Working with nature: New report highlights the importance of healthy coastal habitats in reducing flood risk - Natural Resources Wales

Natural coastal habitats - such as sand dunes, shingle and saltmarsh - provide millions of pounds worth of flood risk benefits to communities in Wales, according to a new study.

Undertaken by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), marine consultants ABPmer and economic consultant eftec, the Wales-wide study has looked at different types of coastal habitat and examined the role they play in mitigating flood risk.

It looked at the characteristics of the different habitats and their effectiveness in buffering wave energy, reducing wave height and reducing tidal flooding.

The study estimates that these habitats could provide £36m of flood risk benefits annually – calculated by taking into account avoided damage to properties, agricultural land and infrastructure such as road and rail.

Some of the key areas where habitats have been identified as having the potential to provide an economically important flood risk benefit include Port Talbot, Newport, Neath, Swansea, Carmarthen Bay, and along the north coast of Wales.

However, for coastal habitats to reach their full potential in reducing flood impacts and sustaining a healthy ecosystem, they need to be in good condition. The recently published State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR), identifies that many coastal margin habitats are in poor condition - affected by habitat loss and fragmentation - and the pressures of climate change and sea level rise will cause further damage.

It’s estimated that around 30 per cent of Wales's original sand dune area has been lost since 1900, and up to a quarter of saltmarsh in Welsh marine protected areas could disappear by 2155.