There is no doubt that the situation facing Louisiana’s coast is dire. It is threatened by many factors that interact with one another in complex ways—many of which lack obvious solutions. Still, to do nothing would be the most certain way to ensure disaster. In addition, there are many different ways of coping with the problems related to coastal land loss, some of which are technological, some of which are environmental, and some of which are social. Part 3 of this primer reviews some of the solutions that are currently being put into action to help address coastal land loss in Louisiana, as well as some other future possibilities.
Many of the solutions to land loss discussed here are presented in greater detail in Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan (2017), authored by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (hereafter CPRA). The CPRA was established by the Louisiana state legislature in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since that time, the CPRA has been charged with the daunting tasks of finding potential resolutions to all of the socioeconomic and environmental problems related to land loss on the Louisiana coast.
At times, the problem of coastal land loss can seem so staggering that it is hard to think about taking concrete steps to stop it. Yet, there are many things that we can do ranging in scale from huge engineering projects and the relocation of whole communities, to some simple steps that everyone can take to help restore coastal wetland habitats.