Ecological restoration is a process that seeks to repair the damage caused by human activities to natural ecosystems and return them to a previous state or one that is closely related. As the world embarks on the United Nations Decade for Ecological Restoration and accelerates global restoration activities, it is essential to understand how restoration is conceived and addressed in order to achieve inclusive socio-ecological restoration. Reference sites can be used as models for restoration projects, as well as a yardstick to measure project progress. In Australia, many of the first ecological rehabilitation and restoration projects were initiated by volunteers, often using scientific resources. Local and state government agencies, as well as industry, also played a role.
Examples of related campaigns include the Endangered Species Act, Forests Grazing, Restoration of Ponderosa Pine Forests, Fire and Forest Management. Restoring the elevation of the bottom of a wetland can be critical to restoring its hydrological regime, natural disturbance cycles, and nutrient flows. Establishing sustainable sources of cooking fuel that people can use over and over again without permanently damaging a forest can also be an essential element in restoring a forest. A restored or preserved wetland wetland mitigation bank can be offered for sale to developers who purchase habitat mitigation credits as a condition of planning approval. Unequal power relations severely limit opportunities for stakeholder inclusion and must be reimagined if restoration is to become an effective means of achieving a better future for all. In countries such as Brazil and Indonesia, successful forest restoration must involve reserving some land for fast-growing species suitable for charcoal, such as eucalyptus, to replace wood from natural forests. Fernández-Manjarrés et al (201) characterize socio-ecological restoration as a process that simultaneously addresses social and ecological problems.
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