An organization comprising Pacific nations and territories such as Australia, Guam, Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand is partnering with the Baton Rouge-based Water Institute of the Gulf to share information about coastal research for future work.
The Water Institute says in a statement that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, an organization consisting 21 Pacific Island countries and territories and five developed countries.
“One of our primary motivations at The Water Institute is to take what we have learned in coastal Louisiana and apply it in other regions, working globally to form partnerships and gain insights by studying other coastal systems to benefit our work at home,” Charles Groat, the Water Institute’s president and CEO, says in the statement. “This MOU is action oriented, and it is going to lead to some real cooperation and projects in the near term.”
The agreement allows the two sides to exchange a wealth of information, including numerical modeling, planning ideas, and monitoring and assessment work, with the ultimate goal of developing a supportive partnership between both organizations.
The two entities have mutual interests in areas such as ecosystem-based adaptation, climate change, sea level rise, coastal planning ecosystem restoration and water resource management, the release says.
“We have found a number of similarities in our goals and desired outcomes for our communities,” Kosi Latu, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme director general, says in a statement. “We look forward to our future cooperation with the Institute for the benefit of both organizations.”
