On April 9, 2014, the Center for American Progress and Oxfam America released a report on the long-term economic benefits of restoring coastal ecosystems. The report finds that each dollar invested by taxpayers returns more than $15 in net economic benefits for three restoration projects funded in 2009 by stimulus grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Healthy coastal ecosystems provide not just environmental benefits, but critical social and environmental benefits as well. They filter pollution, buffer coasts against extreme weather, serve as nurseries that sustain fisheries, and support tourism, recreation, and the culture of coastal communities. However, we are losing wetlands in the United States at a rate of seven football fields an hour due to development, pollution, and sea-level rise.
The long-term payout of restored coastal ecosystems can help sustain local communities down the road, but there is also direct stimulus to these communities in the form of jobs. Previous research established that a million dollars invested in coastal restoration creates, on average, 17.1 jobs. For comparison, offshore oil and gas creates approximately 8.9 jobs per million dollars of investment. And in low-income coastal communities, these restoration jobs can be significant pathways out of poverty.
By analyzing three locations around the country – Seaside Bays of Virginia’s Atlantic coast, Mobile Bay, Alabama, and South San Francisco Bay, California – CAP and Oxfam America found that investing in well-designed coastal restoration can be highly cost effective and generate economic activity for generations to come.
The report recommends various actions the public and private sector can take to increase our coastal resiliency, strengthen our communities and the economy, and restore degraded ecosystems:
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Public and private sector entities should increase their investment in coastal restoration projects and fund ongoing monitoring of restored areas.
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Congress should enact and fund the National Endowment for the Oceans to provide a steady revenue stream for restoration.
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The state and federal agencies distributing BP oil spill related funds should invest in recovery projects that create employment and support long-term ecosystem recovery.
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Federal, state, and local coastal planners should give greater weight to natural solutions such as wetland restoration to help protect at-risk developed areas.
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The Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of the Interior, and NOAA should work with the Economic Development Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor to develop new pathways into crafts, trades, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, careers related to ecosystem restoration.
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NOAA and its partners should seek funding to apply the evaluation techniques used in this report to the other ARRA coastal restoration projects in order to provide a stronger foundation for future coastal land use decisions.