When mangroves do what seawalls cannot

When Cyclone Dana made landfall near Bhitarkanika on Odisha’s coast, the region’s mangroves quietly provided a form of protection that billions of rupees in coastal infrastructure often struggle to deliver: reducing climate impacts while strengthening ecosystems and livelihoods. Across India’s coastline, mangroves, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs are already helping communities adapt to rising climate risks. Yet seawalls, groynes, and embankments continue to dominate adaptation spending, even though they can be costly to maintain and sometimes transfer risks elsewhere. Despite their proven benefits, these ecosystem-based interventions are rarely recognised as Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), limiting their visibility in adaptation planning and finance.