Nature-based Coastal Resilience: A Catalogue for Jobs and Local Economies

Coastal zones are economic powerhouses, supporting millions of jobs in fisheries, tourism, ports, and manufacturing and hosting nearly 40% of the world’s population. Yet coastal communities and industries are increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels, stronger storms, and rapid erosion. These risks are further exacerbated by the degradation of coastal ecosystems that once provided protection and services to people and economies. Strengthening coastal resilience is therefore not only about reducing disaster losses, but also about sustaining the economic systems and livelihoods that depend on healthy coastal environments.  

The World Bank Group is increasingly supporting successful and cost-effective investments in nature-based solutions for climate resilience. In coastal areas, these include restoring mangroves and salt marshes, rehabilitating coral reefs, stabilizing dunes, and integrating natural systems into gray infrastructure. These restoration and maintenance works generate employment in the short term, while strengthening ecosystems that support longer-term economic activity such as fisheries and ecotourism. For example, in Indonesia, the Mangrove for Coastal Resilience Project combines cash-for-work mangrove restoration, while facilitating access to finance and technology for fishing, aquaculture, and tourism.  

Despite growing interest, adoption of coastal nature-based solutions remains constrained. Of nearly 290 World Bank-financed investment projects between FY2012 and FY2025 that use nature-based and green-gray interventions, only about a quarter focus on coastlines. This gap reflects both the relative novelty of these approaches and the complexity of designing and implementing them, which requires multidisciplinary expertise across engineering, coastal management, and environmental knowledge.  

_{Coastal Nature-based Solutions Families. Source: A Catalogue of Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Resilience}

To help address these challenges, the World Bank Group developed A Catalogue of Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Resilience, with support from the  Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and with funding from PROBLUE, a World Bank multi-donor trust fund, and the Government of Japan. The Catalogue organizes coastal nature-based solutions into nine typologies or “families”, from mangroves and coral reefs to dunes and seagrasses, and provides guidance on their benefits, costs, suitability, and design considerations.  

The Catalogue draws on global experience to help users identify and assess options suited for their local context. For example, in Seychelles, the World Bank Group supported the development of pilot “Blue Barrier” projects that combine coral reef restoration with engineered elements to reduce flood risks, stabilize shorelines, and protect ecosystems that are essential to tourism and fisheries. The government is now using these insights to guide coastal planning and scale similar interventions.

Nature-based solutions are also increasingly recognized for their employment potential, with estimates suggesting they could support up to 63 million people by 2030, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Realizing this potential, however, depends on moving from isolated pilots to well-designed, scalable investments supported by policy framework and technical capacity. By bringing together practical knowledge and lessons from global experience, the Catalogue supports more informed planning and investment decisions. In doing so, it helps countries protect coastlines while laying the foundation for sustained employment and inclusive coastal growth. 

For more information about the World Bank Group’s work on nature-based solutions for climate resilience, visit naturebasedsolutions.org or read the PROBLUE impact story. 

Full report: A Catalogue of Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Resilience