Women in Water Institute and partners champion gender-inclusive policymaking in transboundary basins around the world

Women, young people, and vulnerable communities often experience the brunt of water insecurity and stress—a growing challenge in many areas of the world. At the same time, women are on the frontline of efforts to address transboundary water issues. Despite a gap in meaningful participation of women in the water sector, research has shown that gender-inclusive policymaking results in more durable and resilient solutions.

Since 2017, ELI has supported empowering women in water decisionmaking as a partner of the Women in Water Diplomacy Network, a program initiated by the Stockholm International Water Institute. The Network is a community of both formal and informal decisionmakers and experts, including representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs and water, civil society members, academics, and youth organization representatives. Together, the network represents over 500 years of experience and expertise in some of the world’s most water-insecure regions.

The Women in Water Diplomacy Network originally began with a focus on the Nile Basin, convening water diplomats and leaders from 11 basin countries. In 2021, the program expanded to Central Asia and Afghanistan through a partnership with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Most recently, three new basin networks for the Orange-Senqu, Zambezi, and Okavango transboundary rivers in southern Africa have entered early development stages. Meanwhile, interest in the knowledge and strategies offered through the network continues to gain interest across the world, including in North America through the engagement of United States-Canada International Joint Commission.

In August 2022, Women in Water Diplomacy held its first Global Network Forum in advance of World Water Week, an annual conference held in Stockholm, Sweden. In lieu of the Network’s traditional focus on one basin at a time, the forum convened women water diplomats and experts from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. The event also introduced the Network’s new global strategy, A Path Forward for Women, Water, Peace and Security. The strategy presents a five-year plan for the Network’s programming and reflects nine months of consultation across the Network’s growing constituency.

Elizabeth A. Koch, senior manager of ELI’s International Programs, led the planning, consultation, design, and drafting of the strategy in consultation with network leaders. They include Jessica Troell, director of ELI’s International Waters Program, who has supported the development of the network since its inception, including by contributing to research and trainings on topics related to water law and gender equality.

This March, the Network will continue to promote its efforts at the UN Water Conference in New York City—the first UN conference on water in almost 50 years. Events held by the initiative will include a one-day experience exchange hosted by ELI, Stockholm International Water Institute, International Joint Commission, Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, and University of Arizona. More than 50 water diplomats and water leaders from around the world are expected to join the event, with strong focus on elevating the voices of women, Indigenous, and young water leaders.

As accelerating climate change continues to exacerbate water challenges around the world, championing women’s leadership and participation is more important than ever before. To meet these challenges, the Women in Water Diplomacy Network is actively seeking partnerships and further funding to reach its global strategy objectives and support women leaders to achieve sustainable water resources for the future.

Institute analyzes policy framework for offshore wind energy

In December, ELI released the Louisiana Offshore Wind Energy Framework to support participation by Louisiana stakeholders in offshore wind energy decisionmaking. The report provides an overview of the most relevant state laws, regulations, and intergovernmental authorities affecting wind energy development off the coast of Louisiana.

Offshore wind energy production is expected to begin soon off the coast of Louisiana and elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Gulf has the potential to generate almost 510,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy per year—twice the current energy needs of all five Gulf states. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management—the federal agency overseeing offshore energy permitting—has announced the opening of the Gulf to wind lease sales by 2025. In October, the agency finalized the first two wind energy zones in the Gulf, which combined would have the potential to power more than 2.8 million homes.

ELI’s report was initially developed to support the work of the National Wildlife Federation’s Offshore Wind Power program and later compiled as a standalone research report. Authored by ELI Senior Attorney Amy Reed, the resource was also distributed at Tulane Law School’s inaugural Offshore Wind Conference in January. It represents a continuation of a series of offshore renewable energy framework analyses developed by ELI. The Institute previously collaborated with the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia to analyze their offshore energy laws and provide recommendations for strengthening existing frameworks. Reports for the three Mid-Atlantic states were released between 2008 and 2011. ELI also published a regional Mid-Atlantic guide to offshore wind management in 2013.

