©Danilo Lima, Agripalm Ambiental
The RRC database contains a wide variety of resources and publications related to ecological restoration, and we are actively working to expand this collection. It is our aim to serve as the principal clearinghouse for information and tools to support the work of researchers, practitioners, land managers, educators, students, and anyone else interested in restoration. Use the filter tool below to search the database by title, author, resource type, keyword, or any combination of these factors.
Although SER does review all entries in the database for relevance and quality, these resources have not been rigorously reviewed or extensively vetted in every case, and SER therefore makes no claim as to their accuracy or accordance with generally accepted principles in the field. The database is provided as a resource for visitors to the SER website, and it is ultimately left to the individual user to make their own determinations about the quality and veracity of a given publication or resource.
If there is a resource we missed, please let us know! We are interested in current books, articles, technical documents, videos, and other resources that are directly relevant to ecological restoration science, practice or policy, as well as resources treating the social, cultural and economic dimensions of restoration.
The relative performance of restoration mixes that differ in evolutionary history
Abstract:Restoration mixes are often comprised of haphazard collections of species sourced from disparate locations, resulting in communities differing in collection and increase methodology along with environment of origin. We asked if restoration outcomes are more successful when communities are founded with collections sharing an evolutionary history (sympatric) or if novel associations of species from different locations (allopatric) can be effective restoration mixes. Using 6 shrubs, grasses, and forb species, we compared establishment, productivity, and resistance to invaders for sympatric and allopatric communities. Each community type was planted into outdoor field containers and measured over three growing seasons, invading the communities with Bromus tectorum in their final season. Species and populations differed in every characteristic measured, and the variation in phenology and biomass among populations was as great as variation among species. There were no overall differences in allopatric or sympatric communities, but there were significant population x community type interactions. It was beneficial for species from some locations to be planted with allopatric neighbors, while others benefited from being planted with sympatric neighbors, with the greatest differences in the establishment year. Bromus tectorum biomass was negatively affected by plant age: plants that established early grew the largest and had the most suppressive effect. Our results demonstrate community composition does affect plant performance, but simply collecting sympatric communities is not sufficient to ensure high ecosystem services. We are now conducting an ongoing experiment to learn how to efficiently combine seed sources to maximize community performance based on performance and phenotypic traits.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Why and how adaptive management is key for overcoming dryland regeneration failures: examples from sagebrush steppe.
Abstract:The challenges faced in breaking the annual grass-wildfire cycle in the vast sagebrush-steppe deserts of the western US are among the significant in restoration ecology. Despite decades of restoration or rehabilitation interventions and associated research, the area burned annually with inadequate recovery of perennials continues to expand, causing extensive habitat degradation and creating species-conservation concerns. Most management interventions and published studies on this restoration problem have focused on single-intervention treatments and report mixed to low success. More recently, the role of temporal factors such as suitable weather events and their interaction with spatial factors such as soil patchiness are recognized to influence post-fire recovery of perennials in sagebrush steppe. Post-fire restoration is more likely to succeed if these heterogeneities in plant recovery are addressed using the “treat-observe-reflect-revise-repeat” cycle of adaptive management, which requires a longer-term and more programmatic approach than is traditionally been used in restoring burned sagebrush steppe. Several new studies provide examples of how active and passive management treatments can be combined in these longer-term restoration efforts. However, pressing information gaps on how to optimize treatment combinations still remain, such as on how to best combine rest from grazing, herbicides, and seeding treatments to increase desirable perennials and reduce fire-prone annual grasses.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Seed dispersal networks in tropical forest: restoration of its structure
Abstract:Given the importance of interactions between dispersers and plants for ecological restoration, modelling becomes a necessary tool to create simplified representations of complex ecological systems to process analysis about the ecosystems. The present study is based on the integration of restoration, birds, and interactions databases. In this sense the main aim of this study was to characterize the potential dispersal networks structure of restoration areas located in the Atlantic Forest domain, with different landscapes context, ages, and restoration methods. An algorithm was carried to estimate potential dispersal networks of 142 restoration projects and to model the most important restoration variables that promote seed dispersal by avian community. As result of the modelling, it was founded that nestedness was significative only in 9 projects, number of interactions was not related with age, and the planting method promoted a greater number of vertices in networks. Further, number of zoochoric species and forest amount had a wide importance to structuring networks. Through the interactions network structure, it was possible to suggest key species for the dispersal networks structure by the metric betweenness centrality. The ecological modelling presented good potential to estimate the most important variables to structure dispersal networks in ecological restoration projects. It also may be useful as a tool for the construction of restoration protocols. Finally, the model used in the present study allows the identification of the main variables responsible to optimize the structuring of dispersal networks and to promote ecological processes inherent to tropical forests.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Building up the restoration dialogue: reflections on the state of ecosystem restoration practice and policy in Canada
Abstract:2021 marks the beginning of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021 – 2030). With many ecosystems across Canada and around the world degraded, ecosystem restoration provides a nature-based solution to human-caused ecosystem destruction. For this research, specialist interviews were conducted with ecosystem restoration practitioners and policy makers from across Canada in an effort to assess: (i) the current perception on the state of ecosystem restoration in Canada; (ii) existing barriers to restoration; and (iii) what Canada can uniquely contribute to the global practice of ecosystem restoration. A total of 69 participants were interviewed from nine provinces and two territories, originating from six employment sectors (Environmental Non-Profit Organisations, Government, Private Industry, Academia, International Organisations, and Parapublic Organisations). Participant selection was based on professional experience with ecosystem restoration practice or
policy in Canada, and recruitment was performed via directed and snowball sampling. All interviews were semi-structured and conducted remotely.
