How Social Considerations Improve the Equity and Effectiveness of Ecosystem Restoration

authored by

Sara Löfqvist, Fritz Kleinschroth, Adia Bey, Ariane De Bremond, Ruth Defries, Forrest Fleischman, Sharachchandra Lele, Dominic A. Martin, Peter Messerli, Patrick Meyfroidt, Marion Pfeifer, Sarobidy O. Rakotonarivo, Navin Ramankutty, Vijay Ramprasad, Pushpendra Rana, Jeanine M. Rhemtulla, Casey M. Ryan, Ima Celia Guimarães Vieira, Geoff J. Wells, Rachael D. Garrett

Abstract

Ecosystem restoration is an important means to address global sustainability challenges. However, scientific and policy discourse often overlooks the social processes that influence the equity and effectiveness of restoration interventions. In the present article, we outline how social processes that are critical to restoration equity and effectiveness can be better incorporated in restoration science and policy. Drawing from existing case studies, we show how projects that align with local people's preferences and are implemented through inclusive governance are more likely to lead to improved social, ecological, and environmental outcomes. To underscore the importance of social considerations in restoration, we overlay existing global restoration priority maps, population, and the Human Development Index (HDI) to show that approximately 1.4 billion people, disproportionately belonging to groups with low HDI, live in areas identified by previous studies as being of high restoration priority. We conclude with five action points for science and policy to promote equity-centered restoration.

External Organisation(s)

ETH Zurich
Université catholique de Louvain (UCL)
University of Maryland
Columbia University
Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research Chinese Academy of Sciences
University of Minnesota
Shiv Nadar University
University of Bern
Belgian National Fund Scientific Research
Newcastle University
Université d’Antananarivo
University of British Columbia
Ashoka University
University of Edinburgh
Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi
University of Cambridge

Type

Article

Journal

BIOSCIENCE

Volume

73

Pages

134-148

No. of pages

15

ISSN

0006-3568

Publication date

02.2023

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 - Climate Action, SDG 15 - Life on Land

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac099 (Access: Open)