Publication: Valuing the Protection Services
of Mangroves in the Philippines
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2017-07
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2017-07-27
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Mangroves and other coastal ecosystems act as natural defenses to reduce the risks from flooding, erosion and natural disasters. Yet the value of these habitats is often not fully accounted for in policy and management decisions, and thus they continue to be lost at alarming rates. Using natural capital accounting, we can measure and value the services provided by these coastal ecosystems, and thus inform policies for sustainable development, disaster risk reduction, and environmental conservation. A new report measures and values the coastal protection benefits of mangroves in the Philippines.
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“Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services. 2017. Valuing the Protection Services
of Mangroves in the Philippines. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27657 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Valuing Protective Services of Mangroves in the Philippines(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-07)Mangroves and other coastal ecosystems act as natural defenses that protect people and property from storms, floods, erosion, and other coastal hazards, reducing coastal risk. Mangroves protect coastlines by decreasing the risk of flooding and erosion. The roots of mangroves retain sediments and prevent erosion, while the prop roots, trunks and canopy reduce the force of incoming wind and waves and reduce flooding. The Philippines has lost hundreds of thousands of hectares of mangroves in the last century. When mangroves are degraded or destroyed, the coast line becomes more exposed to the destructive impacts of waves and storm surge, and coastal communities have greater risks from the impacts of storms, floods, and sea level rise. The Philippines is at high risk from coastal hazards and natural defenses can help reduce these risks. 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Using high-resolution flooding models, the Report examines the flooding that would occur with and without mangroves under different storm conditions throughout the Philippines, and estimates the annual expected benefits of mangroves for protecting people and property in social and economic terms.Publication Mangroves as Protection from Storm Surges in a Changing Climate(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-03)Adaptation to climate change includes addressing sea level rise and increased storm surges in many coastal areas. Mangroves can substantially reduce the vulnerability of the adjacent coastal land from inundation and erosion. However, climate change poses a large threat to mangroves. This paper quantifies the coastal protection provided by mangroves for 42 developing countries in the current climate, and a future climate change scenario with a one-meter sea level rise and 10 percent intensification of storms. The benefits of the coastal protection provided by mangroves are measured in terms of population and gross domestic product at a reduced risk from inundation; the loss of benefits under climate change is measured as the increased population and gross domestic product at risk. The findings demonstrate that although sea level rise and increased storm intensity would increase storm surge areas and the amounts of built resources at risk, the greatest impact is the expected loss of mangroves. Under current climate and mangrove coverage, 3.5 million people and roughly $400 million in gross domestic product of are at risk. In the future climate change scenario, the vulnerable population and gross domestic product at risk would increase by 103 and 233 percent, respectively. 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