RECONCILING PRODUCTION AND CONSERVATION

Manuel Guariguata, principal scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), says there is a need to reconcile production and conservation, while still including biodiversity.

“I think one potential solution would be through cross-sectorial dialogue — among the environment side, the production side and the agricultural side — and by seeking ways to include biodiversity considerations that fulfill both livelihoods and protective functions,” Guariguata says.

“And there are many ways to do that: one is to diversify your forest, or the system you want to recreate — in other words by not using monocultures, but diversifying the species that are going to be planted, for example, or by facilitating natural regeneration to host the vegetation that once grew in a given place. And that, inherently, is a biodiverse ecosystem, more often than not,” he adds.

NOT JUST REFORESTATION, BUT RESTORATION

George Gann, SER Ambassador, believes that another part of the solution relies on having defined standards. “One of the things the Society for Ecological Restoration has done is to develop international standards for the practice of ecological restoration and in order to really protect biodiversity we need to focus more of our efforts on ecological restoration, which is the restoration of degraded ecosystems themselves, so the restoration of native forests, native grasslands, wetlands and so forth,” says Gann.

Gann adds that his organization’s international standards were written to help a wide range of stakeholders, from government agencies to practitioners on the ground, understand what exactly restoration is and how it can be conducted in a way that addresses diverse targets.

“We need to raise the bar. We should not be satisfied with just delivering the minimum in terms of ecosystem goods and services, but we could also do it in a way that increases habitats for animals and plants, and generally increases the health of the world,” says Gann.

ASSESS AND EVALUATE NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES

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Getting the facts on gender and biodiversity

Catalina Santamaria, Forest Program Officer at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), thinks there should be an emphasis on science and partnerships.

“Part of the solution includes carrying out assessments that will evaluate the needs and opportunities to integrate biodiversity in different restoration activities. This would help in planning and prioritizing and to guide information that is grounded by science and practice,” says Santamaria. “In addition, we need to value our partnerships. At the CBD we are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that this agenda is better understood and that we are able to discuss and review different options to reach our common goals.”

Santamaria points to COP13, held in Cancun, where the parties adopted a short-term ecosystem restoration action plan, which included processes and guidelines to help partners to further the discussion and to show the value of biodiversity in restoration.

MILLIONS OF HECTARES, TRILLIONS OF SEEDS

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Ecological restoration, an unprecedented opportunity for nature and people

“Restoration is an unprecedented opportunity to repair ecosystems and for biodiversity conservation there is a need for native seeds,” says Cara Nelson, Chair of IUCN Ecological Restoration Thematic Group.

Nelson explains that at the moment, nurseries don’t have the capacity to produce the amount of seeds that are needed for projects to meet current commitments.

“One challenge I see is how we are going to develop these native plant materials because if we don’t have them available it is possible that efforts will proceed using seeds from exotic species. These kinds of studies, called genecological studies, are necessary immediately so we can start this process of developing seeds for forest landscape restoration,” says Nelson.

DIVERSE OPTIONS FOR BIODIVERSITY

From the creation of internationally recognized standards to building up native seed stores, these are just five ways biodiversity can be incorporated into current FLR initiatives. Although different tactics, the common message is that in the rush to meet time-bound restoration commitments, we should not forget that a much broader scope of benefits can be achieved if biodiversity is included as a component of the restoration plans and actions. The need has been identified, considerations and suggestions are aplenty; now it is time to use the restoration momentum to push for biodiversity.