OBSERVATIONS in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004 have revealed that mangroves (and other coastal vegetation) are capable of effectively dissipating energy in waves and thus perform a coastal defence function.
As the inferiority of exorbitantly expensive engineering structures used in coastal protection have been manifested many times, a protection strategy based on the natural defensive capacity of coastal vegetation, particularly of mangrove forests, has come to light as an alternative strategy.