Demonstrating Ecosystem Restoration Success

Solutions discussed: 

Engage local/national stakeholders in the management of ecosystems such as national heritage sites, thereby preserving biodiversity.

In the past 10 years, UNESCO has been collaborating with Mercedes Benz to manage the natural habitats of giant pandas. They do this by engaging local stakeholders who identify required facilities and infrastructure in the habitats, which they then provide. This has helped to preserve the panda species, while creating local ownership of biodiversity management.

Presented by: Shahbaz Khan, UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific

Stakeholder engagement in biodiversity conservation

Incorporate the UN's 10 principles for ecosystem restoration in ecosystem restoration practices.

The ten principles state that good ecosystem restoration:

1) contributes to global policy frameworks;

2) promotes fair and inclusive engagement;

3) includes a continuum of restorative activities;

4) aims at the highest recovery possible to benefit nature and people;

5) addresses the causes of degradation;

6) incorporates all types of knowledge;

7) sets ecological, cultural and socio-economic goals;

8) tailors activities to local and land/seascape contexts;

9) measures results and adapts actions; and 10) integrates policies and measures for lasting impacts

Presented by: Adriana Vidal, Senior Forest Policy Officer, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN); Science Task Force Coordinator of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and Chair of the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration

Good Ecosystem Restoration

Implement ecosystem restoration initiatives, such as restoring functional populations (male and female) of key species. This can revive ecological interactions that are healthy for ecosystems, including prey and predator interactions.

Prey and predator interactions are beneficial for the ecosystem, as predators reduce prey populations, which influences processes like productivity, biodiversity, nutrient cycling, disease dynamics and carbon storage.

Presented by: Dr Emiliano Donadio, Scientific Director, Fundación Rewilding Argentina

Ecological Importance of Predators

Create strategic partnerships with stakeholders such as researchers and universities, to analyse the success of ecosystem restoration initiatives.

Researchers can study and produce evidence that links the reintroduction of key species and reviving of ecological interactions with other ecological effects at the community and ecosystem level.

Establish partnerships between scientists engaged in ecosystem restoration, and locals who have indigenous knowledge of ecosystems.

This can be done through enacting local laws that support such partnerships.

Partnering with Indigenous Peoples

Publish research findings on biodiversity-compromising activities and affected taxonomy groups with environmental regulators.

Doing so will to guide routine biomonitoring activities of regulators, and inform forward-looking environmental policies in respective regions.

Presented by: Luisa Orsini