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(Washington) The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is yet another threat to our coastal wetlands and essential waterbodies. Long under increasing stress, our oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes need new coordination and management to protect their health for future generations to enjoy their economic and ecologic benefits. In the July/August edition of the National Wetlands Newsletter (http://www.wetlandsnewsletter.org/current.cfm), Dr. Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), looks at how Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning would provide ecosystem-based decisionmaking across sectors and jurisdiction to sustain their vital resources for the long term.

Also in this issue:

• Five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Professor Oliver Houck looks at three Katrina-related lawsuits that have been progressing through the federal courts and the possibility that their outcomes could significantly impact public policy for flood control, land use, and climate change.
• Wetlands are one of the most effective ecosystems for sequestering and storing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. At the same time, some are also sources of greenhouse gases. Scott Luchessa of the Environ Corporation and the Society for Wetlands Scientists surveys the landscape for wetland carbon credits in existing and future carbon trading markets and looks at current efforts to identify which wetlands make good candidates for those markets.
• Outside of carbon markets, wetland mitigation programs have been working for years to improve the health and effectiveness of restoring, creating, and protecting wetlands. Academics from the University of North Carolina criticize the state-run Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP), which they say is substantially shifting wetlands across watersheds and negatively impacting those areas. The EEP disagrees and points to problems with the study on which those criticisms are based.

For three decades, the nationally recognized National Wetlands Newsletter has been a widely read and esteemed journal on wetlands, floodplains, and coastal water resources. The Newsletter, published by the highly respected Environmental Law Institute®, analyzes the latest issues in wetland regulation, policy, science, and management through feature articles written by local, national, and international experts from a variety of perspectives.

The Environmental Law Institute makes law work for people, places, and the planet.  With its non-partisan, independent approach, ELI promotes solutions to tough environmental problems.  The Institute's unparalleled research and highly respected publications inform the public debate and build the institutions needed to advance sustainable development.

Contact Info: Brett Kitchen (202) 939-3833

Website : The Environmental Law Institute