Mangroves for Coastal Protection : Evidence from Hurricanes in Central America
This paper evaluates whether mangroves can mitigate the impact of hurricanes on economic activity. The paper assembles a new, regionwide panel data set that measures local economic activity using nightlights, potential hurricane damages using a det...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/700941553603777645/Mangroves-for-Coastal-Protection-Evidence-from-Hurricanes-in-Central-America http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31454 |
| Summary: | This paper evaluates whether mangroves
can mitigate the impact of hurricanes on economic activity.
The paper assembles a new, regionwide panel data set that
measures local economic activity using nightlights,
potential hurricane damages using a detailed hurricane
windstorm model, and mangrove protection by mapping the
width of mangrove forests on the path to the coast. The
results show that hurricanes have negative short-run effects
on economic activity, with losses likely concentrated in
coastal lowlands that are exposed to both wind and storm
surge hazards. In these coastal lowlands, the estimates show
that nightlights decrease by up to 24 percent in areas that
are unprotected by mangroves. By comparison, the impact of
the hurricanes observed in the sample is fully mitigated in
areas protected by mangrove belts of one or more kilometers. |
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