Initial analysis of interview data highlights a slightly unfavourable perception of ecosystem restoration practice in Canada, with participants emphasizing the developing nature of the field and its complex challenges. When questioned on barriers to ecosystem restoration in Canada, most interviewees identified political will and financing as being top obstacles. Participants recognized technical capacity and research and development as strengths that Canada can contribute to the international restoration community. Reflecting on these results can contribute to building a dialogue between restoration practitioners and policy makers and help develop policy that will support future ecological restoration practice and needs.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Where is the Innovation in the Brazilian Atlantic forest restoration initiatives? A preliminary study
Abstract:In recent years, countries have engaged in large-scale international forest restoration agreements, aiming to improve the connectivity between ecosystems, landscapes and people. However, to meet these goals, it is necessary to overcome existing barriers, connect different stakeholders and promote an ecosystem that favors the emergence of innovations and the search for multifaceted solutions in forest restoration initiatives. The main objective of our research was to understand the role of innovation in restoration initiatives in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and as specific objectives to understand the types of innovation and which drivers constituted the institutional ecosystems where the innovations occurred and the relationship between them. We found 66 innovations, most of them (61%) were catalogued as product and organizational innovations. Those were distributed in only 9 Brazilian states, concentrated in São Paulo and Paraná (50%). São Paulo state presented the best innovative ecosystem and a higher number of innovations, that is, a good interaction between analyzed drivers (GDP, presence of research institutes, higher research investments, better environment legislation, higher number of forest nursery, land requiring restoration). We found that those factors are crucial to favorable an institutional environment to the innovation on restoration. We also found that the institutional ecosystem’s maintenance depends and is transformed by the innovations it produces. To maintain the positive feedback of this virtuous cycle, it is essential to connect the interested parties and create strategic alliances that seek collective solutions.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Charting the evidence landscape: A systematic map and bibliometric analysis of ecological restoration in Canada
Abstract:This presentation discusses the use of bibliometric analysis (using the R package Bibliometrix) paired with a systematic map to characterize and synthesize the body of literature for restoration ecology in Canada. Ecological Restoration Knowledge Synthesis is a nationally-funded knowledge synthesis project that has involved a systematic literature review, interviews and case studies to synthesize ecological restoration knowledge in Canada. Our review examined both peer reviewed and grey
literature using bibliometric analysis and systematic map methodologies. We will demonstrate how we used the Bibliometrix package to draw conclusions about a selection of 3,013 peer-reviewed journal articles. The analysis from Bibliometrix highlighted key clusters of literature including peatlands restoration and reforestation. We then conducted a systematic map on studies that measured the outcomes of ecological interventions. The bibliometric analysis process helped inform the scope of our systematic map by providing overall insights about the body of literature. The systematic map involved extensive literature searching and screening to track the exclusions and data extraction. The extracted data was analyzed to produce graphs that give insight into the state of the research. The resulting analysis blends Bibliometrix with a systematic map, resulting in a methodology that can be used to characterize a wide body of subject-specific literature. This analysis also highlights specific gaps in the research that could be satisfied by further synthesis involving meta-analyses of the studies in particular techniques or of evidence for interventions into specific ecosystems.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Connecting and communicating ecological restoration success and barriers across practice and policy realms: A synthesis of present knowledge
Abstract:Though ecological restoration holds promise as an effective approach to mitigate natural and anthropogenic drivers of ecosystem change, barriers to information exchange can significantly influence restoration outcomes. Restoration knowledge is held by researchers, practitioners, governments, and non-government organizations, and accessible repositories for widespread restoration knowledge exchange are few. We combined in-depth case studies, interviews with restoration practitioners and experts, and a comprehensive review of the published literature to generate a baseline for restoration science, policy and action in Canada. Rather than merely accumulating knowledge, the “Ecological Restoration: Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Mitigation and Engaging Canadians with Nature” Project has created publicly available data, and endeavours to distribute these widely and accessibly. It highlights the importance of knowledge mobilization across political jurisdictions and spanning Canada’s diverse ecosystems, and enables conversation about how best to ensure and grow effectiveness. Our approach holds lessons for other jurisdictions seeking to improve understanding and awareness of restoration.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Sharing Knowledge: Collaboration in Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration
