Governance and forest landscape restoration: A framework to support decision-making

Governance challenges are frequently underestimated in forest landscape restoration. Forest restoration practitioners are generally foresters or ecologists and their focus tends to be limited to the specific restoration interventions themselves, such as removing exotic species, protecting sites for natural regeneration and re-planting indigenous trees. Indeed there are many technical challenges, unknowns in technical aspects of forest landscape restoration and knowledge gaps. However, and even more so when dealing with large scales, additional challenges that fall under the governance umbrella such as tenure, policy measures and institutions have a significant impact on restoration, influencing it either positively or negatively. Conversely, the landscape-scale restoration work itself can influence and shape governance arrangements. This paper attempts to explore this wider relationship between large scale forest restoration − and specifically forest landscape restoration (FLR) − and governance. It is intended to assist and provide guidance to forest landscape restoration practitioners, researchers and policymakers on the consideration and importance of governance, and alternative ways in which the two-way relationship (between governance and FLR) plays out. A framework is proposed to support practitioners, researchers and decision-makers to address governance in forest landscape restoration.     

Where the fish swim above the birds: configurations and challenges of wetland restoration in the Po Delta,Italy

Wetland and estuary restoration presents a number of complex challenges that are primarily social, cultural, economic, and governance‐related rather than ecological. Here we consider the case of wetland restoration in the Po Delta, Italy. Wetland restoration of the Po Delta is a goal of a broad range of actors in the region and this project is a response to local calls for action. We investigate why local stakeholders are unsatisfied with apparently successful restoration projects, and appraise the factors that favor both the fulfillment of environmental targets and establishment of cooperative relations. We suggest that historical legacies of land use in the Po Delta have influenced current governance practices in a complex and fragmented governance context. Also, patterns of wetland restoration and wetland management practices differ between wetland types, and their outcomes may be influenced by the number of stakeholders involved, funding, and ability to generate direct revenues from management. However, there seem to be no blueprint solutions to successful wetland management and wetland restoration, and results are uneven at the landscape scale and often depending on contingencies. Maintaining traditional practices that retain cultural importance may be seen as part of restoration by local people. As a landscape that is highly anthropogenic and in continuous motion, we argue that the Delta exemplifies some of the challenges that restoration will face in a world increasingly characterized by novel ecosystems. We suggest actions that could contribute to enhancing wetland restoration outcomes in the Po Delta.     

Organizational capacity and ecological restoration

Organizations entrusted with responsibilities and resources to repair ecosystems have for many decades pursued their defining purpose against long odds created by a host of inherent challenges, notably the long time frames required for ecological recovery and landscape-level stressors. Global change compounds these challenges, increasing shocks to the operating environments of these organizations. Interest in assessing organizational capacity to respond to system shocks (i.e. resilience) productively has been strong in many fields, though not in the restoration arena. The objectives of this paper are to build awareness of the importance of organizations for achieving the aims of restoration and to spur organizational research to strengthen the restoration sector. I summarize research on organizations relevant to the restoration sector and with this foundation propose a framework for assessing the capacity of restoration organizations. The proposed framework is an adaptation of models used in other sectors, based on five critical capacities: situation awareness, governance and leadership, internal resources, external relations, and change readiness. We can assess the extent to which an organization possesses each capacity by eliciting feedback about functions linked to each capacity. Devising assessment tools from this framework requires attention to key realities of the restoration sector including prevalence of short-term funding, effect of externalities on restoration outcomes, dependence on partnerships of multiple organizations for complex and large restorations. Exploration into assessment approaches for restoration organizations highlights a major knowledge gap that, if addressed, could enhance the reliability of restoration as a global and local strategy for improving ecosystems services.     

A collaborative model for large‐scale riparian restoration in the western United States

In 2009, a group of practitioners took action to restore 175 miles of riparian habitat impaired by invasive plants along the Dolores River in southwestern Colorado and eastern Utah. Recognizing the magnitude of ecological, jurisdictional, and management challenges associated with this large‐scale initiative, this group of managers built trust and relationships with key partners to foster collaboration across boundaries and cultivate consensus of a variety of perspectives and forms of knowledge. What emerged was a network of individuals, organizations, and agencies dedicated to restoring the Dolores River riparian corridor while sharing information and learning from one another. This public–private collaboration, called the Dolores River Restoration Partnership (DRRP), has been successful in creating a process by which financial, technical, and human resources are shared across boundaries to restore a riparian corridor. Specifically, the DRRP developed effective planning documents, a responsive governance structure, monitoring protocols, and a shared mindset for extracting lessons learned that have been instrumental in making progress toward its shared restoration goals and addressing a wide variety of restoration challenges. The tools developed by the partnership and lessons learned from their utility are outlined in this case study as a means to inform other collaborative restoration efforts.     

山水林田湖草生态保护修复的系统性认知

系统治理是山水林田湖草生态保护修复的核心,然而在工程实施和评估中如何有效落实和考核山水林田湖草生态保护修复的系统性仍是目前一大难题。通过厘清系统性与整体性的逻辑关系,从山水林田湖草生态保护修复的对象、主体及其耦合联系入手,明晰系统治理是山水林田湖草生态保护修复的必然选择,进而提出关键要素控制与全要素耦合相结合的治理思路,并以云南抚仙湖项目区为例阐明系统治理在山水林田湖草生态保护修复中的实践路径。最后,依据结构-功能复杂度、要素关联紧密度及其认知,将山水林田湖草治理系统分为形态系统、级联系统、过程-响应系统、控制系统等四级递进系统,从流域内和流域外的空间视角出发,提出基于“目标-约束-成本”的山水林田湖草生态保护修复系统性评估方法,为山水林田湖草系统治理的实施与考核提供核心科学支撑。     

Conservation planning and Indigenous governance in Australia's Indigenous Protected Areas

Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) recognize that “country” constitutes land and waters that have enduring cultural, social, and economic linkages for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that extend over millennia, and which are critical to sustainable Indigenous futures. Within Australia's conservation system, IPAs become part of the National Reserve System (NRS) when Indigenous peoples voluntarily announce their intention to manage “country,” in accordance with their law, custom, and culture, and consistently with national and international conservation guidelines. The NRS requirement is that land is managed “in perpetuity” which highlights a potential tension between with the conservation goals and the voluntary character of IPAs. Ecological restoration in IPAs also raises contested ideas about what is “natural,” the relevant “baseline” for restoration, and what are the objectives to be achieved—ecological or cultural sustainability? Experience from Healthy Country Planning in IPAs indicates that restoration of traditional owner decision‐making, as well as respectful use and valuing community knowledge, is central to the sustainability of outcomes. Ecological restoration is most effectively achieved by restoring governance processes that support Indigenous peoples given the inseparability of cultural, social, economic, and ecological objectives.     

Gender and ecological restoration: time to connect the dots

Although the human dimension of ecological restoration has increasingly been recognized in recent years, the gender dimension thereof remains largely unexplored. This article aims to fill this gap in the literature by providing an overview of the current knowledge on gender and ecological restoration. Our analysis of selected academic literature on ecological restoration revealed that scholars have only marginally addressed gender issues in their publications. However, in restoration practice, various initiatives that highlight the importance of including a women's rights and gender perspective can be found. These initiatives seem to indicate that applying a gender approach to restoration practice creates a double benefit. First, integrating gender considerations into restoration efforts is desirable from a human rights and gender equality perspective. Second, different case studies suggest that integrating gender considerations can promote the efficiency and effectiveness of restoration work. Integrating a social and gender dimension into restoration policy and practice should therefore be recommended. This integration process can learn from a wide range of literature on gender and the environment, and from existing practices of gender mainstreaming in this field. Furthermore, international law provides useful policy intentions on gender and restoration that could be used as entry points. To conclude, this article summarizes the main challenges for “connecting the dots” between gender and ecological restoration and formulates some recommendations for the Society for Ecological Restoration.     

生态技术评价方法及全球生态治理技术研究

全球范围内生态退化形势严峻,生态技术在遏制生态退化进程中发挥着重要作用。长期以来,对生态技术缺乏系统研究和评价,影响了其在脆弱生态区生态治理中的应用与推广。"生态技术评价方法、指标体系及全球生态治理技术评价"项目(2016YFC0503700)获得国家重点研发计划"典型脆弱生态修复与保护研究"专项支持。该项目旨在厘清全球生态退化状况及其对生态技术的需求,建立生态技术评价指标体系与方法模型,评价国内外不同类型生态技术以及重大生态工程区和不同生态退化区域的生态技术实施效果,筛选和推介满足我国及发展中国家生态治理需求的生态技术,建立生态技术评价平台和集成系统,为推动我国生态文明建设和发展中国家生态治理提供科学支撑。     

Plastic pollution challenges in marine and coastal environments: from local to global governance

Plastic pollution in the marine and coastal environment is a challenging restoration and governance issue. Similar to many environmental problems, marine plastic pollution is transboundary and therefore the governance solutions are complex. Although the marine environment is unlikely to return to the condition it was in before the “plastic era,” it is an example of an environmental restoration challenge where successful governance and environmental stewardship would likely result in a healthier global oceanic ecosystem. We argue that a holistic, integrated approach that utilizes scientific expertise, community participation, and market‐based strategies is needed to significantly reduce the global plastic pollution problem.     

Governing stem cell therapy in India: regulatory vacuum or jurisdictional ambiguity?

Stem cell treatments are being offered in Indian clinics although preclinical evidence of their efficacy and safety is lacking. This is attributed to a governance vacuum created by the lack of legally binding research guidelines. By contrast, this paper highlights jurisdictional ambiguities arising from trying to regulate stem cell therapy under the auspices of research guidelines when treatments are offered in a private market disconnected from clinical trials. While statutory laws have been strengthened in 2014, prospects for their implementation remain weak, given embedded challenges of putting healthcare laws and professional codes into practice. Finally, attending to the capacities of consumer law and civil society activism to remedy the problem of unregulated treatments, the paper finds that the very definition of a governance vacuum needs to be reframed to clarify whose rights to health care are threatened by the proliferation of commercial treatments and individualized negligence-based remedies for grievances.     

The need for broader ecological and socioeconomic tools to evaluate the effectiveness of coral restoration programs

Coral reef restoration initiatives are burgeoning in response to the need for novel management strategies to address dramatic global declines in coral cover. However, coral restoration programs typically lack rigor and critical evaluation of their effectiveness. A review of 83 peer‐reviewed papers that used coral transplantation for reef restoration reveals that growth and survival of coral fragments were the most widely used indicators of restoration success, with 88% of studies using these two indicators either solely (55%) or in combination with a limited number of other ecological factors (33%). In 53% of studies, reef condition was monitored for 1 year or less, while only 5% of reefs were monitored for more than 5 years post‐transplantation. These results highlight that coral reef restoration science has focused primarily on short‐term experiments to evaluate the feasibility of techniques for ecological restoration and the initial establishment phase post‐transplantation, rather than on longer‐term outcomes for coral reef communities. Here, we outline 10 socioecological indicators that comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of coral reef restoration across the four pillars of sustainability (i.e. environmental, sociocultural, governance, and economic contributions to sustainable communities). We recommend that evaluations of the effectiveness of coral restoration programs integrate ecological indicators with sociocultural, economic, and governance considerations. Assessing the efficacy of coral restoration as a tool to support reef resilience will help to guide future efforts and ensure the sustainable maintenance of reef ecosystem goods and services.     

Resourcing ecological restoration: the legal context for commercial initiatives

Ecological restoration often depends on substantial funding to be initiated and sustained. So far, the dominant strategies to fund it have been philanthropic altruism or regulatory compulsion. Both make important contributions, but the commercial sector is a further source that has thus far not played a significant role relative to its potential. Just as philanthropic and regulatory strategies are both modulated by the law, so too law shapes the commercial sector's participation in ecological restoration. Corporate law and its market context are particularly significant, and they are both a potential hindrance and opportunity. Some options for law reform are available to improve the contribution of the business sector to restoration.     

国土空间生态修复国际经验借鉴与广东省实施路径

开展国土空间生态修复是生态文明和美丽中国建设的要求,是关系国家生态安全和民生福祉的重大国家战略任务。梳理了近100年来以荒野、再野化、基于自然的解决方案、生态修复为核心的国际生态环境治理理念的发展语境,辨析概念之间的关系,阐明国际生态修复基本研究框架,并梳理国外生态修复的典型实践案例,总结国际经验。基于对广东省主要生态问题研判,从摸清家底、确定目标、谋划格局、布置行动、实施保障5个层面构建省域国土空间生态修复科学规划总体框架,并以实际问题和生态修复目标为导向,提出深入开展国土空间生态修复规划九项专题研究、生态修复技术研发、多元组织形式等策略。本文提出的广东省生态修复设计思路及实施路径,将为找准生态环境问题根源、实现靶向修复治理、促进生态文明建设提供决策支持。     

生态保护红线修复机制法治化: 定位、困境及其出路

生态保护红线以生态系统的完整性、生态系统服务功能的一致性与生态空间的连续性为核心, 致力于保护国家的生态安全。生态保护红线修复分区分类展开, 以修复受损生态系统为目标, 具有自然修复和社会修复双重内涵。生态保护红线存在脆弱性、敏感性、复杂性与极易破坏性等特征, 它在建立修复机制法治化过程中遇到空间不可置换、治理费用高昂和治理主体责任错乱等困境。生态保护红线修复机制应建立“明确预防为主原则为指导、成立修复专项资金为手段、确定修复主体顺位为责任保障”的法治化的基本路径, 以实现重要生态系统保护和修复重大工程, 构建生态廊道和生物多样性保护网络。     

“山水林田湖草沙生命共同体”耦合框架、模型与展望

“山水林田湖草沙生命共同体”系统保护与修复是我国生态文明建设的重要内容。明确生命共同体的耦合机制,是科学地进行生态保护和修复工作的关键。针对当前生命共同体耦合机制不清、理论和方法不健全的问题,从耦合的视角出发,在小流域尺度上单一生态系统内部生态要素的耦合、流域尺度上不同生态系统之间的耦合、区域尺度上人与自然的耦合三个方面进行整合,在此基础上探讨了多尺度山水林田湖草沙耦合理论,提出了一般性的山水林田湖草沙耦合理论框架。梳理并比较了当前主要的生态系统模型、景观模型、统计学模型以及复合生态系统的多模型耦合方法,综合提出了一个适用于"山水林田湖草沙生命共同体"耦合研究方法。对进一步完善山水林田湖草沙一体化保护修复提出了建议,包括：一是构建多源信息数据库,推进定量化耦合机制研究;二是开展全生命周期监测与评估,探索适应性治理路径;三是强化多元主体参与,完善协同保护机制。     

Governing fisheries through the critical decade: the role and utility of polycentric systems

The next 10 years are considered a critical decade for fisheries. Declining fish stocks in combination with mounting climate pressure are likely to lead to significant and adverse socio-ecological impacts, threatening sustainability. Responding to these challenges requires modes of governance that are capable of dealing with the complexity and uncertainty associated with the world’s fisheries and their ecosystems. While a range of governance frameworks exist, the concept of polycentric governance has gained prominence in the environmental sector and is posited as a key principle underpinning the resilience of complex socio-ecological systems. However, the application of polycentric governance to fisheries management has been seldom explored. To examine this prospect, we review the literature on polycentric governance to elucidate its potential value in improving the outlook for fisheries and their associated ecosystems. We highlight a number of unique characteristics that overcome known limitations in other forms of governance—polycentric systems are highly participatory and promote the broadest levels of stakeholder involvement, they increase policy freedom at the local level, and they improve the spatial fit between knowledge, action and socio-ecological contexts to ensure that governance responses are implemented at the most appropriate scale. Through fisheries case-studies, we demonstrate that these characteristics are important in helping fisheries respond to complex challenges. Finally, we articulate key knowledge gaps that should be addressed through future research to understand the conditions under which polycentric governance systems are most suited, and the ways in which they can be operationalised most effectively.     

