User:Nbutler37/sandbox

Enacted Initiatives
CWPPRA (The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act of 1990) is among the first governmental initiatives that sought to preserve the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. The aim was to identify, prepare, and fund coastal wetlands protection projects.

The CIAP (Coastal Impact Assistance Program of 2005) expanded funding of marine protection in the US Gulf of Mexico. Funds were granted to oil-producing coastal states to mitigate the effects of the industry. This comprehensive plan for restored wetlands as well as promoting less invasive onshore human infrastructure.

The LCAP (Louisiana Coastal Area Project of 2005) is a Louisiana-based regulatory body that organized numerous projects that oversees numerous smaller-scale projects to protect the extensive wetlands of the state, covering a total area of 2,849 acres.

The NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) is a US-based subdivision of the US Chamber of Commerce that, among other things, regulates marine life in the Gulf of Mexico within the US Economic Exclusive Zone.

Proposed Initiatives
The complex environmental situation in the Gulf creates numerous issues regarding activism and enforcement of environmental policy of the nations that inhabit it, and most policies have been enacted by the United States, while Cuba and Mexico do less. To remedy the bureaucratic and legal conflicts in the region, authors Harriet L. Nash and Richard J. McLaughin propose to create a unified political framework for organizing protected marine areas. The reason for this is Cuba, US, and Mexico all have separate governing bodies that creates legal friction and negates successful enforcement of environmental protection laws. As such, the creation of the International Gulf of Mexico Marine Protected Area Network would protect transboundary marine life from differences in respective country’s standards. These legal standards vary in pollution enforcement, fishing rights, and other human involvement.