John Carlo R.

Santos
NRC231

Ecological restoration is ‘the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded,
damaged, or destroyed’

The Millenium Ecosystem Assessment found that 60% of the world’s ecosystem services were degraded
in which humanity directly affects 83% of the land surface and 100% of the ocean (41% were strongly
affected). Moreover, the greatest cause of species extinction is habitat loss. Hence, there have been
increasing attention is being given to restoration of terrestrial, marine and inland water ecosystems to re-
establish ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services.

Over time, there have been a number of successful examples that are under ecological restoration, such as
ecosystem recovery, species re-introduction, and removal of exotic species, etc.

Obviously, ecological restoration requires an initial intervention that initiates or accelerates recovery of an
ecosystem with respect to its structure (species composition, water properties, etc.) and functional
properties (productivity, energy flow, nutrient cycling) within and/of the surrounding areas.

Ecological restoration also often includes or build upon efforts to ‘remediate’ ecosystem (remove
chemical contamination), or ‘rehabilitate’ ecosystems (recover functions and services).

Despite a large global conservation effort, biodiversity decline is increasing and losses are also recorded
in protected areas. Previous degradation, climate change, invasive alien species and wider landscape or
seascape changes affect even well-managed protected areas, while illegal encroachment of people into the
protected area, poaching and weak management may result in serious degradation.

1. To restore ecological integrity

2. To create new PAs on reclaimed or previously damaged lands
3. To expand an existing PA or buffer zone
4. To connect existing PAs or habitat patches
5. To maintain or create suitable habitats along migration pathways
6. To enhance the resilience of ecosystem and help nature and people adapt to climate change
7. To help mitigate climate change
8. To protect and augment ecosystem services
9. To restore culturally important nature
10. To improve or provide high quality visitor experiences
11. To protect, reinforce and/or augment local, traditional, and indigenous cultures and communities

Decisions about when and where to restore have to strike a balance between need and feasibility.
John Carlo R. Santos
NRC231

One or more protected area values have fallen
below a certain threshold and intervention (or a
change in approach) is required to recover them
Restoration would help recover a species/habitat/
ecosystem of regional or national importance;
Benefits to communities or co-benefits for climate
change adaptation, mitigation, or other ecosystem
services can be restored without compromising
protected area values.
Legal requirements are imposed
Success is relatively likely
There is sufficient support from partners and
stakeholders
to assure long-term success
Sufficient funding, resources and capacity are
available
Restoration activities are fairly cheap and easy

Protected areas are an essential part of the response to climate change through their role in enhancing
resilience to change (adaptation) and protecting and augmenting carbon stores (mitigation)

As we all know PAs provide safe havens for species threatened by climate change, and can also allow
their dispersal to suitable habitats as conditions change. Case in point, PAs with high ecological integrity
and connectivity will be relatively resilient to change, they may be more resistant to change in the first
place and/or better able to tolerate and adapt to a new climatic condition without completely transforming
to a new type of system

While restoration offers solutions to climate change, it (and other rapid changes) also creates additional
challenges for protected area managers, who must set realistic, achievable restoration goals and
objectives. Wherein, PA system managers need to take strategic decisions whether they need to intervene
and in to which extent the intervention would be.

In some cases, relatively less degraded PAs are targeted for restoration as they provide the best
opportunity to maintain ecosystems that are resilient in the face of climate change, however, in other
situation such as highly degraded and highly threatened PAs, ‘Restoration of ecological connectivity’ has
been seen to play an important tool for the restoration of the PA.

Restoration of ecological connectivity is regularly achieved through corridors such as landscape

connectivity (spatial interconnectedness of vegetation), ecological connectivity (connectivity that
facilitates ecosystem function) and evolutionary process connectivity (retention of opportunities for the
retention of species), these can be done through creation of:

a. Buffer zones adjacent to or around protected areas

b. Corridor linkages between protected areas – that will allow movement of species and thus genetic
interchange and migration of other species
c. Ecological stepping stone linkages between PAs – resting and feeding locations for migratory
species
John Carlo R. Santos
NRC231

d. Landscape/seascape mosaic – there is a matrix of different types of different ecosystem

