Authors:
Manning, A.D., D.B. Lindenmayer and J. Fischer
Publication Date:
2006
Abstract/Summary:
There are numerous barriers that prevent large-scale ecological restoration projects from being proposed, initiated, or carried through. Common barriers include the ‘‘shifting baseline syndrome,’’ the scale and complexity of restoration, the long-term and open-ended nature of res There are numerous barriers that prevent large-scale ecological restoration projects from being proposed, initiated, or carried through. Common barriers include the ‘‘shifting baseline syndrome,’’ the scale and complexity of restoration, the long-term and open-ended nature of restoration, funding challenges, and preemptive constraint of vision. Two potentially useful approaches that could help overcome these barriers are stretch goals and backcasting. Stretch goals are ambitious long-term goals used to inspire creativity and innovation to achieve outcomes that currently seem impossible. Backcasting is a technique where a desired end point is visualized, and then a pathway to that end point is worked out retrospectively. A case study from the Scottish Highlands is used to illustrate how stretch goals and backcasting could facilitate large-scale restoration. The combination of these approaches offers ways to evaluate and shape options for the future of ecosystems, rather than accepting that future ecosystems are victims of past and present political realities.
Resource Type:
Peer-reviewed Article
Source:
Restoration Ecology
Link:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2006.00159.x/abstract