Philippines saves more than $1 billion with green solutions

In its Lifelines: The Resilient Infrastructure Opportunity report released last week, the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) noted that “combining infrastructure with nature-based solutions” reduces countries investment needs.

“In the Philippines, mangroves, reefs and other natural system prevent more than $1 billion in annual disaster losses,” the report said.

The report also noted that nature-based solutions were also used for flood protection, thus, reducing the need for hard infrastructure like dikes.

“The fact that mangroves and coral reefs protect coastlines against floods and storm stages is well-known,” the report said.

It added that countries that benefited the most from reefs were the Philippines, Cuba, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico.

The report said the annual expected flood savings of these countries was estimated at more than $400 million each.

World Bank and GFDRR’s report said the net benefit on average of investing in more resilient infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries would be $4.2 trillion.

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