Grist Comment Feed en http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-04-nature-climate-change-bonn/ Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:41:38 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-04-nature-climate-change-bonn/1 Kudos to Trevor Sandwith for raising this important issue.  We simply must consider's nature's role in sustaining and protecting people, particularly in light of a changing climate.  Imagine how different the devastation of Hurricane Katrina might have been had the Gulf's barrier islands still been intact.  How much infrastructure damage from hurricanes or Nor'Easters might be mitigated on Long Island or on North Carolina's Outer Banks were dune systems still intact?  How many fewer people might be killed, or infrastructure lost, as a result of tsnamis if coastal mangroves were preserved, rather than cut down?  With all the changes in weather patterns and sea levels likely as a result of climate change, the role of these natural systems will only become more crucial to human well-being.  The world leaders and policy thinkers pushing nature-based adaptation strategies for climate change should be commended.

]]> Kudos to Trevor Sandwith for raising this important issue.  We simply must consider's nature's role in sustaining and protecting people, particularly in light of a changing climate.  Imagine how different the devastation of Hurricane Katrina might have been had the Gulf's barrier islands still been intact.  How much infrastructure damage from hurricanes or Nor'Easters might be mitigated on Long Island or on North Carolina's Outer Banks were dune systems still intact?  How many fewer people might be killed, or infrastructure lost, as a result of tsnamis if coastal mangroves were preserved, rather than cut down?  With all the changes in weather patterns and sea levels likely as a result of climate change, the role of these natural systems will only become more crucial to human well-being.  The world leaders and policy thinkers pushing nature-based adaptation strategies for climate change should be commended.

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