Signal Belize reef restoration after Hurricane Lisa and 81,580 hectares of insured reef in Hawaii

Summary

The report cites Belize as a case where the automatic payout of ecosystem insurance sped up actual restoration. Thanks to this mechanism, Belize was able to begin repairing its reef only a few days after Hurricane Lisa. These policies are designed so that compensation flows immediately, without extra paperwork, once a hurricane or wind reaches a defined strength. Hawaii has also insured 81,580 hectares of its reefs. The report describes this approach spreading from its 2019 start on the Mesoamerican Reef, and says Europe has yet to adopt it though feasibility studies are under way. In Spain, posidonia meadows, salt marshes, estuaries and coastal dunes are mentioned as areas that could be protected in the same way.