As interest grows in the offshore wind potential of the Gulf region, understanding the underlying policy and legal frameworks for supporting such development is essential. Recent tax credits through the Inflation Reduction Act further bolster development of offshore wind in the Gulf and elsewhere in U.S. waters. ELI is now beginning work on a similar policy framework for the state of Texas, in response to the enthusiastic reception of its Louisiana report.

Report highlights tips for making effective state coastal policies

Under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, a federal action that impacts a state’s coastal resources may be subject to a “federal consistency review.” The federal consistency provision gives participating state governments the authority to review federal activities to determine if a proposed use is consistent with the state’s own coastal management program. Federal consistency often is a state’s best tool for influencing federal and federally approved activities that affect its coast.

At the heart of the federal consistency authority are enforceable policies: state rules that define permitted uses in and affecting a state’s designated “coastal area.” Although there are some qualifiers and exceptions, in general federal actions cannot violate or contradict enforceable policies. In December, ELI published Strong Enforceable Policies—Examples and Tips. Authored by ELI Senior Attorneys Amy Reed and Adam Schempp, the report highlights good examples of enforceable policies in the states of California, Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. The document builds on coastal program analyses ELI conducted for Pew Environment from 2020-2021.

Senior Attorney Amy Reed presented and distributed the report at the 2022 Coastal & Estuarine Summit hosted by Restore America’s Estuaries in New Orleans, LA. The event brought together coastal restoration and management communities to explore common issues, solutions, and lessons learned. Office hours held following the presentation provided an opportunity for state coastal management programs and their partners to ask further questions about enforceable policies.

The report notes that while enforceable policies vary significantly across coastal states and territories, most programs can identify a number of ways to strengthen their rules. Given the new influx of money to coastal management programs through the Inflation Reduction Act, now is an opportune time for states to take inventory of their existing enforceable policies and consider opportunities to make them more effective.

In coming years, states will need to balance environmental and economic interests as new offshore industries emerge, shorelines erode, and sea levels rise. The federal consistency authority offers states a powerful mechanism for influencing federal coastal activities and a platform to foster productive negotiations between federal agencies and their state counterparts.

Adaptation in Action Institute shifts course for Kazakhstani officials online using Zoom, helping the country craft its Environmental Code

For more than three years, ELI has worked with Kazakhstan’s Department of Climate Policy and Green Technologies, amending the national Environmental Code to incorporate climate change adaptation.

The project falls under the U.S. Agency for International Development’s C5+1 National Adaptation Planning Program, which expands the capacities of Central Asian countries to engage in planning under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Although Kazakhstan faces a number of related environmental challenges — including increased aridity, desertification, and extreme weather events — the country has not yet accounted for adapting to climate change in its legal framework.

In 2019, ELI collaborated with climate specialists from Abt Associates to help the Kazakhstani government develop a draft chapter for its code, titled Public Administration in the Field of Adaptation to Climate Change.

The revisions, which set forth climate change adaptation norms and processes, as well as new competencies of governmental bodies, are currently under review by the national parliament. The lower house has already adopted the revisions. ELI also assisted in developing draft rules for implementing the proposed provisions and helped write methodological guidance on implementing the adaptation processes set forth in the law.

Once the proposed climate change adaptation provisions are adopted, Kazakhstani government staff will need to implement the law. Recognizing a need to build familiarity with the new provisions, ELI hosted an online training course to build the capacity of government staff. Held over 10 days last summer, the class was organized in collaboration with the national climate deparment, with financial support from USAID.

The objective of the course was to familiarize supervisors, experts, and staff with adaptation-related provisions of the code. The training also explained related rules and methodological guidance. Attendees received an overview of climate change impacts in Kazakhstan and the country’s international obligations under the Paris Agreement related to climate adaptation.

Lectures explored experiences in climate adaptation from other countries, as well as approaches — such as conducting vulnerability assessments — that can be used at various stages of the adaptation process.

Participants consisted primarily of government staff working in sectors relevant to adaptation, such as agriculture, water resources, forestry, and protection of citizens. Other participants represented NGOs, science institutes, and other stakeholders. A total of 166 participants attended the course, and 93 successfully passed the final test and received certificates of completion.

