Recent Publications
The State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources
This first volume of The State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources constitutes a major step in building the information and knowledge base required for action towards better conservation and sustainable management of forest genetic resources at the national, regional and international levels.
USFWS: Restoration Returns
A new peer-reviewed analysis finds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife habitat restoration programs are extraordinary engines for the U.S. economy. This report finds that, in working directly with partners to implement vital on- the- ground habitat restoration, these programs created more than 3,900 jobs in Fiscal Year 2011, generating a total economic stimulus of $327.6 million.
La restauración ecológica en Colombia: Tendencias, necesidades y oportunidades
El propósito de este documento es el de analizar cómo ha evolucionado el campo de la restauración ecológica en Colombia, su estado actual y los retos y oportunidades para su expansión en varios aspectos de su dimensión biofísica, social, financiera e institucional. Cuáles son las principales barreras en implementar estos proyectos y qué se ha aprendido hasta la fecha.
Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology
The Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM), produced by IUCN, provides a flexible and affordable framework approach for countries to rapidly identify and analyse forest landscape restoration (FLR) potential and locate specific areas of opportunity at a national or sub-national level.
A critique of the ‘novel ecosystem’ concept
The ‘novel ecosystem’ concept has captured the attention of scientists, managers, and science journalists, and more recently of policymakers, before it has been subjected to the scrutiny and empirical validation inherent to science. Lack of rigorous scrutiny can lead to undesirable outcomes in ecosystem management, environmental law, and policy.
Novel ecosystems: concept or inconvenient reality? A response to Murcia et al.
Murcia et al. contend that the concept of a ‘novel ecosystem’ is poorly developed, has no evidence base, and has little management application and potential negative policy impacts. However, it is more accurate to observe that conceptual development is ongoing (as would be expected in a relatively new area of endeavor), empirical evidence is mounting, many managers find the ideas useful for framing what they observe on the ground, and negative policy impacts are feared rather than observed, despite the growing attention that novel ecosystems are receiving.
Global Biodiversity Outlook 4
Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a periodic report that summarizes the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention. The fourth edition launched October 6, of 2014.
Second Growth: The promise of tropical forest regeneration in an age of deforestation
For decades, conservation and research initiatives in tropical forests have focused almost exclusively on old-growth forests because scientists believed that these “pristine” ecosystems housed superior levels biodiversity. With Second Growth, Robin L. Chazdon reveals those assumptions to be largely false, bringing to the fore the previously overlooked counterpart to old-growth forest: second growth.
Restauración ecológica para áreas protegidas: principios, directrices y buenas prácticas
Esta publicación proporciona una orientación para los gestores de áreas protegidas terrestres, marinas y de agua dulce, tanto a nivel de sistemas como de sitios, con respecto a la restauración de los valores naturales de la áreas protegidas y otros valores asociados. La guía proporciona información sobre los principios y las buenas prácticas, con ejemplos y asesoramiento sobre el proceso de restauración, pero no es un manual de restauración exhaustivo y no presenta metodologías y técnicas detalladas.
Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation
This Field Manual for Practitioners engages communities to consider social, economic and ecological factors before undertaken mangrove restoration, and relies on monitoring to inform corrective actions over time.
Welcome to the GRN
The Global Restoration Network (GRN), a project of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), offers the field of ecological restoration a new database and web-based portal to trustworthy and hard-to-find information on all aspects of restoration, from historic ecosystems and causes of degradation to in-depth case studies and proven restoration methods and techniques. The overriding mission of the GRN is to link research, projects, and practitioners in order to foster an innovative exchange of experience, vision, and expertise.
The GRN is fast becoming the central hub for ecological restoration – a vital resource for policymakers, professionals and communities, whether researching options for habitat restoration, writing a project proposal, coordinating volunteers, or looking for educational programs and funding. Perhaps the most exciting feature of the GRN is the database where you can make a specific query and find restoration case studies and annotated links to a wide variety of relevant resources including experts, organizations and literature. Here is a small sample of the links you will find in the GRN website and database.
CASE STUDIES
Alexander River Restoration Project, Israel
The Alexander River Restoration Project is Israel’s leading river restoration and was awarded the Thiess International Riverprize in 2003. Implemented by Israeli agencies, with cooperation and support from local Palestinian officials in an unprecedented show of solidarity, the project aims to restore a river severely degraded by untreated sewage and pollution from more than 70 sources–in both Palestinian and Israeli territory.
Restoration of the Mata Atlantica, Brazil
Instituto Terra is a non-profit organization founded in 1999 by Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado and the renowned photographer Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado. It is located at the Bulcão Farm in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, and it covers an area of 676 hectares.
Mangroves Restoration in Andhra Pradesh, India
This project was launched in Andhra Pradesh with the aim of inducing concerted action towards conservation and sustainable management of the mangrove wetlands on the east coast of India. The restoration employed canal techniques, instead of simple plantation of seedlings, and a fish bone pattern of canals was utilized.
ORGANIZATIONS
The Ecosystem Services Partnership seeks to enhance this integration by coordinating collaborative efforts on ecosystem services at the global, national and local level working toward better understanding, modeling, valuation and management of ecosystem services and natural capital.
Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration is a network of governments, organizations, communities and individuals who recognize the importance of forest landscape restoration and want to be part of a coordinated global effort.
European Centre for River Restoration supports the development of river restoration as an integral part of sustainable water management throughout Europe ensuring that projects will be more cost effective, more likely to succeed, and will encompass multifunctional objectives.
LITERATURE
Saltmarsh Restoration – Rebuilding Habitat with a Community Partnership
A recent project in the Tweed Estuary has shown that when the shared goal of committed stakeholders is the rehabilitation of a damaged saltmarsh ecosystem, then progress is definitely possible.
Sustainable River Restoration in Urban Streams
Based on a review of the literature, we identified candidate indicators of hydrologic alteration and ecosystem response that could be used to guide restoration. Using available biological and hydrologic data we tested candidate indicators to determine if flow-biology relationships could be identified and used as guidance in restoration programs.
The Restoration of Forests: Temperate Zone of China
The restoration of forests in the northeast and northern China, including the loess plateau, is of benefit to biodiversity conservation and the improvement of the natural environment.
VIDEO
Post Tsunami Mangrove Restoration in Sri Lanka
The video is part of the Global Nature Fund’s project to restore mangrove forests and livelihoods in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami of 2004.
Regrowing the Borneo Rainforest
By piecing together a complex ecological puzzle, biologist Willie Smits has found a way to re-grow clearcut rainforest in Borneo, saving local orangutans — and creating a thrilling blueprint for restoring fragile ecosystems.
A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek
The inspiring rebirth of a biologically critical river in Arizona is recounted in A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek. The one-hour documentary examines the ecological effects of a dam and hydroelectric facility on the waterway and chronicles the 15-year effort that led to decommissioning.
Click on the logo below for some great videos of coastal and salt marsh restoration projects
Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration
