Ecological Restoration Case Studies

Andy Atallah and Betsy Taylor

Introduction

We face an immediate climate emergency, with heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods already creating extreme impacts in nearly every region of the world.  At the same time, we are experiencing a catastrophic loss of insects, mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and plant species. Earth’s wildlife populations have plunged on average by nearly 70% in the past fifty years. In this context, it is vital to preserve and restore the resilience of ecosystems worldwide. At the same time, hundreds of millions of people have inadequate access to fresh water, arable soils and to food. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has called for conserving 30% to 50% of the Earth’s surface for nature to enhance resilience and boost water and food security but also to mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon in land. The United Nations has named this the Decade on Restoration.  On a much simpler and intuitive level, we know that our economic system and norms, rooted in resource extraction and rising consumption, are driving both climate change and loss of safe habitat for the wild creatures and plants we love. There is rising grief over lost landscapes, species, and places that carry special meaning for us, coupled with growing despair over climate disruption.

Despite the ominous trends, we know how to connect back to nature and we yearn to do so. Millions of people from Inuit communities in Canada to young people in Kenya are restoring and protecting the places they love. Working from a stance of humility, compassion and collaboration, groups are creating pollinator pathways out of degraded landscapes, restoring grasslands, re-seeding oyster beds, and taking a new approach to gardening and farming to regenerate soil. Much of this work is driven by heart-centered and not just head-centered visions and work. We are learning that animals are sentient, plants have mutual aid communities, and the Earth itself has healing capacities that can be accelerated if we offer a little support.  A growing number of scientists, students, government officials and community activists are taking action to do just that.  They are demonstrating the potential of ecosystems to support diverse species, to pull carbon pollution into our lands, forests and aquatic systems, and to rekindle wildness and kinship with all of life.

We invite you to explore this interactive map and the case studies of restoration.  Explore the list of resources or do your own research to find a local group to connect with.  Get involved or to take another step to help make things better. Resist false optimism and debilitating pessimism.  Do something radical.  Go outside.  Get off of your phone, tablet and laptop.  Consider what you might do to reconnect to the natural world and to help restore what has been lost. Pause and sit under a tree or by a garden.  Imagine what you might do with others to plant or care for trees, to build a chemical-free garden with food for neighbors, to protect a watershed or to build alliances of government, business, academia and civil society to restore national parks, protect ancient forests, or demand food produced from healthy soils.   Every patch of native plants in the inner city, every hectare of restored soil, and every stand of regenerated forest matters. 

This map and the case studies of ecological restoration were assembled by Andy Atallah with help from Betsy Taylor.   There are many more cases of restoration that might have been profiled. This is a tiny sample of what is happening as indigenous communities, student groups, government agencies, scientists and regular people take positive action to protect and restore the special places they love.

Interactive Map

We scanned numerous sources of information and research studies to identify the case studies featured on this map.  We sought cases that had sufficient and credible information on the positive outcomes achieved by ecological restoration. For example, the short summaries and links to underlying research will help you examine the positive climate, biodiversity, water and food system impacts of the restoration projects. Green cases are those that rose to the top sometimes because of their longevity and the ability to demonstrate real impact and in other cases because numerous sources affirmed the restoration approaches and outcomes.  Yellow cases are also very positive but often had less data or fewer details to share. 

To use the map, you can use the buttons on the bottom right of the interface to zoom into a particular location. You can then select any of the green or yellow points to view a pop-up with information about a case study. Within a pop-up, you can scroll down to view text about each case study. Click the "X" on the top right of the pop-up window to stop viewing the pop-up. You may have to click the map and drag it accordingly to view the entire pop-up window. Viewing pop-up windows may be helped by using the full screen button on the top right of the interface.

You may find full citations for the sources mentioned in the pop-up text in this  Google Document .

Further Information

There are many community-based and global groups working to restore nature.  Scientific studies and stories of success are helping us grasp the potential of ecological restoration for our future. We hope these resources will help you take one new step in your quest to understand, to persist, and to be among the worldwide network of those shifting whole systems, paradigms and ways of living.