Originally intended as an in-person training course, the program transitioned to an online format over Zoom due to the pandemic. All the course lectures were recorded (either in Russian or recorded in English and dubbed into Russian), and recordings were made available to all the training participants, providing them flexibility in when to view the videos. Near the end of the course, the Institute also held a live discussion with the lecturers to provide training participants an opportunity to ask questions about the course materials.

The training session received enthusiastic feedback, both for its structure and content, and represented one of many ways ELI has innovated approaches to online events during the Covid-19 pandemic.

ELI’s work in Kazakhstan is a continuation of over a decade of work supporting climate change adaptation law, including projects on adaptation in coastal areas and managing biodiversity in a changing climate.

Helping citizens to review impact of river sediment diversions

ELI’s Gulf of Mexico team works to advance the recovery, restoration, and ecological resilience of the region following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Institute increases public participation in multiple restoration planning processes, including by supporting local and regional organizations, tracking and reporting on restoration funding, and helping communities understand how to participate in public comment processes.

Recently, ELI has helped local partners engage citizens in processes related to the proposed Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, for which a draft environmental impact statement and draft restoration plan were released in March.

Sediment diversions are designed to reintroduce natural delta processes and build landmass. Due in part to decades of building levees and flood control structures on the Mississippi River, the delta and Louisiana coastline have lost thousands of square miles of land. Through gated structures in the levee system, sediment diversions reintroduce fresh water and minerals to nearby basins, rebuilding wetlands in the process.

Project proponents say that the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion would create or save from erosion as much as 47 square miles of land in the fifty years following construction. Anticipated benefits include improved soil density, wildlife habitat, increased hurricane resilience, and a boon to the economy through job creation and a rise in business sales. However, concerns remain about mitigating potential impacts on the region’s oyster and fishing businesses and on nearby dolphin populations, among other changes to the ecosystem.

ELI has assisted local partners by researching the legal landscape around the proposed project and releasing a fact sheet on public participation opportunities. The fact sheet explains how citizens can participate in public comment processes for two laws governing environmental reviews for the project: the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires development of an environmental impact statement, and the Oil Pollution Act, under which the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment is proceeding.

The Institute will also co-host a series of online community conversations, joining panelists from Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group, to complement formal public meetings.

Site aids water quality programs in engaging the public

For the past 13 years, ELI has conducted annual training workshops for state, tribal, territorial, and EPA staff regarding the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) Program, which identifies waters that do not meet standards and implements plans to restore and protect them. These workshops, supported by EPA, have prompted a wide variety of endeavors to further assist the program.

One of those endeavors has been a five-year cooperative agreement between ELI and EPA to develop a series of compendia of practices across the country for implementing various aspects of the 303(d) program. These resources facilitate knowledge-sharing across jurisdictions and generate more innovation.

Since 2016, ELI has published the “Compendium of Water Quality Restoration Approaches” and the “Compendium of State Approaches to Protection.”

In February 2021, ELI released its third installment, Approaches to Clean Water Communication, a collection of methods for communicating about water quality with the public and other less-technical audiences. The compendium helps programs strengthen engagement with the public, a key goal of water quality improvement programs.

With the assistance of a planning group composed of state, tribal, and EPA staff, ELI collected examples of communication methods through a questionnaire completed by water quality program staff from 44 states, 9 tribes, 4 territories, and the District of Columbia. This information was then distilled into a user-friendly website hosted by ELI.

The resource covers a wide range of communication methods, including websites, maps, social media, and videos. One section of the compendium assembles a library of “Story Maps” and “dashboards,” which are interactive digital tools used by water quality programs to display multimedia elements such as pictures and maps alongside text. The site organizes different types of communication methods in the most easily accessible fashion. For example, visual products such as signs and posters are on an easy-to-read Story Map page.

The compendium also provides summaries for key aspects of effective communication, such as presentations for public comment processes, ways to collect metrics and tools for measuring success, and translating products into multiple languages. As a free database, the compendium may be especially useful to smaller jurisdictions or programs with limited resources dedicated to communications.

Now in their 29th year, ELI’s National Wetland Awards are presented to individuals who have excelled in wetlands protection, restoration, and education.

“These men and women are on the forefront of protecting wetland resources in the face of development and climate impacts,” said ELI President Scott Fulton. “Through their dedication and achievements, they inspire wetlands protection across the country and worldwide.”

