NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In a recent policy brief, the Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, in collaboration with Restore the Mississippi River Delta, emphasizes the need for investment in coastal restoration to protect Louisiana’s economic and environmental future.
Researchers describe Louisiana’s coast as a “natural capital asset,” consistently at risk due to rising sea levels and land loss caused by climate change and erosion.
The state’s coastal restoration plan, first implemented in 2007 by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, aims to reduce flood risks and restore coastal ecosystems.
“It really feels like the state’s coastal program has really started to hit its stride. We’ve finally gotten to that point where we’re making truly large-scale, transformative investments in the coast that can set Louisiana up for long-term sustainability,” said Executive Director of the Blanco Public Policy Center Dr. Stephen Barnes.
Funding for the plan partly comes from a settlement the state reached with BP Oil after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Although that funding is not set to run out until 2031, they are looking ahead.
“We can see now a little further down the road that the state is facing a shortfall in terms of funding,” said Barnes.
The report points out that delayed restoration projects could significantly reduce the positive gain of restoration programs, potentially creating irreversible loss.
Barnes explained that “these projects are built in a dynamic environment, an environment that continues to change, which brings great challenges in terms of trying to keep up.” Barnes adds, “Delaying projects can make them more expensive to build in the first place.”
“Without urgent, significant action, we could lose another 3000 square miles of coastline in the next 50 years. That’s on top of the 2000 that we’ve already lost since the 1930s,” said Senior Adviser of the National Wildlife Federation Charles Sutcliffe.
Louisiana’s coast not only serves as a barrier against strong storms, but researchers also emphasize the crucial role of coastal ecosystems in providing essential resources, regulating environmental processes and enriching cultural and recreational values, which often support local and state economies.
“Land loss itself poses substantial risk with a little over $4.5 billion of physical capital stock potentially lost,” said Barnes.
He explained the reason for their report now was to “make sure that we’re being efficient as a state, that we’re getting the most benefit we can out of every dollar spent, which means moving projects forward quickly once they’ve been identified and kind of tested to and shown to be good projects.”
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