Time for a paradigm shift toward a restorative culture

Abstract

The United Nations' recent declaration of a Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) conveys the immense scales of degradation we face and the urgency of ecological recovery. Yet it speaks predominantly to productivity‐based approaches that may poorly balance conservation and development goals. As a result, it overlooks or distorts the very real potential for the holistic restoration of natural and cultural ecosystems to achieve lasting social and human health and well‐being benefits, and help stem the grotesque loss of biodiversity and ecosystem health in these times. There is need for a profound paradigm shift to address the prevailing economic and political climate that is keeping our world and biosphere on their current ominous trajectory. Such a paradigm shift could be based on the idea of a “restorative culture.” Practically, this could proceed by coupling the foundational philosophies and modus operandi of restoration ecology with public health medicine. The outcome would be an era of more healthy and more science‐ and knowledge‐driven sustainable restoration and local redevelopment. A restorative culture would recognize the fundamental linkages between ecosystems and human health, and consider biodiversity as fundamental to personal, community, and cultural well‐being and resilience. This requires public–private and community and individual partnerships at city, township, and watershed scales, as well as progressive industry champions working in collaboration with governments and the United Nations.

We have a long way to go if we want to realize the promise of the “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration”

“…Planning at the global, national, and local levels is needed to determine how to best seize this opportunity-something we are unsure is happening. Indeed, this could go a long way to achieving the "restorative culture" called for by Cross, Nevill, Dixon, and Aronson (2019).…”

A world of possibilities: six restoration strategies to support the United Nation's Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

“…Piecemeal, project‐by‐project efforts parochially addressing localized degradation are not turning the tide of ecosystem collapse. We propose a more integrated, holistic approach, and adopt the term “ecological restoration and allied restorative activities” used by Aronson et al (), Cross et al (), and Gann et al (). We also sometimes refer to this combination or “family” of restorative activities as “ecological restoration writ large.”…”

Hands-On Ecological Restoration as a Nature-Based Health Intervention: Reciprocal Restoration for People and Ecosystems

“…This engagement is happening at local, regional, and global levels, from urban gardens to the United Nations Decade on Ecological Restoration. An example of an organization with regional and international impact is the EcoHealth Network, which operates as facilitator and convener to a growing network of linked restoration sites concerned with the science, practice, and policy of restoring ecosystem ''health'' and human health while helping to trailblaze a ''restorative culture'' for global society (Cross, Nevill, Dixon, & Aronson, 2019).…”