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CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Various guidelines for restoration projects have been devel-
oped, including strategies from the Society for Ecological Res-
toration (SER) International (SER, 2010). While such guide-
lines are available, it is imperative to stress the importance of
stakeholder involvement and particularly raising the awareness
of services provided by the ecosystems and the current and fu-
ture costs associated with their degradation and ultimate loss.
It is essential to raise awareness among the general public,
policy makers and environmental managers on the crucial role
ecosystems and biodiversity play in providing ecosystem ser-
vices. This includes a particular focus on water filtration and
supply, waste water cleaning, flood and storm barriers, polli-
nation, nutrients, pest- and erosion control, food security and
public health and poverty alleviation.
It is imperative that awareness is raised in relation to the costs
associated with ecosystem degradation, lost labor productiv-
ity, lost incomes from tourism and increased expenses in
production.
As many ecosystems are already degraded to some extent, of
the cost-savings, benefits and not the least potential solutions
to common political challenges that restoration can contribute
to. Already at this stage it is important to consider the stake-
holders involved.
Restoration is not a substitute to conservation, but if done with adequate planning and
multi-stakeholder involvement, can provide an effective tool for restoring lost ecosystem
services. The result should also provide great returns on these investments. However,
there are examples where restoration projects have failed or resulted in new problems
such as introducing pests or invasive species. The guidelines in this chapter are aimed at
reducing these risks.
If this awareness is available as the basis for decision mak-
ing – the actual implementation process also requires direct
considerations, which will vary highly from each specific site,
case and stakeholders involved: This includes (adopted from
SER, 2010):
Conceptual planning
identifies the restoration project site,
specifies its current state of health and the goals of restoration,
and provides relevant background information including stake-
holder involvement. Conceptual planning is conducted when
restoration appears to be a feasible option but before a final
decision has been made to exercise that option. Conceptual
planning provides preliminary information on the habitat or
ecosystem such as the identification of stressors, the extent/
health of its connectivity to the larger landscape, the need for
engineering and biotic interventions, and representative mea-
surements and surveys.
Preliminary tasks
are those upon which project planning de-
pends. These tasks form the foundation for well-conceived
restoration project design. Preliminary tasks include the docu-
mentation of existing site conditions (biotic and abiotic) includ-
ing baseline measurements, the establishment of a reference
model to guide the project work towards its intended goals,
planning for experimental plots within the large project, and
the appointment of a project manager and team with expertise