BATON ROUGE, La. - A new methodology developed by The Water Institute here and partners allows the comparison of proposed or built projects on the basis of potential ecosystem benefit, social vulnerability and exposure to future stressors such as sea level rise. The peer-reviewed research article, “Supporting habitat restoration in the northern Gulf of Mexico through synthesis of data on multiple and interacting benefits and stressors” was published in the Journal of Environmental Management. This new method can be applied anywhere where regional planning is needed. Developed by The Water Institute, with partners U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Royal Engineers & Consultants, the research supports planning tools, including the Southeast Conservation Blueprint, a regularly-updated spatial plan that identifies important places for conservation and restoration across the Southeast and Caribbean. The 2022 blueprint, scheduled for release in October, uses many of the approaches discussed in the paper to depict priorities that supports thriving fish and wildlife populations and improved quality of life. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, there has been an increase in the funding available to regional restoration approaches and valuations. This work fills a key gap in quantitative methodologies that can be used to compare proposed projects based on potential ecological benefits, community vulnerabilities and future threats. (Source: The Water Institute 07/11/22)
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