Envisioning the Future of the Gulf Coast – 2006 Summit

To foster a shared national understanding of the magnitude of the wetlands loss problem and the importance of coastal protection plays, America’s WETLAND and their national sponsor BP, held a conference entitled Envisioning the Future of the Gulf Coast.

On April 23 through April 27, 2006 a group of more than thirty international scientists and engineers participated in a week-long symposium sponsored by BP. The group, which included experts in geology, ecology, oceanography, engineering and economics, came from across the United States and as far away as Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Egypt and Australia to tour the coast, learn about its environmental and economic importance, and shared their own recommendations.

The scientists first discussed the future of the Gulf Coast, expanded on existing research, and prepared recommendations of specific scenarios for restoring coastal wetlands and increasing hurricane protection. Those scientists met with policy makers again on April 25th to share their findings with key leaders from Gulf Coast states.

On June 1, 2006 - the first day of Atlantic Hurricane season, that group of local, national and international scientists, called for bold, aggressive action and offered a visionary long-range plan to restore coastal Louisiana and preserve the value of this delicate ecosystem that is at the verge of collapse.

"Without aggressive action to restore its coast, the future is bleak for Louisiana. Even if we can protect populated areas from hurricanes with levees and floodgates, the continued loss of the coastal landscape will pose an increasing threat to the economy and environment of the region. Land loss and flooding will become even more severe as sea-level rise accelerates and storms increase in intensity" said Dr. Denise Reed, a Professor at the University of New Orleans and head of the technical group who authored the report.

Click here to download a copy of the final report authored by the technical group. The report was presented to the Chair of the Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority on June 1, 2006 and many ideas from the report were incorporated in the Integrated Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane Protection: Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. (http://www.lacpra.org)