Coral reefs, wetlands and forests – is nature our best weapon in the fight against climate change?
Climate change and natural disasters are ravaging the planet. To protect ourselves we should look beyond manmade structures and invest in natural barriers.
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ildfires, tropical cyclones and floods ravaged the planet last year. In 2018, natural disasters affected more than 68 million people worldwide and led to 11,804 deaths, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED).
Meanwhile, economic losses as a result of natural disasters totalled $160 billion, according to reinsurance company Munich Re.
Scientists say that we should expect more extreme weather events due to climate change. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned last year that rising temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more intense droughts, erratic rainfall and rising sea levels.
Countries must plan for these climate threats by building disaster-proof infrastructure.
The term infrastructure is often used to refer to roads, walls and sewers. But countries should look beyond manmade structures for protection from disasters and invest in natural barriers, experts say.
Coral reefs, wetlands and forests can all be harnessed as infrastructure and present many benefits, ranging from coastal protection to improving air quality, according to Lizzie McLeod, who leads the Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) reef work worldwide.
“Green infrastructure is a critical tool in our adaptation toolbox,” she said.
Coral reefs combat rising seas
Coral reefs are effective natural barriers which help protect coastlines from storm surges and rising sea levels.
They can reduce wave energy by up to 97% by breaking waves as they pass over the reef structure, according to a 2014 study.
By dampening the waves, reefs can help maintain coastline elevation and reduce erosion, McLeod explained.
Without coral reefs, the annual cost of flood damage would double, increasing by $4 billion, and storm costs would triple, according to researchers at The Nature Conservancy.
A reef restoration project off the coast of Grenada in the Caribbean aims to protect homes and infrastructure from severe coastal erosion and flooding.
Rising seas are eating away the Caribbean island, threatening more than 100,000 people.
“[The] benefits of coral reefs [are] comparable to artificial defenses,” McLeod said. But climate change and human activities are destroying reefs worldwide and significantly reducing their ability to protect shorelines, she added.
Wetlands act as natural sponges
Wetlands also act as a beneficial defence. The natural sponges absorb torrential rain, sparing homes and infrastructure as well as saving millions in flood damages.
When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, coastal wetlands prevented $625 million in damages, according to a study published in Nature.
In Ontario, Canada, wetlands reduced flood damage costs to buildings by $51.1 million at an urban site, according to Dimple Roy from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
She added that a restored wetlands site in the Canadian province Manitoba is valued at $3.7 million for the benefits it provides, which include flood reduction, improving the water quality and capturing carbon dioxide.
Forests capture carbon
Besides flood protection, nature offers a wide range of other benefits including improving air quality and crop yields.
The practice of agroforestry, which involves planting trees on farmland, is a highly effective way of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Agroforestry is estimated to cover one billion hectares of farmland worldwide and capture more than 45 gigatons of CO2.
“It is entirely possible, without reducing land available for farming, to triple overall tree cover on agricultural land to about 30%,” according to Peter Gubbels, director of advocacy at Groundswell International, an organisation specialising in sustainable agriculture.
“This would greatly increase the amount of carbon sucked out of the air,” he said.
One region that could greatly benefit from agroforestry is Africa’s Sahel region, which is particularly vulnerable to climate change.
“There is overwhelming evidence that such natural solutions can pay for themselves quickly, improving food security, creating jobs, reducing poverty and extracting billions of tons of carbon,” according to Gubbels.
The ideas presented in this article aim to inspire adaptation action – they are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Center on Adaptation.
