Action Plan for reducing, mitigating and controlling hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

This Action Plan describes a national strategy to reduce the frequency, duration, size and degree of oxygen depletion of the hypoxic zone of the northern Gulf of Mexico. The Plan describes an adaptive approach, based on implementation, monitoring, and research to address known problems, clarify scientific uncertainties, and evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to reduce hypoxia. The Plan focuses on: efforts to reduce losses of nutrients; increasing the efficiency of farming practices and wetlands restoration; identifying and implementing nonstructural alternatives to flood control and to address coastal land loss in Louisiana. The Plan aims at achieving watershed restoration and at reducing discharges and runoff of nutrients in the Mississippi River Basin. The Action Plan describes the following actions to achieve its goal: encouraging non point source pollutant reductions; implementation of the Environmental Quality Incentives Programme; implementation of the Conservation Reserve Programme and Wetlands Reserve Programme, in order to promote restoration and enhancement of natural systems for nitrogen retention and denitrification; implementation of nutrient management to improve water quality management; promoting public-private partnerships to restore buffers; promoting cost-effective flood control alternatives; providing voluntary incentives for nitrogen reductions.

États-Unis d'Amérique · 2001-01-01