WSC-Category 1: From natural wetland to murky water: Cross-disciplinary analysis of a drowning urbanized coast

气候驱动的海平面上升和强化的水文循环正在威胁新奥尔良大都市区和周围密西西比河三角洲的水资源。不同的河流流量和海平面上升会增加区域水道的洪水潜力和盐度，从而促进退化循环。扭转退化的开始或进展将涉及管理淡水供应(包括将淡水和沉积物重新引入湿地)、能够封存有可能恢复高度有价值的栖息地的营养物质，以及清除对人类和生态系统健康构成威胁的毒素。仅靠科学和工程是不足以实施有效的管理计划的。明确界定的政策和法律框架对于渐进的管理干预至关重要。同样，让当地利益攸关方提高对水可持续性关切的认识，对于确保未来气候条件下的生态和社区复原力是必要的。这一孵化项目的目的是建立一个强有力的组织框架，加强现有的研究能力和基础设施，并获得关键的基线数据，为全面了解密西西比河三角洲地区的水质和管理问题奠定基础。一个示范项目说明了研究区的海岸水综合管理。该项目的重点是城市湿地水文系统的水质管理。该研究小组评估了与历史和当前水和环境状况数据相关的政府管辖权和财产权。这项研究为研究现场的水质问题提供了一个基线了解。该研究还利用由当地利益攸关方组成的重点小组收集有关环境变化的历史背景和看法的数据，并为制定可行的政策解决办法提供信息。这些努力涉及一个由专家和社区伙伴组成的工作组。工作组的目标是加强水资源数据管理，以促进拟议研究区域的机构管理和社区意识，并查明最有可能为脆弱沿海环境中的水可持续性提供切实解决办法的关键挑战和优先研究领域。

Climate driven sea-level rise and an intensified hydrological cycle are threatening water resources in the New Orleans metropolitan area and surrounding Mississippi River Delta. Variable river discharge and sea level rise can promote cycles of degradation by increasing flooding potential and salinity in regional waterways. Reversing the onset or progression of degradation will involve managing freshwater supply (including reintroduction of freshwater and sediment into wetlands), enabling the sequestration of nutrients that can potentially restore highly valued habitat, and removal of toxins that challenge human and ecosystem health. Science and engineering alone will not be sufficient to implement effective management plans. Well-defined policy and legal frameworks will be essential for progressive management interventions. Similarly, engaging local stakeholders to enhance awareness of concerns about water sustainability will be necessary to ensure ecological and community resiliency under future climate conditions. The purposes of this incubation project are to develop a strong organizational framework, to enhance existing research capacity and infrastructure, and to obtain critical baseline data that will set the stage for the development of a comprehensive understanding of water quality and management issues in the Mississippi River Delta region. A demonstration project illustrates integrative coastal water management in the study area. This project focuses on management of water quality in an urban-influenced wetland hydrologic system. The research team assesses government jurisdiction and property rights related to data on historical and current water and environmental conditions. The research provides a baseline understanding of water quality issues at the study site. The study also use focus groups consisting of local stakeholders to collect data on the historical context and perceptions of environmental change and to inform the development of tenable policy solutions. These efforts involve a working group composed of experts and community partners. The goals of the working group are to enhance water resources data management to promote institutional management and community awareness in the proposed study area, and to identify key challenges and priority research areas that are most likely to offer practical solutions for water sustainability in vulnerable coastal environments.