From addressing symptoms to tackling the illness: Reversing forest loss and degradation

Abstract

Our planet is changing rapidly, with large scale forest loss and degradation occurring. Forest restoration has taken place in the last century, generally with a limited focus on a handful of benefits. Efforts to scale up forest restoration, while meeting multiple benefits, have been expanded recently, notably through global targets and massive government commitments towards forest landscape restoration (FLR). Yet while much political will has been generated for FLR, action on the ground remains limited. We propose six types of integration that can help truly scale up FLR efforts, namely: 1. across spatial scales, 2. across timescales, 3. across-sectors, 4. across governance systems, 5. between social and ecological systems, and 6. between Traditional and Western knowledge systems. While in different contexts, one or the other of these types of integration may play a predominant role, the additive effect of these six types of integration strengthens effective FLR implementation.

Citation

Mansourian, Stephanie; Parrotta, John. 2019. From addressing symptoms to tackling the illness: Reversing forest loss and degradation. Environmental Science & Policy. 101: 262-265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.08.007.