The ceremony kicked off with a keynote speech from Leah Krider, senior counsel, environment, health, and safety, at the Boeing Company, who described its expansion and mitigation efforts in South Carolina.

“Conservation and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. Conservation is not only good for the environment, for the communities. It makes good economic sense,” Krider said.

Awardees were recognized for their individual achievements in six categories:

Landowner Stewardship: For 28 years, William and Jeanette Gibbons and their family have devoted their time and financial resources to restoring degraded land and water on their property at Cedar Breaks Ranch in Brookings, South Dakota. They developed their property into a showcase of how various conservation practices can be seamlessly and profitably integrated into a working farm. They also use their land to further research and education on natural resource management approaches.

Science Research: Kerstin Wasson is the research coordinator at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve in Watsonville, California. She engages citizen scientists in collecting water quality data and counting migratory shorebirds. She launched an ecosystem-based management initiative that brought together stakeholders to develop a shared vision for restoration of the estuary’s wetlands. Kerstin has led collaborative projects across the network of National Estuarine Reserves.

Education and Outreach: Mark D. Sees has served as the manager of Florida’s Orlando Wetlands Park for over 20 years. In addition to managing the wetland treatment system, he has evolved the park into a center of public recreation and wetlands education and research. He initiated the annual Orlando Wetlands Festival to provide 5,000 local children and adults an opportunity to tour the wetlands to understand their ecological importance.

State, Tribal, and Local Program Development: Maryann M. McGraw, wetland program coordinator for the New Mexico Environment Department, initiated the state’s wetlands program and continues to provide vision and guidance to ensure the program reflects the importance of wetlands and riparian areas in the arid west. She developed rapid assessment methods for montane and lowland riverine wetlands, confined valleys, and playas of the Southern High Plains, which provides data needed to underscore state wetlands water quality standards and anti-degradation policies.

Conservation and Restoration: Latimore M. Smith is a retired restoration ecologist with The Nature Conservancy in Covington, Louisiana. A botanist and plant community ecologist, he spent over 15 years with the Louisiana Natural Heritage Program, documenting the ecology of habitats across the state. He was the first to formally describe a variety of previously undocumented natural wetland communities, including rare longleaf pine flatwood wetlands.

Wetlands Business Leader: Roy R. “Robin” Lewis III of Salt Springs, Florida, was the winner of this new award. For more than four decades, Lewis has been at the vanguard of wetland restoration and creation, designing or assisting in the design of over 200 projects around the world. He founded two environmental consulting companies and is president of Coastal Resource Group, Inc., a nonprofit educational and scientific organization. He also works with the Association of State Wetland Managers to provide education opportunities and resources.

Ramsar Convention event presages 13th conference of parties

Before the 29th Annual National Wetlands Awards ceremony — see facing page — ELI hosted a panel discussion on the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.

The treaty calls attention to the rate at which wetland habitats are disappearing, in part due to a lack of understanding of their importance. The convention provides an international framework for action and cooperation to promote “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation.”

The United States became a party to the convention in 1986 and has since designated 38 sites covering 4.5 million acres nationwide.

Attendees of the program, An Introduction to the Ramsar Convention, learned about efforts at the local, national, and international level to implement the accord.

Panelists included Cade London, Fish and Wildlife Service; Maryann M. McGraw, New Mexico Environment Department; and Barbara De Rosa-Joynt of the State Department.

After receiving an overview of the evolution of the convention and insight into the international community, the audience heard about the primary goals of Ramsar at the domestic level.

The convention covers a broad range of ecosystems considered as natural and man-made. The final presentation focused on one Ramsar site in New Mexico. The Roswell Artesian Wetlands is a desert ecosystem made up of a complex of springs, lakes, sinkholes and saline wetlands situated along the Pecos River. These wetlands support over 360 species of waterfowl as well as other animals and plants, including a number of rare, endemic, and endangered species.

As panelist De Rosa-Joynt explained, wetlands knowledge and science is consistently evolving and informing the future goals of the convention.

The 13th conference of the parties will be held this fall in Dubai. Themed “Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future,” the conference is expected to draw over 1,200 representatives from the parties. On the agenda are climate change; agriculture; so-called “blue carbon”; and polar wetlands.

