Reducing Caribbean risk : opportunities for cost-effective mangrove restoration and insurance

Abstract

Across the Caribbean, we have quantified the cost effectiveness of mangroves for flood risk reduction. To measure mangrove benefits, we estimate the economic value of mangrove forests for flood risk reduction in 20 km study units. These results are based on industry-standard approaches using probabilistic and process-based valuations of flood risk and the damages averted by mangroves. We estimate damages averted by mangroves for four storm frequency events - 1 in 10, 25, 50, and 100-year storm events. We combine these modeled mangrove forest benefits for coastal protection with mangrove restoration costs—estimated to be $45,000/hectare in Florida and $23,000/hectare in the rest of the Caribbean—to develop spatially explicit benefit-cost ratios.