Abstract:Some of the last remaining patches of Garry Oak ecosystems in Canada are found on southeastern Vancouver Island and nearby areas in British Columbia. These ecosystems are imperiled from habitat loss and degradation fueled by land-use-change, increased herbivory, reduction/removal of natural fire regimes, and invasive species. In Canada over 100 rare and at-risk species are supported by these ecosystems, whose value to the community has spurred dedicated volunteers, restoration practitioners,
and academics to contribute to their protection and restoration for over 30 years. We asked how restoration was being done in Canadian Garry Oak ecosystems, and what potential opportunities existed to support restoration in this community. We used two approaches to address our question: developing a database of known restoration projects and searching available grey and academic literature to identify restoration methods and projects. We also conducted semi-structured interviews with restoration practitioners to access unpublished reporting on methodology. We identified 110 restoration projects within Canadian Garry Oak ecosystems, supported by restoration practitioners, municipal to federal government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and community volunteers. We found two main organizations that collect and disseminate restoration knowledge within the community by publishing best practices, hosting conferences, and managing a listserv. While good information exists on best practices and ecological research supports these practices, formal restoration plans and post-restoration reporting were difficult to access or had not been created for many projects. With limited budgets for restoration, the question remains: how can detailed restoration methodology be shared between practitioners in a sustainable and budget-friendly way
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
The exploitation and ecological restoration of peatlands in Canada: a history of cooperation between industry and academia
Abstract:In Canada, peatlands cover approximately 113.6 million hectares. This represents 13% of the territory, and accounts for 90% of wetland ecosystems found across the country. Peatlands provide many ecosystem services benefitting humans such as carbon sequestration, and are one of the most cost-effective solutions to mitigate global warming effects. In North America, peatlands are exploited to extract peat from which the horticultural industry is the main consumer. However, this industrial activity requires peatlands drainage and vegetation removal which has adverse consequences on hydrology, biodiversity, and associated ecological services loss. Without human intervention, the degraded peatland may witness several decades of bare soils before a typical vegetation spontaneously re-implants. In light of this situation, the Peatland Ecology Research Group (PERG) was created in 1992 at Université Laval, Québec, Canada. PERG collaborates with scientists from various horizons, including academia, provincial and federal agencies as well as the Canadian peat industry. They collaborate on projects aiming towards sustainable and integrated peatland management. For the past 30 years, PERG’s research team has developed peatland restoration techniques and significantly contributed to improving knowledge about these specific wetlands. This case study relates the cooperative and collaborative history of PERG and the Canadian peat industry through a multiplicity of peatland restoration projects in the Canadian context and the related fundamental and technical knowledge resulting from this joint work.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Restoration of Wild Salmon in a Canadian National Park
Abstract:Populations of the anadromous Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) are endangered in the inner Bay of Fundy (eastern Canada). A regional recovery strategy and action plan guide recovery actions by multiple partners across freshwater and marine habitats. The main recovery approach is based on a captive breeding and rearing program aimed at the conservation of the populations’ genetic characteristics. More recently, a complementary approach has taken the form of a collaboration with aquaculture industry to grow young salmon in marine net pens until maturity to be released back into rivers for spawning. Both of these approaches are applied within Fundy National Park where two rivers provide critical habitat to the Atlantic Salmon. Using a case study approach, we combine document review and interviews with key informants to trace a trajectory of the restoration actions and outcomes for wild salmon in the national park and the role of restoration policies in the development of this trajectory. Our presentation will offer insights on the effectiveness of restoration policies, the impacts of an adaptive management framework, past and persistent challenges, and opportunities for improvement in restoration practice.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Could exposure to biodiverse urban green spaces reduce the burden of pain
Abstract:Pain is one of the leading causes of years lived with disability, and is often poorly managed. We argue that exposure to biodiverse green spaces may reduce the high burden of pain. There is emerging evidence supporting the positive impacts of green space exposure on human health, including for cardiovascular conditions, and mental health, however the impact of green space exposure on pain outcomes is poorly understood. Green space exposure brings with it exposure to specific elements of the environment (e.g. exposure to the sights and sounds of nature, the environmental microbiome, and biogenic volatile organic compounds), and more generic factors (e.g. exposure to sunlight and negative air ions, and the promotion of both physical activity and social interaction). Each of these elements of green space exposure may positively influence pain outcomes. For example, there is emerging evidence that the environmental microbiome influences the human microbiome, and evidence supporting an association between the individual’s microbiome and their pain outcomes. Furthermore, there are established mechanisms that link the gut microbiota and pain outcomes. While the evidence in this area is in its infancy, there is sufficient evidence to support increasing green space exposure, particularly biodiverse green spaces, to reduce the burden of pain. Accessible biodiverse green spaces are therefore required in urban areas, and both conservation and restoration will play an important role in their development and maintenance. Furthermore, multidisciplinary research is required to optimize these green spaces, and both conservation biologists and restoration ecologists will be critical in this work.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Ecosystem repair reduces the burden of human disease
