Reducing Caribbean risk: opportunities for cost-effective mangrove restoration and insurance: Technical report
Published in The Nature Conservancy, 2020
Mangrove forests play a critically important role in coastal protection. They can dissipate wave energy, which can lower flood risk and minimize erosion. Mangrove forests, however, are threatened by a number of natural and man-made factors, including storm events. Often times, mangroves are able to recover post-storm with limited intervention, but active post-storm restoration efforts are required to re-establish mangroves and hasten recovery, particularly when hydrological damage has occurred. Insurance is a unique market-based mechanism that can cost-effectively protect and restore coastal habitat. In Quintana Roo, Mexico, The Nature Conservancy helped launch the first-ever insurance product to protect coral reefs from storm damage. We consider whether a similar mechanism could be developed for the protection and restoration of mangroves following storm events.
Recommended citation: Beck, M. W., N. Heck, S. Narayan, P. Menéndez, S. Torres-Ortega, I. J. Losada, M. Way, M. Rogers, L. McFarlane-Connelly. 2020. “Reducing Caribbean Risk: Opportunities for Cost-Effective Mangrove Restoration and Insurance.” The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA.