The aim of this book is to provide an overview of knowledge and practice in this multidisciplinary field of ecosystem managment and disaster risk reduction. It contains 17 chapters written by 58 professionals from the science and practice communities around the world.

Part I: Why do ecosystems matter In disaster risk reduction? 1 The relevance of ecosystems for disaster risk reduction Fabrice G. Renaud, Karen Sudmeier-Rieux and Marisol Estrella 2 Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR): overview Marisol Estrella and Nina Saalismaa

Part II: Ecosystems and coastal disaster risk reduction 3 Investigating the performance of coastal ecosystems for hazard mitigation Sam S.L. Hettiarachchi, Saman P. Samarawickrama, Harindra J.S. Fernando, A. Harsha R. Ratnasooriya, N.A. Kithsiri Nandasena and Srimal Bandara 4 Bioshields: Mangrove ecosystems as resilient natural coastal defences Carmen Lacambra, Daniel A. Friess, Tom Spencer and Iris Moller 5 Integrating the role of ecosystems in disaster risk and vulnerability assessments: Lessons from the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology Development Project (RiVAMP) in Negril, Jamaica Pascal Peduzzi, Adonis Velegrakis, Marisol Estrella and Bruno Chatenoux 6 Increasing the resilience of human and natural communities to coastal hazards: Supporting decisions in New York and Michael W. Beck, Ben Gilmer, Zach Ferdaha, George T. Raber, Christine C. Shepard, Imen Meliane, Jeffrey D. Stone, Adam W. Whelchel, Mark Hoover and Sarah New kirk 7 A coastal adaptation strategy for the City of Cape Town: An ecosystem-based management approach towards risk reduction Darryl Colenbrander, Penny Price, Gregg Oelofse and Sakhile Tsotsobe 8 Lessons from local initiatives on ecosystem-based climate change work in Tonga Stavros Mavrogenis and Ilan Kelman

Part III: Water resources management for disaster risk reduction. 9 Good flood, bad flood: Maintaining dynamic river basins for :ommunity resilience ieter van Eijk, Chris Baker\ Romarta Gaspirc and Ritesh Kumar to support disaster risk reduction to support disaster risk reduction James Dalton, Radhika Murti and Alvin Chandra 11 The matter is not if, but wheren and where: The role of capacity development in disaster risk reduction aiming for a sustainable water supply and sanitation Madeleine Fogde, Luis Macario and Kirsten Carey

Part IV: Sustainable land management for disaster risk reduction. 12 The role of vegetation cover change in landslide hazard and risk Maria Papathoma-Koehle and Thomas Glade 13 Protection forests: A key factor in integrated risk management in the Alps Andre Wehrli and Luuk Dorren 14 Forest cover and landslide trends: A case study from Dolakha District in central-eastern Nepal, 1992-2009 Stephanie Jaquet, Karen Sudmeier-Rieux, Marc-Henri Derron and Michel Jaboyedoff

Part V: Policy, planning and future perspectives 15 Reducing vulnerability: The role of protected areas in mitigating natural disasters Nigel Dudley, Kathy MacKinnon and Sue Stolton 16 Urban disaster risk reduction and ecosystem services Lorenzo Guadagno, Yaella Depietri and Urbano Fra Paleo 17 Applying environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments in disaster management Anil Kumar Gupta and Sreeja S. Nair 18 Opportunities, challenges and future perspectives for ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction Marisol Estrella, Fabrice G. Renaud and Karen Sudmeier-Rieux