Guidance document for reef management and restoration to improve coastal protection

Abstract

This guidance document aims to provide a review and recommendations on reef management and restoration for risk reduction. It synthesizes evidence of the role coral reefs play in coastal protection and the reduction of risks during disasters. It presents ecological, geological, and oceanographic factors that contribute to the coastal protection capacity of reefs, and the factors that reduce this capacity. It also presents an array of risk reduction solutions to restore reef protection services, and management approaches that can help support its coastal protection values. Finally, it provides a series of recommendations for assessing when, where, and how to apply reef restoration for risk reduction.

This guidance document is not intended to provide detailed practical advice on how to carry out reef restoration, neither to provide detailed techniques and methods.

Citation

Zepeda-Centeno, C., Mariño-Tapia, I., McLeod, E., Rodríguez-Martínez, R., Alvarez-Filip, L., Banaszak, A.T., Escudero-Castillo, M., Silva-Casarín, R., Mendoza-Baldwin, E., Beck, M. and Shaver, E., 2018. Guidance document for reef management and restoration to improve coastal protection: recommendations for global applications based on lessons learned in Mexico. The Nature Conservancy: Mexico City, Mexico, p.81.