The Importance of Mississippi Delta Restoration on the Local and National Economies

Abstract

Most economic activity in coastal Louisiana depends, either directly or indirectly, on the Mississippi River, its delta and the coastal wetlands of the Chenier plain. Maintaining the economic vitality of the region requires taking action to restore these essential elements of the coastal landscape. The economic value of the jobs and assets that will be lost without restoration can be estimated from standard indices of economic activity in the region such as gross domestic product and jobs, and from the value of ecosystem goods and services.

The economic health of the United States also depends on sustaining the navigation, flood control , energy production, tourism, and seafood and other natural resource production functions of the Mississippi Delta and river system, making Mississippi River Delta restoration critically important. These systems are at risk due to the degradation of coastal wetlands. The Mississippi River Delta ecosystems provide at least $ 12–47 billion in ecosystem goods and services benefits to the people of the United States every year and a natural capital asset value between $ 330 billion and $ 1.3 trillion. Unless the delta is restored and maintained, the entry to the Lower Mississippi navigation system, the lynchpin in the entire Mississippi navigation and freight transportation system, is likely to collapse. The economic value of the MRD is $ 1.3 trillion when the natural capital is included as a valued economic asset. The economics are clear, an investment in costs to modernize the Mississippi River Delta in ways that allow it to gain ground, and to sustain critical infrastructure far into the future is justified and critical to the economic health of both the state and the nation. Economic collapse on a large scale looms in the near future unless dramatic steps are taken to reverse the deterioration of the Mississippi River Delta.