Investing in natural infrastructure by restoring coral reefs in Florida and Puerto Rico can save millions of dollars by mitigating flooding damage, according to a study by a U.S. Geological Survey researcher.
“Coral reefs are natural coastal barriers that can substantially reduce coastal flooding and erosion,” Curt Storlazzi, lead author and USGS research geologist, noted in a Jan. 15 statement about findings from his study. “Over the past few decades, we’ve lost a lot of reefs to global and local stressors and restoring them can re-establish the protection they once provided.”
Strong waves from a storm have a lower impact on coastlines if surges first encounter coral reefs to absorb the full force, which weakens waves.
“As a result, waves that hit shores are smaller and cause less flooding and erosion, saving lives and money. Restoring degraded or destroyed coral reefs could protect nearly 3,000 people each year in Florida and Puerto Rico alone. Reefs could also prevent more than $391 million in damage to property and lost economic activity annually,” a USGS press statement notes.
The new study (conducted by USGS, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is called, “Hybrid coral reef restoration can be a cost-effective nature-based solution to provide protection to vulnerable coastal populations.”
It underscores the benefits of restoring declining coral reefs as a natural solution that can adapt and grow with changing water levels in contrast to man-made barriers such as levees and seawalls.
“Most hazard mitigation and disaster recovery funding supports artificial infrastructure, such as seawalls, that degrade nature,” said Michael W. Beck, director of the UC Santa Cruz Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, who co-led the study. “By valuing the benefits of natural infrastructure, we level the playing field and open major new funding opportunities for reef restoration.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that Florida’s reefs have been vanishing during the last four decades “with many reefs losing more than half of their coral cover. In southeast Florida, coastal resources are under intense stress from high population densities and coastal development.”
Among the world’s largest barrier reef systems, Florida’s coral reefs have been in decline due to port dredging, overfishing and direct damage.
“All of the services provided by coral reefs translate into tremendous economic worth. By one estimate, the total net benefit per year of the world’s coral reefs is $29.8 billion. Tourism and recreation account for $9.6 billion of this amount, coastal protection for $9.0 billion, fisheries for $5.7 billion, and biodiversity, representing the dependence of many different marine species on the reef structure, for $5.5 billion,” according to EPA.
