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加剧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。河流流量的变化和海平面上升会增加区域水道的洪水可能性和盐度，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），使有可能恢复高价值生境的营养物质得以固存，并清除威胁人类和生态系统健康的毒素。科学和工程本身不足以实施有效的管理计划。明确界定的政策和法律的框架对于渐进式管理干预至关重要。同样，有必要让当地利益攸关方参与进来，提高对水可持续性问题的认识，以确保生态和社区在未来气候条件下的复原力。这个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综合沿海水管理。该项目的重点是在城市影响的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产权。该研究提供了对研究地点水质问题的基线了解。该研究还利用由当地利益攸关方组成的重点小组，收集关于历史背景和对环境变化的看法的数据，并为制定可行的政策解决方案提供信息。这些努力涉及一个由专家和社区伙伴组成的工作组。该工作组的目标是加强水资源数据管理，以促进拟议研究领域的机构管理和社区认识，并确定最有可能为脆弱沿海环境的水可持续性提供实际解决方案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.