On the strengths and drawbacks of tsunami-buffer forests

摘要

In 2004, a devastating tsunami drew attention to the vulnerability of communities along the coasts of the Indian Ocean. A central question posed by this event was whether and how coastal forests and other biological and man-made obstacles diminish the impact of the waves (1). In an effort to build back better, some environmentalists promoted the idea of planting coastal greenbelts as life-protecting components of sustainable coastal planning. Scientific assessments, however, produced inconclusive results regarding the function and use of such tsunami bio-shields and sparked controversy about the efficient use of aid money (2-4). The seminal study by Laso Bayas et al. (5) in PNAS contributes important evidence to this debate. It is a study based on a remarkable set of data collected along the severely affected coastlines of the Indonesian province of Aceh. It is unique in that Laso Bayas et al. (5) used a sophisticated multivariate spatial statistical model.