Abstract:Hard scientific evidence has been accumulating for decades that interconnections between human health and ecosystem health are real, and that disruptions to the former have adverse effects on the latter. Serious and indisputable examples include: starvation from depletion of fish stocks; mortality from water-washed diseases and crop failures when land use and climate change create desertification; and biodiversity loss, with erosion of ecosystem services (including provision of food, water, fuel, and shelter; regulation of climate and disease suppression; and recreation and wellbeing). It is clear from observational studies that disrupting ecosystems and losing ecosystem services adversely affects the health of human populations, and scientists and policy developers have suggested that conservation and restoration will improve human health. What is lacking is field-based evidence of improved human health outcomes from ecosystem restoration: data from such intervention studies would provide stronger evidence to support the notion of causation, and provide a more powerful advocacy tool for investment in supporting ecosystem health and human health concurrently. A recent example of such a study is of malaria in Borneo, where infection rates decrease when native forest is restored. The bridge between environmental science and health is the study of ecological linkage mechanisms that support the biological plausibility of the relationship (See Figure 1); for malaria in Borneo, restoring biodiversity increases competition, predation, and dilution for malaria vector mosquitoes. With stronger evidence from such intervention studies, governments will be better positioned to control their burgeoning health budget by cross-disciplinary investment in ecosystem restoration.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Environmental and biodiversity predictors of health outcomes
Abstract:There is substantial evidence that environments with more greenspaces and higher levels of vegetation benefit human health via higher levels of physical activity and improved mental health. Researchers are expanding this knowledge base by investigating different health outcomes and other elements of healthy ecosystems (e.g., water, biodiversity). This paper will present findings from several epidemiological studies assessing relationships between natural environments and multiple health outcomes. All studies used secondary data that had information on participant residential addresses, sociodemographics (e.g., age, sex, income) and health outcomes. Geospatial measures of the natural environment (e.g., greenness, tree canopy, water, species richness) were calculated around addresses. Health outcomes included: wellbeing, mental health, food allergy, cardiometabolic (cholesterol, blood pressure, arterial structure/function, BMI), vitamin D, sleep, pregnancy/birth outcomes, and physical activity. Linear/logistic regression models were fitted to assess the relationship between the exposures
and outcomes. Preliminary results suggest consistent beneficial relationships between greenness and health across a range of outcomes (e.g., wellbeing, mental health, physical activity). Yet in some cases, greener areas were negatively associated with health (e.g., food allergy). The links between biodiversity (species richness) and water and health were less clear, which may be due to limitations with exposure data and measurement. Healthy ecosystems are key determinants of human health. However, these relationships are not always in the expected direction. Therefore, we need to better understand the importance of, and interaction between, different natural environment predictors across a range of health outcomes to be able to maximize both ecosystem and human health
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Nature-based interventions and the microbiome: applying systems thinking in ecological restoration and public health
Abstract:Ninety-five percent of Earth’s land could be degraded by 2050. This includes losses to macro-biodiversity and vital microbial-mediated ecological functions. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the global trends of ecosystem degradation and both infectious and noncommunicable diseases are intricately connected. Restoration should ideally be a socioecological endeavour and there is much to gain by taking a systems thinking approach and applying integrated strategies to promote both ecosystem and human health. An example is a nature-based health intervention, which aims to facilitate behavioural changes that benefit health and wellbeing through the structured promotion of nature-based activities––such as restoration and biodiversity conservation. Another approach is through studying and enhancing the environmental microbiome, which has important implications for the functionality and resilience of ecosystems and human health. Here, I will present case studies of systems thinking approaches and applications of integrated strategies in restoration and public health. I will showcase nature-based interventions (sometimes called ‘green prescriptions’) and an exploration of environmental microbiome dynamics including spatio-compositional factors of the aerobiome in urban green spaces. I will also present underexplored threats to the microbiome –– and perhaps under-considered factors in restoration –– that is, anthropogenic sound and artificial light pollution. Considering these factors and understanding how they interconnect could have important implications for ecosystems and public health. By seeking interconnectedness and understanding feedback loops, larger things (flourishing ecosystems and healthy people) can emerge from smaller parts.
