Environmentalists and free market practitioners are seeking common ground in finding ways to minimize risks associated with hurricanes, according to speakers at the Hurricane Science for Safety Leadership Forum.

Speaking this week at a meeting in Orlando, Fla., representatives of the National Wildlife Federation offered to join forces with insurers and others interested in hurricane risk mitigation, to work for common interests that would protect wetlands. The wetlands act as natural buffers against hurricanes and also provide an important habitat for wildlife.

Amanda Staudt, from the National Wildlife Federation, said there is an “obvious overlap of interests” for different stakeholders to work together, and she cited areas in which she is attempting to build a wide consensus. One point, she said, is reducing the incentive to build in high-risk areas such as floodplains and coastal land vulnerable to sea-level rise.