Preserving natural habitats said crucial to U.S. coastal protection

SEATTLE, July 15 (UPI) -- The number of people at risk from hazards such as hurricane storm surges could double if natural defenses protecting U.S. coastlines are lost, researchers say.

Coastal forests, coral reefs, sand dunes and wetlands are vital to shield people and property from New York to California and in Texas and Florida, said Natural Capital Project scientists.

Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change, the researchers said the number of people and total property value at risk could double by the end of the century if those protective habitats were lost.

The scientists created a hazard model for the U.S. coast combining ecosystem data, projected climate scenarios, socioeconomic data and property values to identify where habitats offered the greatest coastal protection.

Natural habitats including coral and oyster reefs, wetlands, dunes, seagrass beds and kelp forests were examined for the level of protection each gave.

"Where we've got these ecosystems intact, we need to keep it that way," study author Katie Arkema, a marine ecologist, said. "Otherwise, massive investments will be required to protect people and property."

The findings can strengthen a global movement to take stock of the coastal protections afforded by natural habitats, said study co-author Peter Kareiva, chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy.

"It really is going to get to the point where we'll be able to put dollar values on what we gain from restoring natural habitats," he said.