Gaining Ground: Wetlands, Hurricanes and the Economy; The Value of Restoring the Mississippi River Delta

Abstract

The Authors David Batker, cofounder and executive director of Earth Economics, has worked for 20 years in over 30 countries changing economic policy to effect measurable physical improvements for people and ecosystems. His areas of work include climate change, fisheries, forest, coastal management, hazardous waste, land use, energy, agriculture, trade and international finance and improving lending requirements of international banks. With a B.S. in geology and biology from Pacific Lutheran University, he completed his graduate training in economics at Louisiana State University under Herman Daly, one of the world's foremost ecological economists. He has work experience in mining and oil and has worked at the World Bank, Greenpeace International and the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement.Isabel de la Torre, has worked as a reporter, newspaper editor, and environmentalist for 20 years. She has worked with local and national governments around the world, and NGOs working on international institutions on trade, finance, energy, forestry, fisheries, indigenous peoples, coastal management, and human rights issues. Isabel worked as the Executive Director of Industrial Shrimp Action Network (ISA) Net and the United States Society for Ecological Economics and Special Projects Director of Earth Economics before joining The Harder Foundation. She has a graduate degree in law and a bachelor's degree in communications, major in journalism, from the University of the Philippines.Robert Costanza, director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont. He will become University Director and Professor of Sustainability Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices at Portland State University. Dr. Costanza received BA and MA degrees in Architecture and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Sciences (Systems Ecology with Economics minor) all from the University of Florida. He was on the faculty at LSU. He is founding editor in chief of Solutions, a new hybrid academic/popular journal. He is the author or co-author of over 400 scientific papers and 20 books. His work has been cited in more than 5000 scientific articles and he has been named as one of ISI's Highly Cited Researchers.Paula Swedeen, has 20 years of forest conservation and management experience as a wildlife biologist, policy analyst, and ecological economist, and has applied her expertise to a wide array of issues, including endangered species conservation, forest carbon protocol development and valuation of ecosystem services. She joined Pacific Forest Trust after working for the Washington Departments of Natural Resources and Fish and Wildlife, and as a private consultant. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecological Economics from The Union Institute, a master's degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies from Western Washington University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Indiana University.John Day, a distinguished professor of Louisiana State University and a leading expert on the Louisiana wetlands, received his ...

Soil water retention and carbon pools in tropical forested wetlands and marshes of the Gulf of Mexico

“…Bucher and Huszar (1995) concluded that the environmental costs of the project may exceed the benefits, and would negatively impact on biodiversity and the regulation of downstream flows. In the Gulf of Mexico, Batker et al (2010) reported, in a recent review, that the Mississippi River Delta ecosystems provide at least US$ 12-47 billion in annual benefits, and that such vast natural assets provide a basis for national employment and economic productivity.…”

“…Coastal wetlands and dunes provide vital protection against storms and hurricanes by wave attenuation and water velocity reduction. Batker et al (2010) discuss the flood protection value of brackish and freshwater wetlands in the Mississippi Delta, and consider it unique in the provision of flood protection in North America, in both water quantity and the vastness of area served.…”

Ultra-Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas: Energy Return on Financial Investment and a Preliminary Assessment of Energy Return on Energy Investment

“…Ecosystem degradation in the form of wetland loss, partly as a result of oil and gas industry infrastructure, has increased the risk of natural disasters to coastal communities [56]. Batker et al [57] carried out a partial assessment of the value of ecosystem services of the Mississippi River delta. They reported an annual value of ecosystem services of $12 to $47 billion and a minimum natural capital asset value of the delta of $330 billion to $1.3 trillion.…”

Challenges of ecosystem restoration in Louisiana – availability of sediment and its management

“…The wetlands, estuaries, and barrier islands making up the delta provide great economic value, serving as nursery grounds for both sport and commercial fisheries, providing wildlife habitat, attenuating storm effects, supporting the largest port by tonnage in the world, and containing energy reserves. With the loss of coastal wetlands comes a diminishment in the ecosystem services provided (Batker et al, 2010;Batker et al, 2014).…”