Coastal America is an action-oriented, results-driven process aimed at restoring and preserving vital coastal ecosystems and addressing our most critical environmental issues. The Coastal America Partnership was launched in 1991 by former President George H.W. Bush (Bush's letter to the CWRP), and formalized in 1992 with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by nine sub-cabinet level agency representatives. These representatives committed their agencies to work together and integrate their efforts with state, local and nongovernmental activities.

CWRP Brochure (PDF, 1.70MB)

The Coastal America Partnership utilizes a number of tools and programs to facilitate its mission. These include the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (CWRP) and International Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (ICWRP), the network of Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers (CELCs), and the Coastal America Partnership Awards program.

The CWRP originated in Massachusetts in 1999 under the leadership of The Gillette Company, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Within six months of its initiation, 17 corporations joined the Massachusetts CWRP and raised more than $1 million in funding and services for coastal projects. Since 2000, Coastal America has facilitated the expansion of the CWRP as a national effort.

The CWRP is a way for environmentally responsible companies to reach out to their communities, beyond the boundaries of their own facilities. It is not a substitute for corporate compliance with federal permitting requirements. Instead, it allows private companies to make voluntary donations of funds or in-kind services to a non-profit organization. These funds or in-kind services are then used, at the company’s direction, to help support coastal habitat restoration or public education projects that have been selected and endorsed by the Coastal America Regional Implementation Teams.

Often, companies help their communities make the required local match for federal funds for community-based restoration projects. This makes for a win–win situation for the companies, the communities, and the federal government. All parties are able to maximize the environmental benefits of each dollar provided and better serve their communities and the environment. The CWRP is structured in parallel to Coastal America, with a National Level Management Committee, Regional Advisory Councils and State Advisory Boards. Now in its fifth year of implementation, the CWRP has over 225 corporate partners and 100 non-federal partners, including environmental organizations, foundations, and state and local governments. There are 50 projects complete, with another 60 in the works. There are currently CWRP Chapters in 13 states and two other countries, with other states rapidly creating Chapters of their own.

Projects supported by CWRP include: marsh and other aquatic habitat restoration, fish passage improvements, invasive species control, threatened/endangered species protection, educational efforts, research and monitoring projects. Contributions have supported various stages of projects, including feasibility, design, and implementation. In addition, corporate employees have provided volunteer services to a variety of projects.

International Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (ICWRP)

Building upon the tremendous success of the domestic CWRP, Coastal America joined forces with several partners to formally launch the International Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (ICWRP) in 2004. ICWRP is an innovative voluntary public-private global initiative to restore impaired, but ecologically important wetlands and other aquatic habitat in watersheds around the world. ICWRP fosters real, on-the-ground progress through the promotion of projects designed to protect and restore our global wetlands and aquatic ecosystems.

The founding partners of this new initiative, including The Gillette Company, The Nature Conservancy and the United Nations Foundation (UNF) joined Coastal America partners for the formal launch of ICWRP as part of the White Water to Blue Water Conference in Miami on March 22, 2004 . The partners also participated in a press event in Mexico City , Mexico on October 26, 2004 , hosted by the U.S. Embassy, to formally introduce the first project to the Mexican public.

ICWRP commenced work in 2004 through the funding of a large-scale pilot project at the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in Quintana Roo , Mexico . Sian Ka’an is both a World Heritage Site and a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance that contains wetlands and aquatic habitats of vital ecological importance. The site is threatened by coastal development, unregulated tourism, and unsustainable farming and fishing practices. Through the ICWRP Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, The Gillette Company and the UN Foundation provided $750,000 to support efforts to conserve freshwater, marine and coastal resources at the site. Project partners, working with Amigos de Sian Ka’an (a local environmental organization), are developing a conservation land-buyer program targeting the coastal areas of the Sian Ka’an reserve. Project partners will acquire a key tract of land, Pez Maya, that protects the only canal linking the coral reef to an extensive wetland system.

Further information on this exciting new partnership opportunity is available on the ICWRP Partnership Website.