 = Guidelines
o = Best practices

 ‘Do no harm’ by first identifying when ‘active’ restoration is the best option
o Restoration that does ‘no harm’ - Restoration is an expensive and time-consuming process
that can itself cause further damaging changes if not managed correctly. The first focus of
good protected area management is to avoid degradation by removing existing pressures.
Best practices can ensure that resources are not wasted on unfeasible or unnecessary
restoration and that restoration efforts do not have unintended, detrimental side effects.
 Re-establish ecosystem structure, function and composition
o Restoration through improved ecosystem management – restoring ecologically important
natural disturbance regimes such as fires and floods; removing harmful invasive species; and
changing patterns of visitor use
o Restoration through improved species interaction – through re-establishment of native
plant and animal communities, plant and animal species re-introduction
 Maximize the contribution of restoration actions to enhancing resilience
o Restoration practices that contribute to maintaining or enhancing resilience under
conditions of rapid environmental change - Consider how restoration can facilitate large-
scale (i.e., regional, national) resilience to rapid environmental change by prioritizing
restoration in protected areas that offer the best chance for conserving biodiversity; Integrate
knowledge about current and predicted changes (e.g., in extreme weather events, average
temperature, sea level, ocean circulation patterns, etc.) into restoration decision-making,
using an adaptive management approach that recognizes
 Restore connectivity within and beyond the boundaries of protected areas
o Restoration that facilitates connectivity conservation within and between protected
areas - Connectivity conservation is addressed both by actions within protected areas, such
as ensuring healthy populations that can move or ‘spill over’ into surrounding environments,
and management outside protected areas that ensures suitable conditions for movement
through connectivity conservation corridors including stepping stones for migratory species.
 Encourage and re-establish traditional cultural values and practices that contribute to the
ecological, social and cultural sustainability of the protected area and its surroundings
o Restoration that incorporates cultural management - Traditional cultural practices can in
some cases maintain or restore natural values that are otherwise declining or missing
 Use research and monitoring, including from traditional ecological knowledge, to maximize
restoration success
John Carlo R. Santos
NRC231

o Adaptive management, monitoring and evaluation of ecological, social and economic

aspects of restoration – There should be a clear plan and cost-effective monitoring schemes
o Ensure that monitoring process are participatory and results are transparent - Direct
involvement of visitors, neighbouring communities, the public, and other partners and
stakeholders in monitoring can help build confidence in the process and will also often
increase the accuracy of the results.

 Consider restoration goals and objectives from system-wide to local scales

o Restoration that focuses on the most urgent and important interventions for reaching
system-wide, land/sea-scape level or protected area goals – At the protected areas system
level, prioritize the most important protected areas on which to focus restoration efforts.
o Develop an implementation plan – Good planning
 Ensure long-term capacity and support for maintenance and monitoring of restoration
o Restoration that supports establishment of long-term capacity, commitment and vision
for restoration – Ensure that the restoration process will continue for a long-term
 Enhance natural capital and ecosystem services from protected areas while contributing to
nature conservation goals
o Restoration that contributes to climate change mitigation
o Restoration that contributes to mitigating the effects of natural disasters
o Restoration that supports ecosystem provisioning services
 Contribute to sustainable livelihoods for indigenous peoples and local communities dependent
on the protected areas
o Restoration that respects traditional, cultural and spiritual values
o Restoration activities that consider social impacts and equity
 Integrate and coordinate with international development policies and programming
o Restoration that is coordinated with national and international development policies and
programming - Engaging with these partners can strengthen restoration projects and increase
their chances of success.

 Collaborate with indigenous and local communities, neighbouring landowners, corporations,

scientists, and other partners and stakeholders in planning, implementation and evaluation
o Restoration processes that promote stakeholder consent, participation, inclusion and
collaboration
o Restoration that is collaborative within existing protected areas - Involving communities
in restoration can help them to connect with their protected areas and share or acquire
knowledge that supports restoration efforts.
John Carlo R. Santos
NRC231

o Restoration that involves collaboration in community-conserved protected areas-

Successful restoration efforts are often those in which communities have undertaken the
restoration efforts of their protected areas themselves, often based on cultural values.
 Learn collaboratively and build capacity in support of continued engagement in ecological
restoration initiatives
o Restoration that develops a commitment to continuous a reciprocal learning – there
should be learning opportunities among different stakeholders
o Restoration that is empowering through the acquisition of transferable knowledge
and skills
 Communicate effectively to support the overall ecological restoration process
o Restoration that includes communication at all stages of the process -Communicating
before, during, and after implementation is important for building understanding and
support for restoration goals
o Restoration that uses multiple communication approaches to ensure inclusivity -
Communication and learning are more effective when efforts are made to reach diverse
audiences through a variety of tools and approaches.
 Provide rich experiential to support the overall ecological restoration and as a result of
restoration, that encourage a sense of connection with and stewardship of protected areas
o Restoration that facilitates place-based and experiential learning for protected area
visitors - Ecological restoration activities can wherever possible create opportunities for
visitor experiences and other learning opportunities that connect people more deeply to
protected areas, either through direct participation in restoration or in the chance to
understand more about a restored ecosystem.
o Restoration that facilitates memorable visitor experience - Restoration projects can
enhance people’s enjoyment and use of the outdoors by improving natural, aesthetic,
recreational and other values of protected areas.
o Restoration that inspires action within and beyond protected areas - Recognizing
benefits from restoration in protected areas can mobilize people to become better
stewards of their protected areas and to engage in ecological restoration elsewhere.