Climate models predict storms and flooding will increase in frequency and severity in many regions of the United States in the coming decades. Strategically placed natural lands and open space—often referred to as “green infrastructure”—can reduce damages from flooding and at the same time provide environmental and social co-benefits, including improved water quality in streams and rivers, protection of groundwater sources, and enhanced recreational opportunities.

Each year, the US government spends billions of dollars to build, maintain, and manage water infrastructure and water resources. Federal principles directing how the US Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies assess, plan, and invest in flood control, water storage, navigation infrastructure, and other water resources date back to 1983.

Preventing the release of “blue carbon” stored in mangroves, sea grasses, and salt marshes may be an effective way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. A new RFF report details the possibilities.

Mangroves, salt marshes, and sea grass meadows store considerable amounts of carbon in their biomass and soil, but when disturbed by land-use changes and development, much or all of the "blue carbon" is released into the atmosphere. Protecting those rapidly disappearing areas may prevent the release of 42 billion tons of stored carbon dioxide emissions into the air, according to a new RFF report.

Protecting coastal mangrove forests from development can cost-effectively achieve CO2 emissions reductions on par with taking millions of cars off the roads, according to a recent study by experts at RFF and the University of California, Davis.