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Economics of Restoration

 

The Nature Conservancy - Great Places Network

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You can make a difference by joining The Nature Conservancy's Great Places Network. We are a global community of friends and neighbors working together to ensure the diversity of life on Earth.

As a member of this FREE online community, you''ll get great benefits, including Great Places, our monthly e-newsletter. You'll also get conservation action tips, nature e-cards, desktop wallpaper and ways you can make a difference right now.

Shrimp boats tied up at Conn Brown Harbor, Aransas Pass, Texas

Shrimp boats tied up at Conn Brown Harbor, Aransas Pass, Texas
© William B. Folsom/NMFS


Along with providing critical habitat to countless species, the Gulf of Mexico is the most economically productive body of water within the territories of the United States and Mexico.

The region’s oyster and blue crab industries are valued at $350 million a year and sport fisheries in Louisiana alone bring in over $1 billion a year. More than 25 million tourists a year spend billions of dollars visiting the Gulf and coastal communities. And southern Louisiana houses the single largest port complex in the world.

If action is not taken immediately to conserve these vital resources, the nation as a whole will feel the impact.

Each year 25 to 30 square miles of Louisiana’s wetlands disappear due to natural and human induced impacts and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that by 2040 an area larger than Rhode Island will disappear from Louisiana’s coast.

While last year’s Hurricanes Katrina and Rita inflicted substantial damage to natural areas around the coast, these vital resources have been threatened for decades.

Poorly-planned coastal development, industrial discharge, waterway dredging as well as agriculture and aquaculture practices pollute waterways with nitrogen and phosphorous. This weakens the resilience of the Gulf’s natural resources, making them even more susceptible to storm damage.

The Nature Conservancy is working with government agencies, universities, individuals and other non-profit organizations to promote restoration policies and to launch on-the-ground projects to bring coastal areas back to health.

Investing now in the wetlands, forests, reefs and coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico is essential for protecting lives and economies around the Gulf and across the nation.