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Incentives, Risk, And The Role Of Private Investments In Louisiana Coastal Wetland Restoration, Cheikhna Ould Dedah

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The coast of Louisiana, with more than three million wetland acres, accounts for about 40 percent of the nation’s total wetlands. Louisiana is estimated to have lost more than 1.2 million acres of its coastal wetland in the last century. Although 75% of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are privately owned, little has been done to encourage private landowners to undertake wetland restoration projects. This dissertation examines the factors that influence the decisions of the landowners to undertake wetland restoration projects. We develop a theoretical framework for understanding the landowner’s decision-making process in the presence of high uncertainty and increasing restoration costs. …