I attended the America’s Energy Coast hearing today at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans. I want first to thank the various members of the oil and gas industry for appearing and explaining what is happening with regard to their businesses in coastal Louisiana and along the northern Gulf of Mexico generally. The information that they have provided is invaluable to the larger issues that I will discuss below.
Nevertheless, I left the hearing with feelings of hope and disappointment. I am heartened that America’s Wetland Foundation has decided to ask various stakeholders in coastal Louisiana what obstacles they face in managing their interests in the Gulf of Mexico coastal zone. That is an important, but isolated step in achieving a sustainable coast.
I am, however, concerned that some of the observations by all concerned were long on politeness and short on reality. That is a natural result of everyone being in the same room at the same time. Now, I feel very strongly that diplomacy is important. Ugly talk gets no one anywhere in a cooperative venture like this. For the future, however, I think the format for making cooperative public policy progress on a sustainable northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico needs to be revised.
Once America’s Wetland Foundation has a broad inventory of the concerns and interests from various powerful stakeholders in the Gulf coast region, everyone needs to take a further step. The stakeholders should explore what each stakeholder is willing to contribute and “give up” to achieve what they need and want the most with, of course, the ultimate objective being the restoration of coastal wetlands along the northern Gulf of Mexico.
In the end, this objective is not achieved through a conference or “hearing.” It is achieved by shuttle diplomacy between the stakeholders as they explore ways to achieve their needs and wants while contributing technical talent, political support and money to a master plan aimed at accomplishing the larger objective of the restoration and protection of coastal Louisiana and the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
I believe in the final analysis, through a process of shuttle diplomacy, the major stakeholders including the State of Louisiana, the federal government, the representative companies of the oil and gas industry, the Louisiana coastal wetlands restoration organizations, and the larger environmental protection organizations could agree upon a plan for comprehensive coastal restoration and protection in Louisiana and along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
In my dreams, the oil and gas industry, the state of Louisiana and the environmental movement (such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the Audubon Society) would all jointly support a single comprehensive public policy program led by the federal government for the restoration and protection of coastal Louisiana and the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico generally. This could be achieved through Shuttle Diplomacy. We just need the right set of diplomats.