Note: The GEMS project was developed when the term “Gulf of Mexico” was widely used. The U.S. federal government has since adopted the term “Gulf of America.” GEMS materials reflect the terminology in use at the time.
Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, The Harte Research Institute, and The Nature Conservancy have led a project to advance standardized metrics of restoration success with input from stakeholders, relevant federal agencies, and technical experts from the five Gulf States.
On this portal, project practitioners and funders can find a suite of tools that enable the identification and assessment of social and economic outcomes and linked metrics relevant for over 20 types of projects in the Gulf region. These resources can help inform Gulf Coast restoration decision-making.
This work was supported by the National Academies’ Gulf Research Program.
Advancing Consistent Socio-Economic Monitoring of Coastal Ecosystem Restoration Through Collaborative Metric Development
This publication in Communications Earth & Environment summarizes key findings from the GEMS project. While billions of dollars have been invested in ecological restoration projects across the Gulf of Mexico, socioeconomic impacts of these projects aren't consistently tracked. For those who want to add people to the monitoring picture, this publication suggests a set of core metrics that could be used to track these types of outcomes. Additionally, we suggest future steps needed to be able to track a broader set of social and economic outcomes of coastal restoration.
