Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Background. Nature-based solutions, and fringing mangroves in particular, are increasingly proposed as complements to conventional gray infrastructure for protecting coastal residential housing from storm surge and wind-wave action. The engineering literature that links mangrove structure to quantifiable, design-relevant parameters (wave-height attenuation coefficients, force reduction on foundations, monetized flood-damage avoidance) is well developed for the United States coastline, but is rarely translated into a stepwise, instrument-level protocol that a municipal or regional engineering office in a developing coastal region could actually execute. Objective. To synthesize peer-reviewed, DOI-verifiable evidence quantifying the protective value of fringing mangroves for residential structures during storm events, to translate that evidence into standard coastal-engineering formulas, and — as the central contribution of this paper — to convert that evidence into a staged, instrument- and materials-specific implementation protocol calibrated to the geomorphology, hydro-climatic regime, and institutional structure of Peru’s northern coast (Tumbes region). Methods. A structured narrative synthesis (PRISMA-informed screening of the coastal-engineering and environmental-economics literature indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, January 2000–June 2026) was conducted. Studies were retained if they reported a quantitative wave-attenuation, storm-surge-reduction, or monetized property-damage-reduction value attributable to mangroves, and if a DOI could be independently verified. Extracted values were standardized into a comparative matrix and combined with the Méndez and Losada (2004) vegetation wave-transformation formulation and a Morison-type drag-force model. This evidence base was then cross-referenced with site-specific geomorphological, climatic, and institutional data for the Santuario Nacional Los Manglares de Tumbes to build a six-stage implementation protocol specifying assessment instruments, hydrodynamic modeling tools, construction materials and procedures, and the technical competencies required of the officials who would execute each stage. Results. Across the retained literature, mangrove belts are consistently reported to reduce incident wave height along the fringe, with documented reductions of 13–66% over 100 m of fringe, and to generate substantial monetized protection benefits — on the order of US$65 billion per year globally and roughly US$1.8 million per km² per year in the continental United States. Applied to Tumbes, whose mangrove sanctuary sits on a low-lying (7 m a.s.l.), tide-dominated estuarine plain repeatedly disrupted by Coastal El Niño flooding, the resulting protocol identifies UAV photogrammetry and Sentinel-2/Landsat imagery as the appropriate low-cost fringe-mapping instruments, SWAN/XBeach as the calibration models, elevated pile foundations in reinforced concrete or treated hardwood as the appropriate construction system, and a specific combination of hydraulic-engineering, remote-sensing, and disaster-risk-management competencies as the minimum technical profile for the implementing officials. Conclusions. The reviewed evidence supports fringing mangroves as an engineering-relevant, quantifiable component of hybrid coastal-defense design for residential housing. The staged protocol developed here translates that evidence into a transferable, low-cost, and institutionally realistic starting point for coastal municipalities in Tumbes, Peru, where a legally protected mangrove sanctuary already exists but is not yet integrated into structural design, land-use planning, or municipal building practice.</p>