Barbier, Edward B.2015-12-182015-12-182015-11https://hdl.handle.net/10986/23443This paper identifies the low-elevation coastal zone populations and developing regions most vulnerable to sea-level rise and other coastal hazards, such as storm surges, coastal erosion, and salt-water intrusion. The focus is on the rural poor in the low-elevation coastal zone, as their economic livelihoods are especially endangered directly by coastal hazards and indirectly through the impacts of climate change on key coastal and near-shore ecosystems. Using geo-spatially referenced malnutrition and infant mortality data for 2000 as a proxy for poverty, this study finds that just 15 developing countries contain over 90 percent of the world’s low-elevation coastal zone rural poor. Low-income countries as a group have the highest incidence of poverty, which declines somewhat for lower-middle-income countries, and then is much lower for upper-middle-income economies. South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa account for most of the world’s low-elevation coastal zone rural poor, and have a high incidence of poverty among their rural low-elevation coastal zone populations. Although fostering growth, especially in coastal areas, may reduce rural poverty in the low-elevation coastal zone, additional policy actions will be required to protect vulnerable communities from disasters, to conserve and restore key coastal and near-shore ecosystems, and to promote key infrastructure investments and coastal community response capability.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOFLOODINGINFANT MORTALITY RATESFISHWETLAND RESTORATIONINFANT MORTALITYECONOMIC GROWTHCULTURAL VALUESURBANIZATIONADVERSE IMPACTSCOASTAL HABITATSPARKSEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESSTORMSLIVE BIRTHSHYDROLOGYSEAGRASSESDEVELOPING COUNTRIESHABITATSMONITORINGMARINE RESOURCESSHORELINESPOLICY DISCUSSIONSENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCESCOASTAL ZONEMALNOURISHED CHILDRENLEVELS OF INFANTMANGROVESBAYALLEVIATION OF POVERTYQUALITYRURAL POPULATIONVULNERABILITYSHORESAFETY NETSINTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTERESOURCE USEHABITAT DEGRADATIONHUMAN ACTIVITIESSEDIMENTRURAL POPULATIONSCOASTAL ZONESMARINE SCIENCERURAL‐POPULATIONCOMMERCIAL ACTIVITIESTECHNICAL ASSISTANCESTUDY AREASEA‐LEVELNATURAL DISASTERECONOMIC BENEFITSPOPULATION GROWTHLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESFLOODSHABITAT QUALITYSEA‐ LEVELCOASTAL EROSIONMIGRATIONBIODIVERSITYNATURAL DISASTERSVULNERABLE POPULATIONSWAVESHOUSEHOLD INCOMEPOLLUTIONSEAGRASS BEDSDISASTERSMORTALITY RATEINDICATORSVICIOUS CYCLEENVIRONMENTAL CHANGEENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICSCOASTAL ECOSYSTEMSNATURAL RESOURCESGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTPRECIPITATIONURBAN DWELLERSMORTALITYCOASTAL AREASLAND USEPROGRESSINFANT MORTALITYPOPULATION TRENDSINFANTECOSYSTEMSALTWATER INTRUSIONNATIONAL PARKSMARSHRURAL COMMUNITIESVEGETATIONSTUDIESENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATIONPOLICIESCLIMATE CHANGEBEACHESFRESHWATERWETLAND VEGETATIONDISTRIBUTION OF POPULATIONSPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERCOASTAL STORMSCOASTAL WETLANDSCLIMATEFORESTSBARRIER ISLANDSRURAL POVERTYURBAN AREASLAND AREAMARSHESSEA‐LEVEL RISEPOLLUTANTSAGRICULTUREAGRICULTURAL LANDFORESTLAND‐AREAPONDSNUTRITIONDIKESPOPULATIONSESTUARINESALT MARSHESSTRATIFICATIONPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERFOODGLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGEBULLETINISLANDSPOLICYMARINE SYSTEMSFISH POPULATIONSFISHERIESDATA SETSEROSIONBOTANYSEA LEVELLANDECOSYSTEMSRESOLUTIONMANGROVE WETLANDSSALINITYANALYSISLOCAL COMMUNITIESCOASTGROUND WATERESTUARIESRURAL AREASCONSERVATIONWETLANDBROOKSCOASTAL REGIONLAMECOLOGYSALT MARSHNUMBER OF DEATHSWETLANDS ECOLOGYPOLICY IMPLICATIONSINCIDENCE OF POVERTYPOPULATIONSEA‐ LEVEL RISERESTORATIONPOLICY RESEARCHPOPULATION DATAURBAN POPULATIONSRURAL DEVELOPMENTBIODIVERSITY CONSERVATIONINFANT MORTALITY RATEWETLANDSSEA LEVELLIVE BIRTHSDEVELOPMENT POLICYRIVERWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-7475