Shelter from the storm? Use and misuse of coastal vegetation bioshields for managing natural disasters

Feagin, Rusty A.; Mukherjee, Nibedita; Shanker, Kartik; Baird, Andrew H.; Cinner, Joshua E.; Kerr, Alexander M.; Koedam, Nico; Sridhar, Aarthi; Arthur, Rohan; Jayatissa, Loku Pulukkuttige; Seen, Danny Lo; Menon, Manju; Rodriguez, Sudarshan; Shamsuddoha, Md.; Dahdouh‐Guebas, Farid

doi:10.1111/j.1755-263x.2009.00087.x

Cited by 156 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Among these, an awareness of risk and vulnerability can enable informed decision making. We have linked here volcanic eruptions to ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and the need for sustainable land-use management, although the use of ecosystems as ''bioshields'' is not a panacea and should be accompanied by other measures, e.g., early warning systems, disaster preparedness, and emergency actions, to decrease people's vulnerability to natural hazards (Feagin et al 2010). However, if Iceland's currently unsustainable land-use practices are continued, the country's vulnerability to tephra-fall will increase; the minimum benefit of DRR would be to limit that increase in vulnerability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem approach for natural hazard mitigation of volcanic tephra in Iceland: building resilience and sustainability

Ágústsdóttir¹

2015

Nat Hazards

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Living in Iceland, a highly volcanically active island with a historical eruption frequency of 20-25 events per 100 years, involves risks from lava, pyroclastic flows, tephra-fall, and floods from glacier/snow-covered volcanoes. Volcanic eruptions can have detrimental effects on human health, societies, and ecosystems. Eruptions in 2010-2011 proved the value of pre-event planning for some natural hazards. An additional focus is needed on pre-disaster mitigation responses for the effects of tephra-fall on vegetation: As outlined under the UNISDR Hyogo/Sendai Framework for Action, healthy ecosystems and environmental management are key actions in disaster risk reduction (DRR). Iceland's most serious environmental problem is the degraded state of common rangeland in the highlands, where tephra-fall has been catastrophic. Tephra (airborne volcanic material) affects hydrology, air quality, and ecosystems by direct burial or post-eruptive transport, extending its influence far beyond the initial eruption area. Resilience to tephra-related disturbances depends on an ecosystem's overall health. Tall, vigorous vegetation has greater endurance; its initial survival is more likely, while sheltering minimizes secondary transport and hastens recovery. Areas that are sparsely vegetated and already stressed are more vulnerable; there, tephra remains unstable and can cause further damage. Reclaiming vulnerable land and building healthy ecosystems, as represented by the Hekluskógar project, improve the ability of these areas to endure tephra-fall, increasing their resilience and reducing the associated costs to society. Successful DRR for tephra-fall, through the revegetation of degraded land, will require effective governance, multi-sector coordination, and the alignment of policies on land use, agriculture, natural resource management, and climate change mitigation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem approach for natural hazard mitigation of volcanic tephra in Iceland: building resilience and sustainability

Ágústsdóttir¹

2015

Nat Hazards

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“…These examples, among many that could be cited, show that making wiser use of ecosystems could both decrease risk to people and support delivery of ecosystem services. However, use of ecosystems as 'bioshields' is not a panacea for decreasing people's vulnerability to natural disasters and should be accompanied by other measures such as early warning systems and disaster preparedness (Feagin et al 2010). The opportunities that effective ecosystem management provides in terms of decreasing vulnerability of both people and ecosystems to future extreme events should be given high priority in disaster management planning.…”

Section: The Environment and Disasters: Victim And Potential Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem Considerations for Postdisaster Recovery: Lessons from China, Pakistan, and Elsewhere for Recovery Planning in Haiti

Mainka¹,

McNeely²

2011

E&S

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ABSTRACT. As the world joins forces to support the people of Haiti on their long road of recovery following the January 2010 earthquake, plans and strategies should take into consideration past experiences from other postdisaster recovery efforts with respect to integrating ecosystem considerations. Sound ecosystem management can both support the medium and long-term needs for recovery as well as help to buffer the impacts of future extreme natural events, which for Haiti are likely to include both hurricanes and earthquakes. An additional challenge will be to include the potential impacts of climate change into ecosystem management strategies.

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“…Post-tsunami planning has not always encompassed all these factors. For example, local communities felt unsettled and in some cases without a viable livelihood when displaced inland, from the coastal setback zone (Harris 2005, Leckie 2005, Rice 2005, Rodriguez et al 2008, Feagin et al 2010. Future coastal policy setting in Sri Lanka should focus on prevailing environmental concerns as well as issues relating to episodic rare events, such as tsunamis.…”

Section: Implications Of Model Findings To Coastal Policy and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other research, however, suggests that the protective role of natural systems has been overstated, attributing variation in tsunami impact to elevation, exposure and distance inland (Dahdouh-Guebas et al 2006, Baird and Kerr 2008, Feagin et al 2010. Studies claiming the protective role of coral reefs (Fernando and McCulley 2005) and mangroves (Dahdouh-Guebas et al 2005) have been criticised for not including these or other potential confounding factors , Baird 2006, Feagin et al 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies claiming the protective role of coral reefs (Fernando and McCulley 2005) and mangroves (Dahdouh-Guebas et al 2005) have been criticised for not including these or other potential confounding factors , Baird 2006, Feagin et al 2010. Initial statistical modelling considering the effects of various risk factors on tsunami inundation distance identified bathymetric features, elevation and seagrass as important determinants of protection (Chatenoux and Peduzzi 2005), whereas coral reefs were identified as exacerbating impact.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modelling ecological and other risk factors influencing the outcome of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka

2012

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Abstract. The 2004 Asian tsunami caused widespread devastation across the Indian Ocean. Damage from the waves was influenced by complex interplay of many factors. Using regression models incorporating different impact indicators (occurrence of inundation, inundation distance, and human deaths), we examined factors that significantly influenced tsunami damage in southern Sri Lanka. Land elevation (which is positively correlated with forest presence), sand dunes and coastal convexity (which deflects waves), were protective factors, in terms of whether the tsunami wave inundated within an arbitrary distance of 15 m inland. Water bodies, saltpans and built-up areas (e.g., roads, development) increased wave inundation distance, while beaches and sand dunes were ameliorative. Built-up areas also increased death toll. Bathymetry, a proxy for wave height and force, was the only significant factor in all three multivariable models. Coastal areas with a steeper seaward bathymetric slope gradient were less prone to inundation and human fatalities, which is consistent other tsunami research. The presence of coral reefs was highly correlated with bathymetric slope gradient, implying a potentially protective role by coral reefs. Many factors showing greatest protective effect against tsunami damage are geographical features that cannot easily be modified. However, some defence factors identified, such as sand dunes, could potentially be protected. Given the wide-ranging ecosystem services, unrelated to tsunami protection, ongoing loss/degradation of natural systems including mangroves (not a significant factor in the multivariable models), could be damaging. This might impede certain future coastal development options in post-tsunami Sri Lanka.

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Shelter from the storm? Use and misuse of coastal vegetation bioshields for managing natural disasters

Cited by 156 publications

References 46 publications

Ecosystem approach for natural hazard mitigation of volcanic tephra in Iceland: building resilience and sustainability

Ecosystem approach for natural hazard mitigation of volcanic tephra in Iceland: building resilience and sustainability

Ecosystem Considerations for Postdisaster Recovery: Lessons from China, Pakistan, and Elsewhere for Recovery Planning in Haiti

Modelling ecological and other risk factors influencing the outcome of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka

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