Advancing Coastal Risk Reduction Science and Implementation by Accounting for Climate, Ecosystems, and People

Frontiers in Marine Science

Steven Schill¹  Gregory Verutes²  Adelle Thomas³  Michele Lemay⁴  Sergio Maldonado⁵  Robert M. Griffin⁵  Brett Lashley⁶  Stacey H. Moultrie⁷  Mary Ruckelshaus⁸  Katie K. Arkema⁸  Katherine Wyatt⁸  Jessica M. Silver⁸ 

[1] Caribbean Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nassau, Bahamas;Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain;Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas;Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, United States;Natural Capital Project, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States;Office of the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas;SEV Consulting Group, Nassau, Bahamas;School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States;

关键词: coastal protection;    coastal habitats;    coastal hazards;    ecosystem services;    social vulnerability;    sea level rise;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmars.2019.00556

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Climate change and population growth are degrading coastal ecosystems and increasing risks to communities and infrastructure. Reliance on seawalls and other types of hardened shorelines is unsustainable in an era of rising seas, given the costs to build and maintain these structures and their unintended consequences on ecosystems. This is especially true for communities that depend on coastal and marine ecosystems for livelihoods and sustenance. Protecting and restoring coral reefs and coastal forests can be lower cost, sustainable alternatives for shoreline protection. However, decision-makers often lack basic information about where and under what conditions ecosystems reduce risk to coastal hazards and who would benefit. To better understand where to prioritize ecosystems for coastal protection, we assessed risk reduction provided by coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass along the entire coast of The Bahamas, under current and future climate scenarios. Modeled results show that the population most exposed to coastal hazards would more than double with future sea-level rise and more than triple if ecosystems were lost or degraded. We also found that ecosystem-based risk reduction differs across islands due to variation in a suite of ecological, physical, and social variables. On some populated islands, like Grand Bahama and Abaco, habitats provide protection to disproportionately large numbers of people compared to the rest of the country. Risk reduction provided by ecosystems is also evident for several sparsely populated, remote coastal communities, which in some cases, have large elderly populations. The results from our analyses were critical for engaging policy-makers in discussions about employing natural and nature-based features for coastal resilience. After hurricanes Joaquin and Matthew hit The Bahamas in 2016 and 2017, our assessment of coastal risk reduction and the multiple benefits provided by coastal ecosystems helped pave the way for an innovative loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to the Government of The Bahamas to invest in mangrove restoration for coastal resilience. This work serves as an example for other regions and investors aiming to use assessments of ecosystem services to inform financing of natural and nature-based approaches for coastal resilience and climate adaptation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown