Robin L. Chazdon

1. Restoring Forests:
Advances and Challenges
Robin L. Chazdon
VII World Conference on Ecological Restoration
Foz do Iguassu, Brazil

6. Theory: research,
concepts
Practice: planning,
implementation,
monitoring
Policy: governance,
finance, incentives,
targets
Forest Restoration
A three-pronged look at advances and
challenges in forest restoration

7. Advances in theory, concepts, and
scientific understanding
• Linkage between degradation and recovery

8. Ghazoul, J., and R. L. Chazdon. 2017. Degradation and recovery in changing forest
landscapes: A multi-scale conceptual framework. Annual Review of Environment and
Resources 42.

9. Photo of forest?

10. Advances in theory, concepts, and
scientific understanding
• Linkage between degradation and recovery
• Shift toward systems thinking

11. Objectives and
level of ambition
Occurrence of
habitat and species
Habitat dynamics and
viable populations
Ecological processes and
disturbance regimes
Resilience
Based on Kuuluvainen, T. 2017.
Pp. 93-112. In Murphy, S. D.
and S. D. Allison, Eds.
Routledge handbook of
ecological and environmental
restoration. Routledge, New
York.
Forest structure

12. Advances in theory, concepts, and
scientific understanding
• Linkage between degradation and recovery
• Shift toward complex systems thinking
• Understanding of ecological drivers and
variability of forest recovery mechanisms and
trajectories

13. Rozendaal, D. M. A., and R. L. Chazdon. 2015. Ecological Applications 25:506-516.

14. Advances in Practice
• Improvements in supply chains and nursery
practices

16. Advances in Practice
• Advances in supply chains and nursery
practices
• Advances in multi-criteria prioritization of
forest restoration and national restoration
plans

17. Schulz, J. J., and B.
Schröder. 2017.
Identifying suitable
multifunctional
restoration areas
for Forest
Landscape
Restoration in
Central Chile.
Ecosphere 8.
Potential forest restoration areas

18. Advances in Practice
• Advances in supply chains and nursery
practices
• Advances in multi-criteria prioritization of
forest restoration and national restoration
plans
• Increasing focus on large-scale restoration
implementation through partnerships

22. Advances in Practice
• Advances in supply chains and nursery practices
• Advances in multi-criteria prioritization of forest
restoration and national restoration plans
• Increasing focus on large-scale restoration
implementation through partnerships
• Increasing attention to stakeholder engagement
in planning, implementation, and monitoring

24. Advances in Policy
• Recognition of the global need for forest
restoration (Bonn Challenge, NY Declaration)
• Regional initiatives (20x20; AFR100)
• Countries are taking action and making
commitments
• Programs to incentivize forest restoration on
private land (Brazil, US, Costa Rica, Vietnam) and
communal land (China)
• Forest restoration promoted in 3 international
conventions (CBD, UNFCCC, UNCCD) and many
international organizations

27. • Defining forest degradation and identifying
restoration opportunities at different scales
Challenges in theory, concepts, and
scientific understanding

30. • Defining forest degradation and identifying
restoration opportunities at different scales
• Predicting spatial tradeoffs between different
restoration objectives (production possibility
frontier curves)
Challenges in theory, concepts, and
scientific understanding

31. Improve
water
quality
Incur
opportunity
costs
Increase
biodiveristy
Increase
carbon
storage
Gourevitch, J. D., P. L. Hawthorne, B. L. Keeler, C. R. Beatty, M. Greve, and M. A.
Verdone. 2016. Environmental Research Letters 11:114027.

32. • Defining forest degradation and identifying
restoration opportunities at different scales
• Predicting spatial tradeoffs between different
restoration objectives (production possibility
frontier curves)
• Linking small-scale forest restoration with
large-scale FLR
Challenges in theory, concepts, and
scientific understanding

33. Forest landscape
restoration (FLR) is the
ongoing process of
regaining ecological
functionality and
enhancing human well-
being across deforested or
degraded forest
landscapes.
Restoration means creating and
maintaining healthy, resilient forests
capable of delivering all the benefits
that people get from them—clean air
and water, carbon sequestration, habitat
for native fish and wildlife, forest
products, opportunities for outdoor
recreation, and more.
The process of assisting the
recovery of a forest
ecosystem that has been
degraded

34. • Determining when active restoration
approaches are needed
Challenges in Practice

35. Nunes, F. S., B. S. Soares-Filho, R. Rajão, and F. Merry. 2017. Environmental Research
Letters 12:044022.

36. • Determining when active restoration
approaches are needed
• Ensuring the longevity of forest restoration
projects
Challenges in Practice

37. Schwartz, N. B., M. Uriarte, R. DeFries, V. Gutierrez-Velez, and M. Pinedo-Vasquez.
2017. Environmental Research Letters.

