Making the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration a Social-Ecological Endeavour

The United Nations (UN) recently declared 2021 to 2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Against this background, we review recent social-ecological systems research and summarize key themes that could help to improve ecosystem restoration in dynamic social contexts. The themes relate to resilien...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 2021-01, Vol.36 (1), p.20-28
Main Authors:	Fischer, Joern, Riechers, Maraja, Loos, Jacqueline, Martin-Lopez, Berta, Temperton, Vicky M.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Conservation of Natural Resources Cross-Sectional Studies Ecosystem Humans resilience restoration Social Environment social-ecological systems sustainability transdisciplinarity United Nations
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	The United Nations (UN) recently declared 2021 to 2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Against this background, we review recent social-ecological systems research and summarize key themes that could help to improve ecosystem restoration in dynamic social contexts. The themes relate to resilience and adaptability, ecosystem stewardship and navigation of change, relational values, the coevolution of human and ecological systems, long-range social-ecological connections, and leverage points for transformation. We recommend two cross-cutting new research foci; namely: (i) post hoc cross-sectional assessments of social-ecological restoration projects; and (ii) transdisciplinary social-ecological ‘living labs’ that accompany new restoration projects as they unfold. With global agendas increasingly taking a social-ecological perspective, the recasting of ecosystem restoration as a social-ecological endeavor offers exciting new opportunities for both research and practice. The UN declared 2021–2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and this opens new opportunities for restoration ecologists.We argue that ecosystem restoration will be most effective if approached from a social-ecological perspective.We synthesize key insights from the field of social-ecological systems research that are particularly relevant for ecosystem restoration.
ISSN:	0169-5347 1872-8383