Nature-based solutions for coastal protection in the southern Caribbean

The coastal shores of Trinidad and Tobago are at high risk (69.5 and 42.7%, respectively) of inundation from storm surges, sea level rise, and coastal erosion. The impacts of these coastal processes are predicted to worsen with climate change. Nature-based solutions utilizing the planting and rehabilitation of mangroves and seagrass beds are proposed. Sustainable green-engineered coastal protection strategies are pertinent for the low-lying coastal regions, as they house 70% of the country's population and roughly 80% of its socio-economic activity. Such measures offer ecological, environmental, social, and economic benefits, not provided by grey engineering, or concrete structures. Nature-based solutions are limited by anthropogenic factors, biotic/abiotic factors, data gaps, legal constraints, and social trends. These have resulted in declines in mangrove and seagrass bed coverage. A more sustainable coastal protection strategy using mangroves and seagrasses can be achieved by addressing these limitations and systematically utilizing various coastal ecological species. Building capacity, community building and outreach, and revising legal approaches and policing measures are necessary to maximize the benefits mangroves and seagrass beds offer as coastal protection measures.