Conservationists underselling the societal benefits of restoration

Conservationists are underselling the societal benefits from ecological restoration, according to a group of researchers in a new article published in the journal Restoration Ecology.

The problem, they argue, is that practitioners and scientists are failing to make the connection between ecological restoration and the numerous valuable services to society that ecosystems provide like reduced soil erosion, protection against floods and storms, carbon sequestration, etc.

James Aronson and fellow study authors found empirical support for their hypothesis after looking at 1,582 peer-reviewed papers dealing with ecological restoration published between January 2000 and September 2008 in 13 leading conservation journals.

They found that a very small minority of the studies - less than 8% - made a link between ecological restoration and payments for ecosystem services. Furthermore, less than 10% "referred to policy implications of the restoration research programs under discussion."

These findings reflect a central challenge in the field of conservation research: how do we connect conservation practice with societal interest? Based on the study results, it appears that restoration research may be focusing on the nuts and bolts of the practice while largely ignoring how to make ecological restoration more meaningful to society.

This is a problem given the ongoing funding shortfalls that conservation work faces, not to mention the frequent political obstacles. Based on their inquiry, the study authors advise,

"From a social sciences perspective, there is a clear need for definition and valuation of the socioeconomic outcomes of ecological restoration projects. The numerous links between restoration, economic development, and societal well-being should be highlighted and made explicit wherever possible." 

--Reviewed by Rob Goldstein

Aronson, J., Blignaut, J., Milton, S., Le Maitre, D., Esler, K., Limouzin, A., Fontaine, C., de Wit, M., Mugido, W., Prinsloo, P., van der Elst, L., & Lederer, N. (2010). Are Socioeconomic Benefits of Restoration Adequately Quantified? A Meta-analysis of Recent Papers (2000-2008) in and 12 Other Scientific Journals Restoration Ecology, 18 (2), 143-154 DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-100X.2009.00638.x