Mangroves as Coastal Protection for Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean
In recent decades, hurricane frequency and intensity have increased in the Caribbean Basin. From 2000 to 2012, more than 100 hurricanes impacted lives, infrastructure, and economic activity along the region’s shorelines. Studies suggest that mangro...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/174441638210732041/Mangroves-as-Coastal-Protection-for-Local-Economic-Activities-from-Hurricanes-in-the-Caribbean http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36639 |
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okr-10986-366392021-12-03T05:10:43Z Mangroves as Coastal Protection for Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean Miranda, Juan Jose Butron, Luigi Pantoja, Chrissie Gunasekera, Rashmin MANGROVE FOREST NATURAL DISASTER HURRICANE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY WETLAND ECOSYSTEM COASTAL ECOSYSTEM In recent decades, hurricane frequency and intensity have increased in the Caribbean Basin. From 2000 to 2012, more than 100 hurricanes impacted lives, infrastructure, and economic activity along the region’s shorelines. Studies suggest that mangrove forests’ dense root systems might mitigate the impact of hurricanes, which would help stabilize the coastline and prevent erosion from waves and storms. Although many tropical mangroves are found on Caribbean coasts, climatic and anthropogenic events have been clearing these wetland ecosystems at an annual rate of 1 percent since the 1990s. This study quantifies the effects of hurricane windstorms on economic activity using nightlight as a proxy at the highest spatial resolution data available (1 square kilometer). Using different widths of the mangrove belt, it measures levels of mangrove natural protection against the impact of hurricanes and studies the broader socioeconomic and environmental effects of this protection. The results suggest that while major hurricanes reduce nightlight by approximately 2 percent and up to 16 percent in storm surge prone areas, the presence of mangroves on the coast mitigates the impact of hurricanes, reducing nightlight by 1–6 percent. 2021-12-02T22:22:10Z 2021-12-02T22:22:10Z 2021-11 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/174441638210732041/Mangroves-as-Coastal-Protection-for-Local-Economic-Activities-from-Hurricanes-in-the-Caribbean http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36639 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9863 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Latin America & Caribbean Caribbean |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
MANGROVE FOREST NATURAL DISASTER HURRICANE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY WETLAND ECOSYSTEM COASTAL ECOSYSTEM |
| spellingShingle |
MANGROVE FOREST NATURAL DISASTER HURRICANE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY WETLAND ECOSYSTEM COASTAL ECOSYSTEM Miranda, Juan Jose Butron, Luigi Pantoja, Chrissie Gunasekera, Rashmin Mangroves as Coastal Protection for Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean |
| geographic_facet |
Latin America & Caribbean Caribbean |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9863 |
| description |
In recent decades, hurricane
frequency and intensity have increased in the Caribbean
Basin. From 2000 to 2012, more than 100 hurricanes impacted
lives, infrastructure, and economic activity along the
region’s shorelines. Studies suggest that mangrove forests’
dense root systems might mitigate the impact of hurricanes,
which would help stabilize the coastline and prevent erosion
from waves and storms. Although many tropical mangroves are
found on Caribbean coasts, climatic and anthropogenic events
have been clearing these wetland ecosystems at an annual
rate of 1 percent since the 1990s. This study quantifies the
effects of hurricane windstorms on economic activity using
nightlight as a proxy at the highest spatial resolution data
available (1 square kilometer). Using different widths of
the mangrove belt, it measures levels of mangrove natural
protection against the impact of hurricanes and studies the
broader socioeconomic and environmental effects of this
protection. The results suggest that while major hurricanes
reduce nightlight by approximately 2 percent and up to 16
percent in storm surge prone areas, the presence of
mangroves on the coast mitigates the impact of hurricanes,
reducing nightlight by 1–6 percent. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Miranda, Juan Jose Butron, Luigi Pantoja, Chrissie Gunasekera, Rashmin |
| author_facet |
Miranda, Juan Jose Butron, Luigi Pantoja, Chrissie Gunasekera, Rashmin |
| author_sort |
Miranda, Juan Jose |
| title |
Mangroves as Coastal Protection for Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean |
| title_short |
Mangroves as Coastal Protection for Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean |
| title_full |
Mangroves as Coastal Protection for Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean |
| title_fullStr |
Mangroves as Coastal Protection for Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Mangroves as Coastal Protection for Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean |
| title_sort |
mangroves as coastal protection for local economic activities from hurricanes in the caribbean |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/174441638210732041/Mangroves-as-Coastal-Protection-for-Local-Economic-Activities-from-Hurricanes-in-the-Caribbean http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36639 |
| _version_ |
1764485663748521984 |