Resource Type:Conference PresentationPublication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Restoring health-promoting microbial biodiversity
Abstract:Maintaining a healthy immune system has never been more important with globally escalating rates of allergies, auto-immune, and chronic inflammatory diseases, and in the face of novel viruses such as COVID-19. Evidence is growing of a critical role for exposure to natural microbial diversity in building immune fitness, supplementing our human microbiome, and enhancing protection against both infectious and non-infectious diseases. The human microbiome plays an active role in defending against pathogenic organisms, while human and environmental microbiomes can trigger immune-signaling pathways (particularly via the gut) with potential to impact the whole body – activating either defensive inflammation or tolerance of normally harmless agents. The human microbiome is intimately linked to our health and establishes from an early age, largely from environmental sources. Soils are of particular interest as a rich source of microbial diversity, and natural biodiversity in soils often associates with the biodiversity of aboveground ecosystems. A number of recent studies are helping to build evidence of health-promoting microbial diversity. These include: a large-area spatial epidemiology study linking ambient exposure to soils with typically higher microbial diversity with reduced risk of infectious and parasitic disease; field-scale microbiome work indicating the displacement of opportunistic and potential pathogenic bacteria with ecosystem restoration; and a pioneering mouse model study that found the gut microbiome could be influenced by trace-level exposures to biodiverse soil dust and that such exposures might supplement the gut with bacteria linked to reduced anxiety-like behaviour.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Restoring Microbial Ecosystems for Improved Human Health
Abstract:As the world’s population grows and cities expand, more people are shifting away from open, biodiverse spaces into urbanised environments. 50% of the world’s 7 billion people live in cities, with an increase to 70% anticipated by 2030. Rates of species extinction are now far higher than in the past 10 million years, driven in large part by increases in urban populations. This biodiversity crisis is linked to rapid increases in non-communicable diseases (e.g. chronic inflammatory conditions). Rapid urbanisation is at odds with human evolutionary history, which is deeply rooted in nature. Loss of macrodiversity following urbanisation is linked to reductions in environmental microbial diversity. Exposure to biodiverse environmental microbiota is important for healthy human immune system development and maintenance. Indeed, reduced exposure is thought to partly explain the western pandemic of non-communicable diseases. Despite these values, urban green spaces continue to decline. Can urban ecosystems be restored to serve a dual purpose of conserving native biodiversity and promoting public health at the same time?
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Mining in polar opposites – case studies from opposite ends of the earth
Abstract:The International Standards for Mine Site Restoration (the Mining Standards) aims to provide a unifying set of principles and standards for all mine site restoration projects across the globe. This is no easy undertaking, as they must be applicable to all climates and geographies, environmental conditions, extraction commodities, political and social settings. The Kiruna mine located in Norrbotten, Sweden and the Karara mine in the Mid-west, Australia are at polar opposites when it comes to the ecological restoration post-extraction. Kiruna, is an underground iron ore mine with associated infrastructure located 145 km north of the Arctic Circle. Kiruna has a subarctic climate with short, cool summers and long, cold snow-covered winters. Karara, is a large open-cut iron ore mine and represents one of the largest iron ore reserves in Australia. Karara experiences a hot, arid climate with low and erratic rainfall. Temperatures can reach above 50 C on restoration sites. Despite these climatic extremes, they also share many similarities. Both sites are need to work closely with the Traditional Owners, have a long history of developing knowledge through research and are undertaking restoration that aims to restore the native ecosystem that is informed by the reference. We show how each site is working with the eight principles of the Mining Standards to deliver ecological restoration that is the best that can be achieved, given the major challenged faced by the mining industry.
Resource Type:Conference PresentationPublication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Principles and Standards for the ecological restoration of mine sites
Abstract:Mining companies are often required to return or transfer land impacted by their activities to government agencies, communities, or other landowners in a condition that is suitable for the next agreed upon land use to commence, generally in accordance with written regulatory agreements. In many cases this is the same general land use that was present prior to disturbance, and often consists of a native ecosystem. In these instances, ecological restoration approaches are required.
The Mining Standards present a robust framework for delivering high-quality ecological restoration of mine sites. Such a framework enables acceptable and enduring environmental, social, and economic legacies for future generations consistent with many international goals and conventions. They highlight the role that mine site restoration has in connecting industry with social, community, and ecological productivity; as well as providing recommended performance measures. Adapted from SER’s International Principles & Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration, eight aspirational principles underpin ecological restoration in mining landscapes. In combination, these principles support decision-making to achieve the best environmental and social outcomes for a restored mine site by:
• Engaging stakeholders throughout Life of Mine
• Drawing on many kinds of knowledge,
• Are informed by the native reference system, while considering environmental change
• Supporting ecosystem recovery processes,
• Are assessed by clear goals and objectives, using measurable indicators,
• Seeking the highest level of recovery attainable,
• Gaining cumulative value at large scales, and
• Are a as part of a continuum of restorative activities.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Social license in mining – the secret sauce
Abstract:Ecological restoration of mine sites, as with all processes of land-use change, is most effective when the social dimensions of that change are integrated throughout the process. Having evolved over 25 years of theory and practice, the idea of ‘social license’ – alongside related concepts such as corporate social responsibility, stakeholder theory, and community engagement – demonstrates that:
• mining activities are more accepted by communities when those communities experience genuine benefits in the short and long term;
• perceptions of procedural fairness in decision-making strongly influence levels of community
approval;
• the trust gained through genuine relationship-building is critical to long-term success;
• optimum site outcomes result when expert knowledge combines with local knowledge gained through community participation;
• there is a moral obligation, as well as an instrumental justification, for involving affected communities in decisions that affect them.