Aiding China in coming to grips with country’s excessive pollution

In March, ELI, with the assistance of the Pillsbury law firm, prepared a report, Managing Environmental Protection and Economic Considerations Under Select U.S. Environmental Laws and Permitting Systems, for China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection. The study explains how the United States has balanced economic considerations and environmental protection through the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

ELI and the China Environmental Protection Foundation then held capacity building workshops at the Tianjin University Law School on environmental public interest litigation. While the focus was on participation of Chinese NGOs, other entities involved included Supreme People’s Court judges and prosecutors from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.

Reforms to China’s Environmental Protection Law establish authorities for the government and the public alike, with the added ability of authorized civil society groups to file citizen suits. However, the success of these improved systems relies on a multifaceted system of accountability, with both the government and civil society playing roles. ELI is providing technical assistance, capacity building, and legal training to NGOs that have been approved by the civil authorities to engage in civil environmental litigation.

ELI staff attorney Zhuoshi Liu has been a leader in this public interest environmental litigation capacity building work, and in developing and hosting the workshops. A China native, Liu brings a wealth of knowledge to ELI’s China Program and the Institute as a whole.

Participants also benefitted from the expertise of ELI faculty from the Institute’s extended community.

Jeff Gracer of Sive, Paget & Riesel P.C., a member of ELI’s Leadership Council, traveled to China for January’s conference. The conferences included presentations from Leadership Council members Robert (Buzz) Hines of Farella Braun + Martel LLP, and former ELI President Leslie Carothers as well as longtime member Dan Guttman of New York University Shanghai.

Field Notes: ELI on the scene in flooded Ohio, polluted Gulf

In summer 2017, ELI Senior Science and Policy Analyst, Rebecca Kihslinger, and ELI’s partners at the University of North Carolina’s Institute for the Environment, traveled to Ottawa, Ohio, where state and village officials and residents and business owners came together to brainstorm on uses for flood buyout properties during the Making the Most of Ottawa’s Floodplain Buyouts Workshop.

Ottawa had purchased 55 floodplain properties since 2008, totaling 25 acres, using funding from government grants, Hazard Mitigation Grants, and Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants. Recently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the first of three major projects planned to utilize these buyout properties by the Greenspace Development Committee. A once vacant lot will become Rex Center Park.

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In continuation of ELI’s work in the Gulf of Mexico since the BP oil spill eight years ago, ELI traveled to Gulfport, Mississippi, to encourage public engagement efforts. To help members of the public better understand how to get involved, ELI, along with Environmental Management Services, Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, and Public Lab, co-sponsored an event on Engaging in the Gulf Restoration Processes: How the Public Can Help Shape Restoration. The goal of this event was to provide participants with tools and information that they can use to more effectively take part in and understand the restoration and recovery efforts.

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On April 16, ELI and co-sponsors convened a panel of environmental justice leaders, including keynote speaker Rep. Raul Ruiz, co-author of the proposed Environmental Justice Act of 2017.

Continuing discussions from a panel held last November, speakers explored climate justice, siting issues, ramifications of extreme weather events on marginalized communities, and ways in which practitioners can empower and support environmental justice communities through their own work.

A networking reception followed to further conversation and discussion of key topics at the forefront of environmental justice. On display was the newly released book from ELI Press Environmental Justice: Legal Theory and Practice, 4th Edition.

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After announcing his $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan, President Trump has sought to streamline and expedite the environmental review and permitting process for projects under multiple environmental laws, ranging from the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act to the Clean Air and Clean Water acts.

Trump submitted to Congress an ambitious legislative “roadmap,” which proposes a number of far-reaching changes to the environmental review framework with a goal of shortening the process for approving projects to two years or less.

To examine these developments ELI and Arnold & Porter cohosted a conference entitled Infrastructure Review and Permitting: Is Change in the Wind? High-level government officials, practitioners representing industry and environmental NGOs, and congressional representatives were present to address the wide range of environmental permitting and review challenges across sectors, including transportation, energy, transmission, renewables, and more.

Panelists discussed the role of policy and litigation in shaping these developments over the next years and beyond.