How Social Considerations Improve the Equity and Effectiveness of Ecosystem Restoration.

Ecosystem restoration is an important means to address global sustainability challenges. However, scientific and policy discourse often overlooks the social processes that influence the equity and effectiveness of restoration interventions. In the present article, we outline how social processes that are critical to restoration equity and effectiveness can be better incorporated in restoration science and policy. Drawing from existing case studies, we show how projects that align with local people's preferences and are implemented through inclusive governance are more likely to lead to improved social, ecological, and environmental outcomes. To underscore the importance of social considerations in restoration, we overlay existing global restoration priority maps, population, and the Human Development Index (HDI) to show that approximately 1.4 billion people, disproportionately belonging to groups with low HDI, live in areas identified by previous studies as being of high restoration priority. We conclude with five action points for science and policy to promote equity-centered restoration.

Ethical considerations when conservation research involves people.

Social science is becoming increasingly important in conservation, with more studies involving methodologies that collect data from and about people. Conservation science is a normative and applied discipline designed to support and inform management and practice. Poor research practice risks harming participants and, researchers, and can leave negative legacies. Often, those at the forefront of field-based research are early-career researchers, many of whom enter their first research experience ill-prepared for the ethical conundrums they may face. We draw on our own experiences as early-career researchers to illuminate how ethical challenges arise during conservation research that involves human participants. Specifically, we considered ethical review procedures, conflicts of values, and power relations, and devised broad recommendations on how to navigate ethical challenges when they arise during research. In particular, we recommend researchers apply reflexivity (i.e., thinking that allows researchers to recognize the effect researchers have on the research) to help navigate ethical challenges and encourage greater engagement with ethical review processes and the development of ethical guidelines for conservation research that involves human participants. Such guidelines must be accompanied by the integration of rigorous ethical training into conservation education. We believe our experiences are not uncommon and can be avoided and hope to spark discussion to contribute to a more socially just conservation.

Consideraciones Éticas cuando la Investigación para la Conservación Involucra a la Gente Resumen Las ciencias sociales cada vez son más importantes para la conservación pues más estudios involucran metodologías que recolectan datos de y sobre la gente. La ciencia de la conservación es una disciplina normativa y aplicada diseñada para apoyar e informar al manejo y a la práctica. La investigación deficiente corre el riesgo de dañar a los participantes y a los investigadores, además de que puede dejar un legado negativo. Es común que investigadores que recién inician sus carreras estén al frente de investigación basada en el campo, muchos de los cuales comenzaron su experiencia mal preparados para los dilemas éticos que podrían enfrentar. Partimos de nuestras propias experiencias como investigadores de carrera temprana para ilustrar cómo emergen los retos éticos durante la investigación para la conservación que incluye a participantes humanos. Específicamente, consideramos los procedimientos de revisión ética, los conflictos de valores y las relaciones de poder y con ellas diseñamos recomendaciones de comité sobre cómo navegar los retos éticos cuando surjan durante la investigación. Particularmente, recomendamos a los investigadores que apliquen la reflexividad (es decir, el pensamiento que permite a los investigadores reconocer el efecto que ellos tienen sobre la investigación) para ayudar a navegar los retos éticos y para alentar un mayor compromiso con los procesos de revisión ética y con el desarrollo de las directrices éticas para la investigación de la conservación que involucra a participantes humanos. Dichas directrices deben estar acompañadas por la integración de un entrenamiento ético riguroso dentro de la educación para la conservación. Creemos que nuestras experiencias no son poco comunes y pueden evitarse y esperamos iniciar una discusión para contribuir a una conservación más justa socialmente.

Fifteen essential science advances needed for effective restoration of the world's forest landscapes.

There has never been a more pressing and opportune time for science and practice to collaborate towards restoration of the world's forests. Multiple uncertainties remain for achieving successful, long-term forest landscape restoration (FLR). In this article, we use expert knowledge and literature review to identify knowledge gaps that need closing to advance restoration practice, as an introduction to a landmark theme issue on FLR and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Aligned with an Adaptive Management Cycle for FLR, we identify 15 essential science advances required to facilitate FLR success for nature and people. They highlight that the greatest science challenges lie in the conceptualization, planning and assessment stages of restoration, which require an evidence base for why, where and how to restore, at realistic scales. FLR and underlying sciences are complex, requiring spatially explicit approaches across disciplines and sectors, considering multiple objectives, drivers and trade-offs critical for decision-making and financing. The developing tropics are a priority region, where scientists must work with stakeholders across the Adaptive Management Cycle. Clearly communicated scientific evidence for action at the outset of restoration planning will enable donors, decision makers and implementers to develop informed objectives, realistic targets and processes for accountability. This article paves the way for 19 further articles in this theme issue, with author contributions from across the world. This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding forest landscape restoration: reinforcing scientific foundations for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration'.