1 The Role of Marine Ecosystems in Hazard Management Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar June 30th,2006 AngeliqueBrathwaite Marine Biologist CZMU

NATURAL DISASTERS Marine and coastal ecosystems act as natural buffers Loss of natural buffers turns natural events into human disasters “At least 70-90% of the energy from wind generated waves is absorbed depending on how healthy these ecosystems are and their physical and ecological characteristics” ( UNESCO State of the World’s Oceans Report) Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar – June 30, 2006

NATURAL BUFFERS

Allow waves to dissipate 70-90% of their destructive energy offshore Area covered by: –Bank reefs – 15.9 km –Fringing reefs – 1.53 km Approx. 80% fringing reefs lost Bank reefs decreased from 37.3% % over a decade CORAL REEFS NATURAL BREAKWATERS Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar – June 30, 2006

ANTHOPOGENIC STRESSORS Anchor damage Destructive fishing Harvesting for sale Tourism pressure Land based sources of marine pollution Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar – June 30, 2006

MANGROVES NATURAL SHOCK ABSORBERS Buffers Limit floodwater inundation Mangroves covered almost our entire coastline Destroyed approx. 95% Primarily via coastal construction Replaced by Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar – June 30, 2006

RUBBLE, SEA GRASS, BEACH, DUNES Not much help in a major disaster… BUT can offer some protection against wave action Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar – June 30, 2006

ASIA TSUNAMI EXCERPTS Human destruction played a significant role in the damage caused by the tsunami in Asia When seismic waves struck India’s Tamil Nadu, areas with dense mangroves suffered fewer casualties and less damage to property than those minus barriers “Places that had healthy coral reefs and intact mangroves were far less badly hit than places where the reefs had been damaged and mangroves ripped out and replaced by beachfront hotels and prawn farms” ( Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s Global Marine Programme for India) Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar – June 30, 2006

$$$$’s WWF estimates that coral reefs provide US $9 billion annually in economic benefits associated with coastal protection The Maldives spent 10 million per km to install artificial breakwaters to protect shores after the natural reef was degraded. (Agence France-Presse) Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar – June 30, 2006

“Education programmes and early warning systems will significantly reduce the number of human casualties, but it will only be through careful coastal and land-use planning that the economic and social costs of such disasters can be kept to a minimum” Isabelle Louis, Director of WWF International’s Asia-Pacific Programme. Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar – June 30, 2006

HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS SAVE LIVES! Coastal Planning for Disaster Management Seminar – June 30, 2006