The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami illustrated that healthy mangroves serve as a natural barrier against massive waves – protecting infrastructure developments and saving lives. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) compared the death toll from two villages in Sri Lanka that were hit by the devastating tsunami giant waves. Two people died in the settlement with dense mangrove and scrub forest, while up to 6,000 people died in the village without similar vegetation (IUCN 2005) This study proves that mangroves provide a natural wall, which is necessary in high impact natural disasters areas such as this one.
