Mangrove forests in Florida played a crucial role in reducing property damages during recent hurricanes, saving billions of dollars, according to a new study published in Cell Reports Sustainability on October 14. Conducted by researchers from the UC Santa Cruz Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR) and East Carolina University (ECU), in collaboration with catastrophe risk modeling firm Moody’s RMS and The Nature Conservancy, the study is the first to quantify the economic benefits of mangroves using industry catastrophe-risk models.
The research found that mangroves helped reduce storm surge and property damage by an estimated $725 million during Hurricane Irma in 2017 and $4.1 billion during Hurricane Ian in 2022. In Florida Collier County alone, mangroves provide around $67 million in storm surge protection each year.
According to the study mangroves act as natural coastal defenses, particularly benefiting homes built inland of these forests by reducing flood losses. However for some properties located directly in front of mangroves, damages can increase due to changes in water flow and surge dynamics.
Lead author Siddharth Narayan, a former CCCR research fellow and now a professor of coastal studies at ECU, said the findings underscore the importance of mangroves as nature-based protection systems. “Coastal properties in Florida avoided anywhere between 14 to 30 percent in surge losses during Hurricanes Ian and Irma because of mangroves,” Narayan noted.
Florida is home to an estimated 600,000 acres of mangrove forests that contribute not only to flood protection but also to the ecological health of the state southern coastal regions. The study highlights that these ecosystems can significantly alter storm surges, potentially saving billions in property damages from hurricanes and tropical cyclones each year.
Michael Beck, director of CCCR and senior author of the study, emphasized the importance of valuing mangroves in economic terms to encourage their conservation. “Mangroves provide many benefits to communities, and it is particularly important that we used a risk industry model to put a price on their flood protection benefits,” Beck said. “Like it or not, we only protect what we value and these results show the real costs of developing in front of natural barriers like mangroves.”
The findings offer a strong case for integrating mangrove conservation into climate adaptation and coastal planning strategies, reinforcing their role as a cost-effective natural defense against intensifying storms and rising sea levels.