Introduction

Mangrove forests provide a range of ecosystem services to humans (Dixon, et al., 1994; MEA, 2003). Among these services, storm protection remains one of the most important regulating services provided by mangroves. During storms, mangroves provide protection to inland properties and lives by reducing wind and storm surge velocity. Given recent increases in the frequency of cyclones and the fear of further increases in frequency and intensity due to climate change (Steffen, 2006), both research and quantification of the storm protection function of mangroves becomes important.

Since the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004, the protection services of coastal forests have been in the limelight. Though some anecdotal reports and studies have concluded that the presence of mangroves reduced the extent of tsunami damage (UNEP, 2005; Danielson et al., 2005; Kathiresan and Rajendran, 2005; Dahdouh-Guebas et al., 2006), critics have questioned their validity citing limited sample size and inappropriate statistical analysis (Kerr et al., 2006; Baird, 2006). Some researchers see coastal forests as playing either a marginal or no role in containing tsunami damages and have underscored the need for clearer answers (Kerr and Baird, 2007; Chatenox and Peduzzi, 2007; Cochard, R. et al., 2008). Theoretically, it is well established that mangroves can reduce cyclone impact by dissipating wave energy (Mazda et al., 1997, 2006; Brinkman et al., 1997; Massel et al., 1999; Hamza et al., 1999; Harada and Imamura, 2005; Quartel et al., 2007). But there is little in the way of detailed empirical work (Khazai et al., 2007).