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

Feagin, Rusty A and Mukherjee, Nibedita and Shanker, Kartik and Baird, Andrew H and Cinner, Joshua and Kerr, Alexander M and Koedam, Nico and Sridhar, Aarthi and Arthur, Rohan and Jayatissa, LP and Lo Seen, Danny and Menon, Manju and Rodriguez, Sudarshan and Shamsuddoha, Md and Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid (2010) Shelter from the storm? Use and misuse of coastal vegetation bioshields for managing natural disasters. In: Conservation Letters, 3 (1). pp. 1-11.

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Abstract

Vegetated coastal ecosystems provide goods and services to billions of people.In the aftermath of a series of recent natural disasters, including the Indian Ocean Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Nargis, coastal vegetation has been widely promoted for the purpose of reducing the impact of large storm surges and tsunami. In this paper, we review the use of coastal vegetation as a ``bioshield'' against these extreme events. Our objective is to alter bioshield policy and reduce the long-term negative consequences for biodiversity and human capital. We begin with an overview of the scientific literature, in particular focusing on studies published since the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and discuss the science of wave attenuation by vegetation. We then explore case studies from the Indian subcontinent and evaluate the detrimental impacts bioshield plantations can have upon native ecosystems, drawing a distinction between coastal restoration and the introduction of exotic species in inappropriate locations. Finally, we place bioshield policies into a political context, and outline a new direction for coastal vegetation policy and research.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Conservation Letters
Publisher:	John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Keywords:	Bioshields;hurricanes;tsunami;coastal vegetation;wave attenuation;storm surge;disaster management
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	13 Jul 2010 04:47
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 06:11
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/29235

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