Short essay on ecosystem restoration
Ecosystem restoration is the process of bringing an area back to its natural state before it was impacted by destructive human activities. It holds considerable promise as a mechanism for maintaining or restoring biodiversity and reinstating ecosystem services.
It requires a broad interdisciplinary approach involving many different scientific fields of study (for example, biology, ecology, hydrology, and geology). Reintroducing wolves, a top predator, to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 led to dramatic changes in the ecosystem that increased biodiversity.
The wolves suppress elk and coyote populations and provide more abundant resources for the detritivores. Reducing elk populations has allowed the revegetation of riparian areas (those along the banks of a stream or river), which has increased the diversity of species in that ecosystem. The reduction of coyote populations by wolves has increased prey species previously suppressed.
In this ecosystem, the wolf is a keystone species, meaning a species that maintains diversity within an ecosystem. Removing a keystone species from an ecological community causes diversity collapse. The Yellowstone experiment suggests that restoring a keystone species effectively can restore biodiversity in the community.
Ecologists have argued for the identification of keystone species where possible and focusing protection efforts on these species. It makes sense to return keystone species to ecosystems where they were removed.
Besides physical processes, socioeconomic factors must also be considered in a restoration project. Humans have historically shaped ecosystems, and are important in determining restoration efforts’ success. Because restoring an individual site can cost millions, government support is necessary.
Long Essay on ecosystem restoration
Ecosystem restoration means assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed, as well as conserving ecosystems that are still intact. Healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, yield additional benefits such as more fertile soils, bigger yields of timber and fish, and larger stores of greenhouse gases.
Restoration can happen in many ways – for example through actively planting or by removing pressures so that nature can recover on its own. It is not always possible – or desirable – to return an ecosystem to its original state. We still need farmland and infrastructure on land that was once forest, for instance, and ecosystems, like societies, need to adapt to a changing climate.
Between now and 2030, the restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems could generate US$9 trillion in ecosystem services. Restoration could also remove 13 to 26 gigatons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The economic benefits of such interventions exceed nine times the cost of investment, whereas inaction is at least three times more costly than ecosystem restoration.
What is ecosystem restoration?
All kinds of ecosystems can be restored, including forests, farmlands, cities, wetlands, and oceans. Restoration initiatives can be launched by almost anyone, from governments and development agencies to businesses, communities, and individuals. That is because degradation causes are many and varied, and can have an impact on different scales.
For instance, degradation may result from harmful policies such as subsidies for intensive farming or weak tenure laws that encourage deforestation. Lakes and coastlines can become polluted because of poor waste management or industrial accidents. Commercial pressures can leave towns and cities with too much asphalt and too few green spaces.
Restoring ecosystems large and small protects and improves people’s livelihoods. It also helps regulate disease and reduce natural disaster risk. In fact, restoration can help us achieve all Sustainable Development Goals.
Ecosystem Restoration and Its Principle
The decade we’re currently in — from 2021 to 2030 — was recently declared the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration by the United Nations General Assembly. This decision was made to stop and reverse ecological degradation. It also deals with the critical need to restore damaged terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems worldwide.
While this looks straightforward, it’s difficult to do in reality. This is because a project of this scale needs buy-in from dozens of world leaders and much funding in its infancy. It also requires thorough research and dedicated teams. But before all that, it needs a shared vision between everyone supporting this project. This vision becomes the North Star for all activities and provides a guide to ensure everyone goes about ecosystem restoration correctly.
The United Nations laid out principles that function as a touchstone for all ecological restoration-related activities.
Ecosystem restoration contributes to global sustainable goals
We all live on this planet, so ensuring our work contributes to sustainable goals is crucial. Our mission is to save life on Earth, and the Earth itself, so the goals are naturally lofty. This principle states that all restoration efforts, programs, and initiatives, no matter the scale, will help meet global goals for preserving life on Earth.
These goals—called the UN Sustainable Development Goals—seek to improve livelihoods for everyone worldwide by ending poverty, protecting biodiversity, providing clean water, and more. Ecosystem restoration is one of the ways we can achieve many of these goals globally.
Ecosystem restoration promotes broad engagement and social equity
Once again, building on the fact that we all share this planet, this principle dictates that all stakeholders, especially under-represented groups, should be given equal and inclusive opportunities to engage in “meaningful, free, and active ways.”
Ecological restoration is a long-term project that will take decades if we limit ourselves to exclusive participants. To get everyone to participate, equal and regular access to information is critical. In addition, it ensures a pivotal role for local communities in decision-making processes. The principle calls for building trust and respect through ground-level and inclusive governance.
