Tuesday, January 21, 2014

coastal protection

With sea levels rising and many coastal cities sinking, protection from floods is becoming an ever more urgent problem. Which doesn't seem to stop people from the ongoing destruction of natural defences like mangrove forests.

My latest feature, describing how conservation and flood defence can help each other, is now out:

Protect the coasts so they can protect us

Current Biology, Volume 24, Issue 2, R51-R53, 20 January 2014
doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.01.001

FREE access to full text and PDF download

Mangrove wetlands lining many coasts in the tropics provide effective natural protection against storm surges. They also have the ability to build up in line with sea-level rise. Large-scale loss of mangroves in countries like Myanmar exposes many millions of people to increased flood risks. (Image: Challiyan at ml.wikipedia.)

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