Myth of green belts

Abstract

[Extract] One of the most pervasive myths following the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is that healthy ecosystems, such as coastal forests and coral reefs, reduced the damage to coastal communities. Partly on the basis of this myth, governments throughout the region are enthusiastically embracing the planting of mangrove forests as a natural defence against future tsunamis. Vast sums of money are at stake; for example, IUCN-The World Conservation Union is promoting "Mangroves for the Future", a Euro38-mn (US$48.5-mn) programme that aims to build natural barriers of mangroves in 12 countries in Asia and Africa. If saving lives in future tsunamis is the real purpose of these schemes, then every euro may be wasted. In this article, I briefly review the evidence for the effectiveness of green belts, and conclude that there is, in fact, no good empirical, theoretical or analytical support for the hypothesis that coastal forests provide meaningful protection from tsunamis.