Ecosystem restoration requires a diversity of restorative activities
Almost any nature-friendly activity might be called ecological restorative, so this principle sets a definition that participants should follow. In the proposal’s own words: “The activity must result in a net gain for biodiversity, ecosystem health and integrity, and human well-being, including sustainable production of goods and services.” Whether done singly or collectively, restoration activities can be implemented in degraded ecosystems of any kind, such as cultural, semi-natural, natural, and urban landscapes and seascapes. The UN has also defined categories of activities:
- Reducing negative socio-environmental impacts
- Recovering ecosystems to where they were without degradation
- Reducing threats like pollution and contamination
Ecosystem restoration benefits to nature and people
This principle clarifies that restoration isn’t an end-all or substitute for nature conservation. Restoration should support natural recovery processes and not cause more degradation. To truly halt degradation, we must pay equal importance to conserving existing ecosystems and protecting them from harm. This is what it means to achieve the highest recovery level.
Ecosystem restoration should acknowledge and address what happened wrong
Restoring ecosystems doesn’t mean papering over cracks and pretending degradation never happened. This principle clearly states that all restorative activities should directly address degradation and biodiversity loss.
If they aren’t, any action that looks effective in the short term may fail in the long run because the root cause wasn’t addressed. One way to do this is to adopt sustainable practices that enhance biodiversity conservation while reducing the environmental impacts of our cities and other urban infrastructure.
An example of this is agroforestry, which acknowledges that agriculture is essential for survival, but how it’s carried out is unsustainable. It then provides an alternative that moves away from destructive practices to regenerative ones without endangering life and livelihoods.
Ecosystem restoration encourages and asks for all kinds of knowledge
For ecosystem restoration to work at its highest, it needs all kinds of intelligence, including Indigenous, local, and scientific ways of working. Integrating the knowledge of everyone establishes a close connection with nature and between stakeholders and creates a productive decision-making environment.
Knowledge about effective practices shouldn’t just be passed along through word of mouth, but documented, shared, and replicated. This is to avoid mistakes and achieve success each time. Doing so will also help the world identify knowledge gaps and reach out to the right communities to fill those gaps.
A critical point to note is that information collection should be consensual, and sharing should consider the diversity of cultures and levels of language and literacy globally. Only when we consider all our differences will we be able to build a wall to climb over them.
Ecosystem restoration relies on achievable and realistic goals
A crucial key to achieving a successful long-term outcome is to plan ahead. This principle calls for establishing realistic and achievable goals of short, medium, and long-term lengths right in the planning phase of any restoration project.
To be realistic, it should include targets and indicators that specify the direction of change required and whether there are any deadlines. To be achievable, this plan needs to clearly communicate expected results and enable monitoring and adaptive management. It also needs to make room for trade-offs and compromises in a transparent way that won’t derail ecosystem recovery.
Ecosystem restoration is tailored to global and local contexts
Restorative activities can happen at any scale but have ripple effects on both local and larger landscapes. As a result, this principle states that it is crucial to consider the multiple contexts when defining project objectives and aligning them with local needs.
Doing this requires a thorough understanding of land- and seascape-level factors such as threats, ecological networks, boundaries, and energy exchanges. It also recommends using spatial planning processes to tailor projects to the larger landscape while respecting and focusing on the surrounding landscape. When we achieve restoration at both the grassroots and eagle-eye levels, we can maximize our net gain from these activities.
Ecosystem restoration needs monitoring beyond a project’s lifetime
To understand whether we’re meeting objectives and goals, monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem health regularly is critical. These pulse checks are invaluable for understanding change processes and patterns.
It’s an iterative process that can identify unexpected results and improve future actions. It’s imperative to note that this principle calls for monitoring not just during the project, but beyond it. This is to ensure medium and long-term impacts are also correctly recorded.
Ecosystem restoration is enabled by policies
An enabling policy environment is necessary to achieve restoration objectives in the long term. This environment should span multiple industries, society sections, and networks. Promoting successful ecosystem restoration activities at local, national, and global scales can, in turn, facilitate how these laws and policies are designed. This will add more to our arsenal in the fight against ecosystem degradation.
Conclusion,
Ecological restoration is at the heart of EcoMatcher’s work. We partner with local communities worldwide to plant trees in areas that need them. Doing so helps us achieve sustainable goals fairly and inclusively. By playing the role of a mediator, we put the power of transformation in everyone’s hands, including local organizations and the youth. After all, that’s the most effective way forward!