Top academics and practitioners in the field of environmental restoration are in New Orleans this week, meeting as part of the 2014 Conference of Ecological and Ecosystem Restoration.
Experts will be sharing coastal restoration examples from the Gulf of Mexico to the Persian Gulf, from Southeast Asia's Mekong Delta to the Mississippi Delta.
Environmental companies with experience implementing restoration projects will be on hand. They’re joined by scientists like Garry Holm. He’s presenting research on how restored wetlands reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Wetlands are known to help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Holm is a Baton Rouge based senior scientist for the engineering firm CH2MHill. He says he's excited to see how research and practice can better come together to benefit the coast.
“Improve the pace of what we're trying to do in terms of restoration. Also, reduce the uncertainty of certain things," he says. "Some of these projects, it’s hard to predict what some of the values are going to be. That’s where the science comes in, to say: 'Yeah, this is the way we’ve monitored this, and these are the values we get from coastal restoration.'”
The 2014 Conference of Ecological and Ecosystem Restoration continues through Friday.
Support for WWNO's Coastal Desk comes from the Walton Family Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Kabacoff Family Foundation and WWNO Members.