38. Reid, J. L., S. J. Wilson, G. S. Bloomfield, M. E. Cattau, M. E. Fagan, K. D. Holl,
and R. A. Zahawi. 2017. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 102:258-265.

39. • Determining when active restoration
approaches are needed
• Ensuring the longevity of forest restoration
projects
• Increasing the cost-effectiveness of
restoration
• Challenges of climate change, changing
baselines, and changing species distributions
Challenges in Practice

40. • Failure to recognize degradation or need for
restoration
Challenges in Policy

41. Reduction of Intact Forest Landscapes

42. • Failure to recognize degradation or need for
restoration
• Lack of land tenure or forest-use rights; when
is restoration land-grabbing?
Challenges in Policy

43. Whose land is it?

44. • Failure to recognize degradation or need for
restoration
• Lack of land tenure or forest-use rights; when
is restoration land-grabbing?
• Integrating forestry, agriculture, and
conservation sectors in forest restoration
within local and regional jurisdictions
Challenges in Policy

45. It’s not just about forests
“It is time for a change in consciousness – it
is a fact that agriculture and forestry can no
longer be treated in isolation. Linking the
two is imperative for socioeconomic
development in the 21st century.”
Dr Evelyn Nguleka, The President of the World Farmers’
Organisation, speaking at the XIV World Forestry Congress

47. • Failure to recognize degradation or need for
restoration
• Lack of land tenure or forest-use rights; when
is restoration land-grabbing?
• Integrating forestry, agriculture, and
conservation sectors in forest restoration
within local and regional jurisdictions
• Leakage of deforestation and degradation
(national and international)
Challenges in Policy

48. What about the intersections?
Theory: research,
concepts
Practice: planning,
implementation,
monitoring
Policy: governance,
finance, incentives,
targets
Forest Restoration

49. Forest Restoration
theory to
practice and
practice
informing
theory
Theory: research,
concepts
Practice: planning,
implementation,
monitoring

50. The research-practice or “knowing-
doing” gap in forest restoration
• Local knowledge and experience widely informs
practice; how can this model be applied to
knowledge emerging from research today?
• Many scientists fail to communicate results of
their work to practitioners
• Many practitioners fail to see relevance of
scientific results to their specific restoration
context
• Scientists and practitioners work on different
teams and often in different sites

51. Holl, K. D. 2017. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 102:237-250.

52. Science-based policy
and policy-oriented
science
Theory: research,
concepts
Policy: governance,
finance, incentives,
targets

53. Science-policy gaps in forest restoration
• Scientists and policy-makers differ in
perspectives, approaches, and language

54. Regreening
Recovery
Restoration
Reforestation
Rehabilitation
Reclamation
Rediculous

55. Science-policy gaps in forest restoration
• Scientists and policy-makers differ in
perspectives, approaches, and language
• Scientists need to address knowledge gaps for
effective policy development

56. Switch to challenges now
Chazdon, R. L., P. H. Brancalion, D. Lamb, L. Laestadius, M. Calmon, and C. Kumar.
2017. Conservation Letters 10:125-132.

57. Science-policy gaps in forest restoration
• Scientists and policy-makers differ in
perspectives, approaches, and language
• Scientists needs to address knowledge gaps
for effeceffective policy development
• Need to develop a common vision and
vocabulary through dialog and partnerships

58. Forest Restoration
Policy to promote best practices and
aligning practice with broad policy goals
Practice: planning,
implementation,
monitoring
Policy: governance,
finance, incentives,
targets

59. Linking policy and practice
• Top-down forest restoration policy is often
disconnected from on-ground realities
• Perverse incentives to avoid restoration,
“disguise” restoration or offset restoration
• Under what circumstances are top-down
policies more effective than locally-driven
programs?
• Standards and guidelines for “best practice” in
local, regional, and national context

60. Restoring forests requires an integration of
theory, practice, and policy
Theory: research,
concepts
Practice: planning,
implementation,
monitoring
Policy: governance,
finance, incentives,
targets
Forest Restoration

61. This is our time
This is our
mission
Let’s do it
together

62. Thank you! Obrigada!