基于“退化压力-供给状态-修复潜力”框架的国土空间生态修复分区——以珠江三角洲为例

综合考虑生态系统服务供给状态、城市化的生态系统压力以及经济发展支撑生态修复的潜力,开展国土空间生态修复分区,有助于提供自然生态系统和社会经济系统融合的空间途径,促进区域生态系统的整体保护与协同治理。基于"退化压力-供给状态-修复潜力"框架,系统评估珠江三角洲生态系统的压力、状态与潜力,开展国土空间生态修复分区。结果表明,压力指标在珠江三角洲核心区形成连片的高值区并逐渐向外部肇庆市、惠州市、江门市的中心城区辐射;供给指标空间分布差异较大,低值区与高值区之间缺乏自然过渡;潜力指标高值区主要位于各市高度发达的中心城区。珠江三角洲地区国土空间生态修复分区共划分出五大类型区,其中生态优先修复区（压力高-供给低-潜力低）位于广佛都市圈的交界地带,东莞市,珠海市与中山市的中心城区,占珠江三角洲土地总面积9.39%,亟待整合生态修复专项经费开展区际协同治理;生态治理调控区（压力低-供给低-潜力低）主要位于广州市的南沙区,佛山市、中山市与珠海市的非中心城区,占比12.98%,区域经济发展需强化资源环境承载力约束;生态自主修复区（压力高-供给低-潜力高）主要位于深圳市的宝安区、南山区与福田区,广州市的中心城区以及佛山市的禅城区,占比3.24%,应坚持地区生态保护修复政策、加大生态环境治理投资力度。研究结果明晰了珠江三角洲地区国土空间生态修复分区,将为生态修复工程的系统布局提供空间决策指引。     

Understanding the key characteristics and challenges of pine barrens restoration: insights from a Delphi survey of forest land managers and researchers

Pine barrens are open‐canopy ecological communities once prevalent on sandy soils across the northern Great Lakes Region of the United States and Canada, though fire suppression and plantation forestry have now reduced them to a few isolated areas. Efforts to restore pine barrens are underway on some public lands, but lack of knowledge on the social and ecological issues and challenges that affect these projects impedes fuller progress. As a precursor to designing a public preference survey for pine barrens restoration, we sought input from those with expert knowledge about pine barrens. Using a three‐round modified Delphi survey, forest land managers and researchers identified the key characteristics of pine barrens and important current and future management challenges. Key characteristics were related to fire, landscape structure, plant and animal species, soils, and social themes. Current and future challenges were related to landscape, invasive species, social, economic, climate change, and science themes. Four social issues (education, fire acceptance, fire risk, aesthetics) were rated among the top current challenges but none of them maintained prominence as future challenges. Potential explanations for this shift are that the experts felt these social concerns would be resolved in time or that other issues, such as development pressures and budgets for carrying out restoration, would become greater future challenges. Our approach can be used by managers and researchers to better understand the ecosystems they seek to restore and to communicate with public stakeholders about restoration efforts.     

Urban Grassland Restoration: A Neglected Opportunity for Biodiversity Conservation

Urbanization is one of the most severe threats to biodiversity, so why should not we use green space in cities to counteract the biodiversity loss as much as possible? Urban grasslands provide a large number of social, financial, recreational, and environmental ecosystem services but can also support high biodiversity. In this article, I describe the importance of urban grasslands for (local) biodiversity and recommend strengthening restoration ecological research and efforts to optimize these novel ecosystems for conservation purposes. The management intensity of a high proportion of urban grasslands decreased over the last decades. However, species richness of these grasslands is still low, although there is now a great potential for higher plant, but also animal diversity. While communal authorities are interested in cost‐efficient but at the same time biodiversity‐friendly management of urban grasslands, a well‐founded scientific basis for the restoration of urban grassland is still missing. I argue that besides all challenges associated with the restoration of urban habitats we should urgently proceed in the development of appropriate and effective restoration approaches and communicate knowledge gained to urban planners and stakeholders. Widening the scope of restoration ecological research to novel ecosystems such as urban grasslands is one of the most important recent challenges for biodiversity restoration and it gives urban habitats the significance they deserve .     

Behavior change and sustainability of ecological restoration projects

Addressing socio‐economic factors in ecological restoration projects is critical for the effectiveness of restoration practices and scaling of restoration efforts. To achieve sustainability of restoration projects, the drivers of human activity leading to the degradation need to be addressed. An under‐researched concept in ecological restoration is the impact of behavior change of stakeholders and communities involved, despite the strong link prior research has shown to exist between environmental quality and human behavior. This article explores the importance of addressing the behavioral change of stakeholders engaged in restoration to achieve sustainability of efforts; it investigates how behavior change models are linked and represented in global environmental governance documents, and it discusses how behavioral intervention and policy instruments could be included in ecological restoration projects. For future work, the article proposes the integration of behavior change interventions in the design of restoration projects and policies.