When Hurricane Sandy slammed into the coast of New Jersey almost two years ago, the seaside community of Mantoloking had widespread flooding and destruction. In contrast, the adjacent town of Bay Head had flooding and damage, but little destruction, as documented by a study immediately after the hurricane. Protection for Bay Head came from what was effectively “green infrastructure,” in the form of a century old 1,260 meter long stone wall that had been covered by wind-deposited sand to form a sturdy dune—that withstood through the storm.
Societal benefits from green infrastructure are a not new discovery. But, it is an area of work gaining attention, such as by the US EPA, as it becomes increasingly clear that we must adapt to realities of a changing climate.
As we consider the findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it is clear that future tense has become present tense. Adaptation is now an imperative. Green infrastructure offers an area of opportunity for building resilience on to our landscapes and into our societies.
Green infrastructure work emerges from the recognition that well-functioning ecological systems offers people benefits. Yet, many of these natural systems are being undercut around the world, as documented in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Like a sweater from which we are pulling out one thread after another, the fibers holding the garment together can become weakened and less able to withstand “pokes”. For ecological systems, the changing climate can represent a sharp poke with potentially serious implications to ecosystems being able to function well over time.
Vividly illustrating these dynamics was another hurricane that hit the US coast—Hurricane Katrina and its impact on New Orleans. The story of Hurricane Katrina is the story of an unravelling ecological system off the coast, as laid out in a recent article. It is about fundamentally altering and failing to restore natural ecological systems which provided storm buffering “green infrastructure”, in the form of wetlands off the coast of Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina encountered a coastal region that has be criss-crossed with such a changed wetland that land loss is occurring at a grand scale. The discussion is no longer about levees being overtopped, but about (literal) ecosystem collapse following on years of activities that is effectively chiseling it (and the land) away.
Built infrastructure without maintenance is likely crumble over time. And, since deteriorating infrastructure is not in the best interest of societies or businesses, revenue collection systems have been established in many parts of the world. Bridges, road systems, and harbors collect tolls. The proceeds are used for maintenance.
Yet, maintaining and restoring natural systems and green infrastructure is commonly neglected. This oversight needs to change, particularly as we face climate change.
Fortunately, it appears that giants are awakening.
Consider, for example, Coca Cola that is contributing funds to collaborative watershed restoration project high upstream from one of its California bottling plants, which includes numerous government and non-governmental partners. In a 500-acre meadow at the headwaters of the Mokelumne River Watershed, restoration will reduce erosion and improve groundwater storage as well as reliable downstream water supply, by simply “helping the meadow to once again function as a vital part of the watershed,” according to project partner NGO American Rivers. These are important activities in a state facing a serious drought and ominous climate change related scenarios about long-term water availability. Fortunately, this is example is but one of many, as documented in articles by the EcosystemMarketplace and in a report on the State of Watershed Payments.
Consider Puma and parent company Kering (which also owns numerous luxury brands, such as Gucci and Stalla McCartney) that is both funding reforestation activities in Kenya, as well as a shareholder in Wildlife Works Carbon, the company that develops projects on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+).This work is occurring in the field of forest carbon and voluntary carbon markets, with initiatives that cover the gamut: from smallholders with tree planting on one-hectare plots in western Uganda through large-scale Amazonian forest conservation on indigenous lands. In addition, restoration and soil carbon sequestration work is also underway on farmlands, such as in Kenya and the US.
Consider Unilever, SwissRe, Dow Chemical, and Royal Dutch Shell which together state in a report that “green infrastructure often demonstrate financial advantages compared to gray infrastructure due to a reduction of initial capital expenses and ongoing operational expenses and can be used to strategically recapitalize aging assets.” The conclusion of their analysis of several corporate green infrastructure case studies is that hybrid gray/green infrastructure may offer the most resilience preferred alternative from a financial stance.
The opportunity now is take this moment in time—when societies and businesses need to consider how to adapt to climate change—to consider restoring natural ecosystems as well as investing in green infrastructure. Natural system restoration can offer a “tri-fecta play”—related to climate adaptation, carbon sequestration (and thus climate change mitigation) as well as transformation of ecological systems and local economies (through green job creation).
It seems that the future being made manifest today; it is just not yet evenly distributed. Taking ecological restoration and green infrastructure work to scale may be a key element to building more resilience in the face of climate change.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited (EIU) or any other member of The Economist Group. The Economist Group (including the EIU) cannot accept any responsibility or liability for reliance by any person on this article or any of the information, opinions or conclusions set out in the article.
