BATON ROUGE, La. (Feb. 20, 2020) – Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards named the Water Institute of the Gulf as the state’s Coastal Innovation and Collaboration Hub as part of his suite of coastal priorities for the next four years.
“Louisiana’s approach to the coastal crisis has been firmly rooted in the best available science since day one. It is the basis for our decision-making in the Coastal Master Plan and leads us to design and implement projects that can produce meaningful, lasting results,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “Establishing the Coastal Innovation and Collaboration Hub at the Water Institute of the Gulf further cements the role of science and the open sharing of information and collaboration as crucial elements of our success into the future.”
As Louisiana’s Coastal Innovation and Collaboration Hub, the Institute will act as the focal point bringing together scientists, government agencies, nonprofits, and communities to address some of the big picture questions facing Louisiana’s coast.
The initial work will focus on three areas: Working with state agencies to create a state model repository, identifying and coordinating solutions for science needs of the Atchafalaya Basin Program, and collaboration with the CPRA on the Lowermost Mississippi River Management Program which will evaluate a holistic approach to managing the River for navigation, flood, protection, economic prosperity, and ecological restoration.
“Serving as the state’s Innovation and Collaboration Hub formalizes the role that the Institute was created to play,” said Justin Ehrenwerth, Institute president and CEO. “In order to address our most pressing coastal challenges, academic, private sector and government scientists and engineers must collaborate to generate innovative solutions. The result is a more sustainable coast at home and continued opportunities to share our knowledge with coastal communities around the world.”
Model Repository
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and other state agencies will work with the Institute to develop the state’s model repository. It is envisioned that the repository will leverage collaboration among academic, private sector and government scientists/engineers to ensure that the coastal program and other planning initiatives most effectively utilize available resources to advance our collective knowledge base. Essentially, the repository will be a library through which researchers and technical experts can access existing models and related data.
Integration
The recent transfer of the Atchafalaya Basin Program to CPRA presents an opportunity to more fully integrate activities in the Atchafalaya Basin with the Coastal Master Plan. By working closely with the newly established advisory committee to identify science needs for the Basin and pulling together a diverse set of citizen, agency and scientists to fill those needs, the state can address the complex set of water, sediment, and ecosystem issues across the Basin and coast.
Lowermost Mississippi River Management Program This program represents an opportunity to build on previous work and evaluate a holistic approach to managing the River for navigation, flood, protection, economic prosperity, and ecological restoration. The Institute will work with CPRA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, universities, engineering firms, the navigation sector, and other stakeholders to facilitate a collaborative knowledge exchange and develop a “Mississippi River Science and Modeling Community of Practice.”
About The Water Institute of the Gulf
The Institute is an independent, non-profit, applied research institution that works across disciplines to advance science and develop integrated methods used to solve complex environmental and societal challenges. The Institute helps coastal and deltaic communities thoughtfully prepare for an uncertain future. For more information, visit www.thewaterinstitute.org.