These key elements of social license to operate (SLO) – genuine benefits, procedural fairness, trust, community participation, and a strong moral foundation – are now well understood in the literature. Yet, as seasoned social practitioners, having both researched and applied our craft across many project and community contexts, we regularly find that the concept and application of SLO remain challenging for many companies. Drawing on various case studies, this paper/presentation explores what we believe to be the ‘secret sauce’ of SLO; that is, the main ingredients required to develop and sustain collaborative, participatory, and trusting relationships with stakeholders, and that deliver improved project and operational outcomes in the long-term time horizons needed for ecological restoration.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
The Mining Standards and towards a culture of best practice
Abstract:Increasing pressure on companies to maintain their social license to operate has meant that globally the mining industry is lifting their environmental performance including on many occasions adopting the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contributing to the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021- 2030.
This increased awareness and actions to improve performance by the mining industry is, however, by no means universal. The process of change within a mining company to progress towards a culture of environmental best practice can often be a long process requiring ‘company champions’ to work diligently and continuously with management. The International Standards for Mine Site Restoration (the Mining Standards) provides a framework to help companies on that journey, specifically when the post mining land use is ecological restoration.
The best outcomes are achieved when trust is established between government (regulators), industry, community and science and leveraging this to go beyond best practice (Fig. 1). It can be difficult to attain and is something that is being grappled with globally, but when it is established, the best net environmental and social benefits can be realized.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
The need for separate SER standards for the ecological restoration of mine sites
Abstract:In 2019, SER published the second edition of the International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration (International Standards), which are utilized to design, implement, monitor, and evaluate ecological restoration projects at all scales and in all ecosystem types worldwide. However, mines and mining landscapes present unique challenges. Hence, there is a need for a stand alone document for the ecological restoration of mine sites that draws from the guiding
principles of the International Standards. The Mining Standards focus on those topics pertinent to restoration in mined landscapes and present both established and emerging knowledge from scientific research and on the ground practices in the mining industry. Specific challenges faced by the mining industry include high levels of regulation, and the destructive nature of mining including the complete removal or homogenization of the upper geological layers and topsoil materials, the loss of biological and ecological function, and the destruction of plants, animals, and soil microbiota during the mining process. In addition, mining companies face increasing pressures to maintain a social license to operate, which includes contributing to global sustainability and biodiversity conservation goals, and tightening timelines to address projected mine closures. Because of changed conditions caused by the destructive nature of mining, full recovery of the pre-mining native ecosystem may not always be achievable. Nevertheless, the Mining Standards encourage aspirations to achieve the highest practicable ecological outcomes. Finally, integration of the Mining Standards with existing company Environmental Management Plans is key to successful uptake by the mining industry.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Forest restoration as a land use pattern: nature-based tourism in the Andean Choco Biosphere Reserve, northwestern Ecuador
Abstract:Forest restoration entails change in land use patterns. Land use change results from circumstance-specific combinations of individual agency, institutional framework, and structural context. Nature-based tourism is recognized as an indirect economic incentive for biological conservation, thus a potential driver for land uses that are favorable to forest restoration. This study analyzes the influence of nature-based tourism on land use decisions aimed at forest restoration in the Mindo sector of the Andean Choco Biosphere Reserve, in northwestern Ecuador. Semi-structured interviews were used to determine the main decision variables explaining landowner participation in a local government-led forest restoration program. Results indicate that improvement of tourism attractiveness was a main factor in the corresponding land use decision. Open interviews with key informants allowed description of the institutional framework associated with nature-based tourism in Mindo, as well as identification of institutional aspects most relevant to the relationship between tourism and land use. Finally, the structural context within which land-use decisions operate in the region was established by means of historical document review, coupled with analysis of land-use and socioeconomic indicators. Together, individual land use decisions aimed at forest restoration for tourism purposes, taken within an institutional framework that is favorable to biological conservation, and immersed in a structural context that is conducive to the sector’s consolidation as an income generator, make nature-based tourism a driver for land use change and forest restoration in the Andean Choco Biosphere Reserve. The utility of approaching forest restoration from the perspective of land use patterns is thereby demonstrated.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Is it possible to recover lands through impact investment? Improving nature-based solutions for climate, soil, water, and food security
