141 © Springer International Publishing AG 2018 N. Nagabhatla, C.D. Metcalfe (eds.), Multifunctional Wetlands, Environmental Contamination Remediation and Management, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-67416-2_5 Chapter 5 An Investment Strategy for Reducing Disaster Risks and Coastal Pollution Using Nature Based Solutions Ravishankar Thupalli and Tariq A. Deen Introduction Disasters are results of exposure to natural hazards, and the severity of a disaster depends on the impacts of the hazard on society and the environment. The intensity of the impact depends on the choices we make for our lives and for our environ- ment. These choices are on how we produce our food, where and how we build our homes, type of governance we have, the way our inancial systems function and also on what we teach in schools. Human populations have tended to concentrate along coastal areas because of the numerous beneits these areas provide to human activities and interests. Unfortunately, these areas, many of which are located in economically less developed countries, are also extremely vulnerable to natural hazards like tsunamis, tropical cyclones, and other environmental disturbances. As such, there is a need to take pre-emptive measures to protect coastal communities from environmental disturbance. Disaster Risk Reduction (DDR) is a form of emergency management used around the world to protect communities against natural hazards, which has been deined by The United Nations Ofice for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) as a “concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse and reduce the causal factors of disasters including through reduced exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improved R. Thupalli (*) International Mangrove Management Specialist, 206-Madhura Apartments, Kakinada, India Center for South and South East Asian Studies, School of Political and International Studies, University of Madras, Chennai, India e-mail: rthupalli@hotmail.com T.A. Deen United Nations University—Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Hamilton, ON, Canada