The evolution of Society for Ecological Restoration's principles and standards—counter‐response to Gann et al. |
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| Authors: | Eric Higgs Jim Harris Stephen Murphy Keith Bowers Richard Hobbs Willis Jenkins Jeremy Kidwell Nik Lopoukhine Bethany Sollereder Katie Suding Allen Thompson Steve Whisenant |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8P 5C2;2. Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen 9700 CC, The Netherlands;3. Cranfield Institute for Resilient Futures, Cranfield University, Cranfield Mk43 OAL, U.K.;4. School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada;5. Biohabitats, Inc., Charleston, SC 27613, U.S.A.;6. School of Biological Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia;7. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904–4126, U.S.A.;8. Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K.;9. Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 0C4, Canada;10. Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, Oxford 0X2 6GG, U.K.;11. Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder CO 80309–0334, U.S.A.;12. School of History, Philosophy and Religion, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A.;13. Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843–2138, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | In response to our recent article (Higgs et al. 2018) in these pages, George Gann and his coauthors defended the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) International Standards, clarified several points, and introduced some new perspectives. We offer this counter‐response to address some of these perspectives. More than anything, our aims are in sharpening the field of restoration in a time of rapid scaling‐up of interest and effort, and support further constructive dialogue going forward. Our perspective remains that there is an important distinction needed between “Standards” and “Principles” that is largely unheeded by Gann et al. (2018). We encourage SER to consider in future iterations of its senior policy document to lean on principles first, and then to issue advice on standards that meet the needs of diverse conditions and social, economic, and political realities. |
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| Keywords: | ecological restoration targets global restoration policy reference ecosystems restoration principles restoration standards |
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