Abstract:Most part of the investments made in the recovery of native vegetation follows a logic of command and control or grants, with continued need for financing. A new paradigm of investment in agroforestry business models, with focus on positive socioenvironmental impact, has emerged as the missing element for change the scenario. In 2020, Palladium Brazil supported Fundo Vale to search business models based on the intentional creation of value of recovered areas, designed on a commercially viable and financially sustainable market opportunity. We developed a methodology for pipeline generation, considering the socio-environmental impact and the economic return of each initiative. We assessed almost 60 initiatives that could recover areas with different productive and institutional arrangements, to create a business plan for the recovery of 100,000 ha of degraded areas (beyond Vale’s operational borders in Brazil) through positive socio-environmental impact businesses. We selected 15 with potential to recover over 300 thousand hectares by 2030, distributed in silvopastoral systems (~ 100 thousand ha), agroforestry (~ 100 thousand ha), silvicultural (~ 30 thousand ha) and 65 thousand ha of these three categories. As a proof of concept, more than a thousand hectares of different arrangements were implemented. With this investment of US$ 1.07 billion, were estimated a potential removal of 1.2 t CO2e per year, the planting of more than 50 native species and the generation of more than 40 thousand annual direct job positions, demonstrating it is possible to recover areas with positive economic and social impacts.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
The Role of Insurance in Financing Natural Infrastructure
Abstract:Since 1980, there has been $5.2 trillion in losses from natural disasters – over 70 percent of which was uninsured. Worldwide, governments have traditionally held this risk by financing emergency services, restoring infrastructure, and supporting households without private protections. Businesses also face higher risks from natural catastrophes, with losses manifested via resource scarcity, supply chain shocks, and loss of business. However, increased loss events leave the public and private sectors
struggling with how to manage future operating uncertainty. Additionally, climate change requires engineered protection enhancements – often resulting in increased costs with more frequent repairs. Experts have realized that effectively integrating natural systems into disaster mitigation planning is a cost-effective and sustainable way of reducing natural disaster risk and optimizing built infrastructure’s functionality. Investing in nature-based solutions also improves the effectiveness of ecosystems, community facilities and quality of life. Unfortunately, quantifying natural asset protection value is challenging as efforts to calculate current and future risk attenuation and exposure lack standardization sufficient to compare value, efficacy, and justify investment. The insurance industry is uniquely positioned to apply its expertise towards understanding risk potential, identifying and integrating effective mitigators, and internalizing these assets to standardize their role in risk attenuation. Additionally, insurers’ role as a risk transfer agent can de-risk investment into natural systems by governments and businesses alike. This presentation will discuss how nature-based solutions can be an economically and ecologically friendly approach to climate adaptation, and how insurance can help public and private actors integrate these assets into their risk management strategies.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Towards a framework for Australia’s Restoration Economy
Abstract:This year, in 2021, the world embarks on a great challenge, to restore hundreds of millions of hectares across the globe over the next ten years as a part of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). The commencement of The Decade aligns with UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) which aims to achieve global agreements of a new set of goals for nature over the next decade and deliver a framework with an ambitious plan to implement broad-based action to bring about a transformation in society’s relationship with biodiversity and to ensure that, by 2050, the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fulfilled. Entwined in this is the inherent need to develop sustainable ‘green’ economies to support society. The restoration economy defined as ‘the market consisting of businesses, investors, and consumers engaging in economic activity related to restoration’ forms a critical component in achieving these goals.
The market is rapidly growing in Australia, with major private, philanthropic and government investments driving large-scale restoration efforts, albeit rather haphazardly and without a coordinated and quality-controlled approach. A framework to inform Australia’s Restoration Economy is presented that is applicable across industries with benefits to people, climate, biodiversity, the economy and the environment (Fig 1). Critically this is presented in the context of a changing climate and applicability to all Australians including rural and indigenous communities where economic disparity is most pronounced.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
How much do we need? Defining the true cost of restoration in the 21st century
Abstract:In the past year, tree planting organisations have doubled or even tripled their number of trees planted around the globe. Marketing plans for $1/tree donations continue to attract individuals inspired by the chance to help. Corporate interest is also growing fast, along with the number of organizations engaged in implementation, policy, and tracking outcomes. Positive action for the climate and biodiversity is welcomed, as is the increasing investments in reforestation for a suite of benefits, such as carbon sequestration. However, focusing on straightforward tree counts as a metric of success ignores other risks: displacing people, negatively impacting livelihoods with the loss of agricultural lands, and trading biodiversity for carbon gains with plantations. How then, do we begin to calculate the investment needed to ‘restore’ ecosystems, rather than simply ‘planting’ a tree? What standards should guide project design, implementation, and monitoring to ensure the social and ecological outcomes expected over time? As the U.N. Decade of Ecosystem Restoration launches forward in January 2021, organisations across the world will continue scaling up planting efforts to meet the ambitious targets. Some initiatives will be driven primarily by carbon interests, potentially overlooking negative trade-offs. Others will target multiple benefits, committing to improving local livelihoods, health, and biodiversity, while also supporting the climate system. The trick, undoubtedly, will be in designing for quality – both social and ecological – while not being cost prohibitive or delaying much-needed action.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
How to build and use the evidence-base for restoration
