The global value of mangroves for risk reduction

This report uses rigorous hydrodynamic and economic models to value the coastal flood protection services of mangroves globally, and identifies the places where mangroves provide the greatest risk reduction benefits to people and property. This work applies the Expected Damage Function approach, commonly used in engineering and insurance sectors and recommended for the assessment of coastal protection services from habitats, where the protection benefits provided by mangroves are assessed as the flood damages avoided by keeping mangroves in place. This work combines findings on flood exposure reduction from mangroves with vulnerability scores from the WorldRiskReport and Index to produce a ranking of countries that receive the greatest risk reduction benefits from mangroves relative to their vulnerability.

The results are presented in terms of the number of people and the value of property flooded with and without mangroves. These results demonstrate that mangrove conservation and restoration can be an important part of the solution for reducing the risks of coastal communities. This valuation can inform strategies for adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and environmental management, and can help identify sustainable and cost-efective approaches for risk reduction