Forest and Landscape Restoration: the next decade (May 2020)
Channel: CEM ERTG
Date: 2020-06-10

IUCN CEM Ecosystem Restoration Thematic Group Webinar Series

You can find the complete Series Playlist here: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy4Yp_6qh0uEz_oq53_UhEDLHUZNP

May 2020 Forest and Landscape Restoration: the next decade  

ABSTRACT Over the last 20 years, forest and landscape restoration (FLR) has developed as an approach to increase the ecological integrity and functioning of degraded forest landscapes, while also improving human well-being and livelihoods. The impetus for FLR stems from the large degree of forest degradation and loss, which has resulted in declines in biodiversity and ecosystem services. FLR interventions vary from place to place because they must address differences in both ecosystems and needs of stakeholders. Even for relatively small applications of FLR, implementation is complicated because of social factors (e.g., governance structures, land tenure and ownership, stakeholder expectations) and the mechanics of the restoration interventions (e.g., planning, training, planting, monitoring). Each element has to be tailored to the particular project and adjusted to a variety of restoration interventions that likely occur across a continuum (e.g., ecological restoration, agroforestry, ecoagriculture). This becomes more challenging with the desire to scale up these activities across larger landscapes – a focus of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration that commences in 2021. In this presentation, I will discuss these challenges with illustrations from work by members of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration (GPFLR). There are over 30 members that include UN organizations and conventions (e.g., FAO, IUCN, CBD), funding agencies (e.g., World Bank, Global Environment Facility), governments (Germany, US), and NGOs (e.g., WWF, WRI, SER).

BIO-SKETCH: James G. Hallett

chair@ser.org
 
Jim Hallett is a research ecologist and Affiliate Professor in Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences at University of Montana. For more than 30 years, Jim has been a principal on projects that directly bear on land management issues in the Pacific Northwest. His earlier work in the region examined the effects of forest management on vegetation and terrestrial vertebrate communities. These projects included examination of riparian buffers, corridor use, landscape composition and context, and the importance of particular habitat elements. More recently, Jim’s research focused on approaches for evaluating effectiveness of habitat restoration activities. From 2001-2018, he and colleagues developed a monitoring and evaluation program to assess the responses of vegetation and terrestrial wildlife to ecological restoration. This work started with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in northeastern Washington and adjacent Idaho, and later expanded into a regional monitoring program for five Tribes, covering a diversity of habitats over a very broad geographical area. With his interests in improving restoration outcomes, he collaborated on the recently published, second edition of the Society for Ecological Restoration’s International Principles and Standards for Ecological Restoration. He received his PhD from Texas Tech University, where he studied community ecology. He has served in several leadership roles for the Society of Ecological Restoration and currently is chair of its board. Jim is also vice-chair of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration.