
Climate-related coastal disasters increasingly strain state and national budgets and most of these funds support artificial infrastructure that further degrades nature. Professor Mike Beck shows that coastal habitats can be cost effective for building climate resilience. He outlines how with a little disaster jiu-jitsu we can turn a grave threat to nature into an opportunity to save it.
OPC Prop 68: Nature-based Adaptation Solutions
August 24, 2022
Ocean Protection Council
This Prop 68 project uses complex computational models for the SF Bay to evaluate current and future flood risk. By modeling increases in sea-levels and storms, the team can assess the consequences of increased flooding to people and property, but also assess how ‘restored’ wetland habitats adjacent to development in low-lying areas can reduce flooding risk. Similar models are used to assess how management choices and other adaptation solutions can mitigate other climate impacts, such as wildfires, drought, and extreme heat.
Rethinking How Disaster Money is Spent
August 19, 2021
LA Times
Federal money to restore coastal areas hit by hurricanes and other disasters doesn’t cover the loss of natural assets like coral reefs. UC Santa Cruz marine scientist Michael Beck says it’s time to change that.
Flood Risk & Benefits: Nature-Based Solutions
May 18, 2022
InsuResilience Global Partnership
There is growing recognition of the role of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction, but despite mounting evidence of their technical efficacy, NbS face sizeable challenges and barriers to adoption, one of those being lack of clarity on how to quantify NbS benefits, leading to a failure to account for the true value of the generated benefits. This workshop organized by the InsuResilience Global Partnership contributes to a better understanding of the quantification of NbS in order to estimate the benefits of Nature-based Solutions and price them accordingly.
Restoring and Enhancing Reef Communities
February 4, 2022
Healthy Oceans Forum
In this session of the Asian Development Bank Healthy Oceans Forum, Dr. Michael Beck sets the scene by providing an overview of the latest science, trends, and technologies for building coastal resilience to reduce risk to people, property and nature. He highlights the need to integrate nature-based solutions for coastal resilience, and the need for “green” rather than “grey” solutions.
Value of US Reefs for Flood Risk Reduction
April 5, 2021
Coastal Resilience Lab
Coral reefs in the US prevent flooding to 53,833 people, economic damages by $5.3 billion, and additional flooding of 113 km2 (28,000 acres, 43.6mi2) of land for the 100-year storm. If 1m of reefs are lost, 100-year flooding zones increase by 23%, impacting 62% more people, 90% more property and increasing damages by $5.3 billion.
Can Disasters Save Habitats? UCSC EEB Seminar
January 29, 2021
UCSC Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Mike Beck, AXA Chair in Coastal Resilience at UC Santa Cruz presents on "Can Disasters Save Habitats: The Ecology, Engineering and Financing of Natural Coastal Defenses" for a Seminar with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz
Coastal Resilience Lab Approach
December 1, 2020
Coastal Resilience Lab
The Coastal Resilience Lab works to reduce risks to people, property and nature; find out more at at https://coastalresilience.ucsc.edu.
Reducing Caribbean Risk with Mangroves
October 21, 2020
Coastal Resilience Lab
This is a video abstract about a report by the UCSC Coastal Resilience Lab along with The Nature Conservancy and the global insurance firm AXA on Caribbean risk: Opportunities for cost effective Mangrove Restoration and Insurance.
How Reefs Protect Us: The Benefits of U.S. Reefs
July 20, 2020
US Geological Survey
This video illustrates how scientists quantify coastal flood protections afforded by coral reefs, a main focus of an ongoing, collaborative effort between scientists at USGS and the Coastal Resilience Lab at UCSC. To learn more about this collaboration, please visit: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/how-our-reefs-protect-us-valuing-benefits-us-reefs
Understanding the Protective Value of Nature
July 15, 2020
National Wildlife Federation
A Discussion of the Science Behind the Effectiveness of Natural Infrastructure for Hazard Risk Reduction. Zoom webinar hosted by the National Wildlife Federation.
How Do Humans Depend on Coral Reefs?
December 28, 2018
Cal Academy of Sciences
We worked with Cal Academy on their planetarium video on the value of coral reefs, which featured a high res visualization of our storm wave models in Mexico. Half a billion people rely on coral reefs for food and income. But reefs provide more than food. They also provide protection.
