• WHO WE ARE
  • CONTACTS
  • PARTNERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • NEWSLETTER
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
BlueLifeHub
  • Home
  • News
  • Fishing
  • Aquaculture
  • Environment
  • Players
  • Innovation
  • Events
  • Integrated Activities
No Result
View All Result
Blue Life Hub
  • Home
  • News
  • Fishing
  • Aquaculture
  • Environment
  • Players
  • Innovation
  • Events
  • Integrated Activities
No Result
View All Result
Blue Life Hub
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Protecting nature protects people

Coastal wetlands can defend communities from storm surge and sea level rise. Well-managed forests can protect water supplies, reduce wildfire risk and prevent landslides. Green space in cities can alleviate heat stress and reduce flooding.

Orazio Albano by Orazio Albano
January 17, 2023
in Environment, Innovation, Integrated Activities, Players
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Protecting nature protects people

Protecting nature protects people

Protecting nature protects people – People across the globe suffer from coastal flooding and erosion related to more severe storms and sea level rise. In some places, entire villages and more than a mile of coastline have been lost to the sea.

The flooding and erosion are exacerbated by the destruction of natural mangrove forests and seagrass beds. These ecosystem complex absorb the brunt of waves’ impact, significantly reducing both the height and speed of waves reaching shore. And mature mangroves can store nearly 1,000 tons of carbon per hectare, thus mitigating climate change while also helping communities adapt.

 

Coastline erosion
Coastline erosion

Without mangroves, 18 million more people worldwide would suffer from coastal flooding each year (an increase of 39%).
Coastal wetlands can defend communities from storm surge and sea level rise. Well-managed forests can protect water supplies, reduce wildfire risk and prevent landslides. Green space in cities can alleviate heat stress and reduce flooding.

While we don’t yet have a full accounting of this potential, we do know that, for instance, wetland ecosystems cover approximately 8% of the planet’s land surface and the ecosystem services they provide — including flood protection, fisheries habitat, and water purification — are worth up to $15 trillion. For example, offshore fisheries in areas with mangroves provide fishermen with an average of 271 pounds of fish (worth approximately $44) per hour, compared to an average of 40 pounds (only $2-3 per hour in places without mangroves).

 

Photo by the Global Commission for Adaptation/WRI
Photo by the Global Commission for Adaptation/WRI

The benefits of nature-based solutions go far beyond climate adaptation. From the heart of the city to vast forests and coastal wetlands, healthy ecosystems underpin societies and economies. They provide food, fuel, livelihoods, and also provide critical habitat for biodiversity — there are three crucial steps needed to make this happen:

1. Raise understanding of the value of nature

Policymakers need to better understand the value of natural capital like mangroves and other ecosystems that provide important benefits for communities. For example, it can be 2 to 5 times cheaper to restore coastal wetlands than to construct breakwaters — artificial barriers typically made out of granite or concrete — yet both protect coasts from the impact of waves. The median cost for mangrove restoration is about $0.01 per square foot. This is far less than the often prohibitive cost of most built infrastructure – artificial structures sometimes have an impact on the hydrodynamism of the marine environment with negative effects.

While some research of this kind exists, countries often need place-specific assessments to identify the best opportunities to utilize nature-based solutions for adaptation. Governments should also consider that local and indigenous communities often have ample understanding of nature’s value for people, and should seek out and include this knowledge in plans and policies.

2. Embed nature-based solutions into climate adaptation planning

Nature-based solutions often work best when people use them at larger scales — across whole landscapes, ecosystems or cities. Governments are often best placed to plan climate adaptation at this scale given their access to resources and ability to make policy and coordinate among multiple actors. To be successful, they should include nature-based solutions in their adaptation planning from the start.
Water supplies are especially vulnerable to climate change, as shifting rainfall patterns cause droughts in some places and floods in others.

Research on cities’ water supplies shows that by conserving and restoring upstream forests, water utilities in the world’s 534 largest cities could better regulate water flows and collectively save $890 million in treatment costs each year.

3. Encourage investment in nature-based solutions

Many governments, private sector, and philanthropic actors have funds that could be used for nature-based adaptation solutions — but a lack of awareness has hindered their widespread use. Part of the solution is helping communities and countries better understand what funding opportunities exist, learn from successful financing models, and identify gaps that could be filled by interested donor countries, development institutions, and private investors — an effort the Commission is undertaking.

Protecting nature protects people

Tags: blue economyblue transformationclimate changeenvironmentfishingnaturesustainability
ShareShareTweetSend
Previous Post

EU report on WestMED initiative implementation

Next Post

Africa. Tilapia may not be the optimal solution for small farms

Orazio Albano

Orazio Albano

Independent consultant, in aquaculture and Blue Food value chain, with over 19 years of experience in technical support to cooperation projects, and consultancy to private companies, in Italy, Norwey, Ghana, Greece, Albania, Republic of Congo, Angola, Somalia, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Kenya. Co-founder of the Facebook group Coastal Community Network.

Related Posts

Breakthrough in commercial grouper farming

Breakthrough in commercial grouper farming

by Davide Ciravolo
September 27, 2023

Breakthrough in commercial grouper farming - A groundbreaking study conducted by the IEO-CSIC Vigo Oceanographic Centre has opened up new...

Tilapia Welfare Egypt steps towards sustainable aquaculture to ensure food security in Egypt and Kafr el Sheikh

Tilapia Welfare Egypt: steps towards sustainable aquaculture to ensure food security in Egypt and Kafr el Sheikh

by Hadeer Amer
September 26, 2023

Tilapia Welfare Egypt: steps towards sustainable aquaculture to ensure food security in Egypt and Kafr el Sheikh -  Tilapia welfare...

The success of the Suez Mango Festival in Egypt, an example of promoting local products, including seafood

The success of the Suez Mango Festival in Egypt, an example of promoting local products, including seafood

by Ahmed Ali
September 25, 2023

The success of the Suez Mango Festival in Egypt, an example of promoting local products, including seafood- ”A festival is...

Boosting the algae industry in France

Boosting the algae industry in France

by Davide Ciravolo
September 22, 2023

Boosting the algae industry in France - Vinpai, a leader in algae processing and marketing, has partnered with Adetis, a...

Next Post
Africa. Tilapia may not be the optimal solution for small farms

Africa. Tilapia may not be the optimal solution for small farms

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

 

Newsletter

Blue Life Hub

The goal of Blue Life Hub is to inform and network between players in the Mediterranean and Africa, areas that have very important commonalities and shared interests.

Categories

  • Fishing
  • Aquaculture
  • Environment
  • Players
  • Innovation
  • Events

Follow us on:

Stock images by Depositphotos

  • WHO WE ARE
  • CONTACTS
  • PARTNERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • NEWSLETTER

© 2023 INRETE S.R.L. P.Iva: 02557660814 -Blue Economy & Transformation news by In Rete.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Fishing
  • Aquaculture
  • Environment
  • Players
  • Innovation
  • Events
  • Integrated Activities
  • Who We Are
  • Contacts
  • Partners
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter

© 2023 INRETE S.R.L. P.Iva: 02557660814 -Blue Economy & Transformation news by In Rete.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist