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Wetlands

We assess flood risk, the role of wetlands in reducing risk, and solutions to jointly meet wetland restoration, hazard mitigation and adaptation goals.

Image by Waranont (Joe)

How can we protect ecosystems and coastal communities at the same time?

By investing in the conservation and restoration of wetlands, where the benefits exceed the costs.

Learn how this works by following the story of our lab's work on wetland ecosystems below.

Jump to Story Below

A closer look at our paper:

The Global Flood Protection Benefits of Mangroves

Many (>45) 20-km coastal stretches particularly those near cities receive more than $US 250 million annually in flood protection benefits from mangroves.

These results demonstrate the value of mangroves as natural
coastal defenses at global, national and local scales,
which can inform incentives for mangrove
conservation and restoration in development,
climate adaptation, disaster risk
reduction and insurance.

If mangroves were lost, 15 million more people would be flooded annually across the world.

Mangroves Benefits Map 2020.png

More about restoration:

Coastal wetlands significantly reduce
waves and erosion.

Using risk industry models, we show that wetlands provide significant protection from hurricanes.

Mangroves reduce
flood damages from
large storms.

Mangroves in the Philippines protect the most vulnerable people and property.

Mangroves annually reduce risk by $16 Billion for more than 15 million people across 80+ countries.

Wetland restoration is cost effective for flood risk reduction providing $7 in benefits for every $1.

Funds from disaster recovery and insurance can support mangrove restoration for hazard mitigation and climate adaptation.

Our lab's wetlands story:

Wetlands Story

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