Abstract:Effectively implemented restoration can help reverse ecosystem and land degradation that contribute to human suffering, planetary climate crisis and biodiversity loss. But restoration interventions are usually performed ad-hoc, with limited knowledge to deliver specific outcomes. Restoration practices are poorly documented, and often lack information on how social or ecological outcomes were achieved and who benefitted. There is an urgent need to build an evidence-base to improve and guide policy and practice. This evidence base will emerge from an independent and freely accessible archive of restoration interventions and projects based on detailed and verified case studies. These case studies will provide a foundation for learning and analysis of the full scope of restoration activities, practices, to illuminate how specific interventions led to particular outcomes. An archive of case studies will: (1) document activity and experiences of restoration practitioners and researchers; (2) provide systematic, detailed, and informed data about restoration cases across a wide range of contexts, geographic regions, and governance structures; (3) summarize lessons learned and outcomes from different types of interventions and contexts; (4) create an engaged community of stakeholders, actors, and sectors in the restoration movement and provide a platform for sharing experiences, knowledge, and resources; and (5) supplement remote sensing-based indicators of restoration outcomes. Both positive and negative outcomes provide learning opportunities. I will present specific examples of how restoration case studies will be used by many different groups, including practitioners, international agencies, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, funding agencies, private sector partners, and the research community.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Key barriers to overcome for restoration at scale – and where we’ve succeeded
Abstract:Large-scale ecosystem restoration potential is immense: political support has grown through global and regional initiatives and 62 countries have pledged to restore lands under the Bonn Challenge, and counting. While pledges can be made easily, delivering high quality ecosystem restoration is difficult. Likewise, the drive to restore forests has also captured the public’s imagination, but perceptions of what is possible can exceed the ability of programmes to deliver on the ground. Barriers include: lasting political will; competition with other land uses; adequate and long-term finance; and the need for effective national and local institutions (from national strategies to local extension services). Reviews of case studies highlight potential responses to these barriers including: adapting strategies to local political motivating factors; moving from project by project implementation to coherent cross-sector national policies; devolved responsibility to local authorities; effective incentive mechanisms and; granting tenure security to rights holders and land users. Even where only some or none of these factors exist, planned and unplanned natural regeneration of forests is also occurring at scale, particularly where agriculture has retreated and/or protection measures are in place, offering another self-selecting route to large scale delivery. The international community, including through the narratives and discussions under the UN decade on ecosystem restoration, can play a role in balancing the clear opportunity presented by the corporate, government and public interest in forest restoration, with the need for patience to deliver results that last.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
What does it take, a case study: putting the pieces back together in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
Abstract:One of the most threatened forest ecosystems on the planet, yet biologically diverse, the Atlantic Forest supports ta high number of endemic and threatened birds globally. Once one of the world’s largest forests, extensive deforestation has resulted in only 12% remaining. A third of South America’s human population live in the Atlantic Forest biome, and the forest has made way for agriculture – both subsistence and industrial scale. As a result, much of the endemic Atlantic Forest fauna and flora is in danger of extinction. The scale of the challenge to conserve the Atlantic Forest, demands a bold approach. Over the past 16 years, SAVE Brasil has been protecting fragmented pieces of forest in Serra do Urubu (Northeastern Brazil). However, it is not practical to eliminate farming – crops, cattle, forest and people all go together – but sustainable agroforestry and commodity production can be achieved. This is possible through three strategies: 1) community engagement, 2) promoting best practice models within the corridors, and 3) building multi-stakeholder partnerships to develop sustainability strategies for scaling-up. Through the protection of crucial forest, annual bird monitoring has confirmed populations of threatened species are stable. Serra do Urubu is now a pilot area for the “Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact,” an initiative involving NGOs, businesses and Brazilian universities, which aims to restore 15 million hectares of forest. SAVE Brasil’s strategy for the long-term restoration of the forests of the Serra do Urubu region includes developing agro-forestry systems which help rebuild forest connectivity.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Identification of Private Investment Opportunities in the Restoration of Forest and Agricultural Landscapes in Latin America
Abstract:Twenty-two Initiative 20×20 financial partners have announced their intention to invest USD$2.4 billion in Latin America to support restoration and avoided deforestation activities. Even though most of them are already investing and looking to expand their portfolios in the region, oftentimes they run into significant barriers, such as the absence of a robust portfolio of investment opportunities, high risk perception, and/or high transaction costs. The resources and willingness are present, but the former are flowing slowly due to a fragmented market were the preference of funders are not clear to the general public; and project developers have little contact with funders and do not know what they can do to make their projects attractive. To help breach the gap, Initiative 20×20 partners are working on multiple fronts to help identify promising restoration initiatives and businesses, support their incubation and acceleration, and connect them with potential sources of financing. Through in-country Portfolio development in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, they are identifying restoration opportunities at different scales that can attract private investment. Besides compiling these opportunities in a database of easy access for financial partners, they are developing detailed factsheets for prioritized projects and designing and implementing training plans with mentorship, business development and pitching components. This effort is complemented by other regional and global initiatives such as the Land Accelerator, a program that seeks to increase restoration entrepreneurs’ impact through refining their business model and operations, helping them access appropriate financing, and supporting business introductions; and TerraMatch, an online global platform that connects people who are restoring land with potential funders.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program