Restoring Ecosystems Using Risk-Assessment Science: Guidance for Restoration (September 2021)

IUCN CEM Ecosystem Restoration Thematic Group Webinar Series

Restoring Ecosystems Using Risk-Assessment Science: Guidance for applying the Red List of Ecosystems to Restoration

Marcos Valderrabano, Programme Manager of Red List of Ecosystems in IUCN

Andes Etter, Professor of Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Environmental and Rural Studies, Javeriana University Colombia

James Hallett, Research Ecologist and Affiliate Professor in Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences at University of Montana


You can find the complete Series Playlist here:    • IUCN CEM Ecosystem Restoration Themat...  


Abstract
This webinar will inform participants on the use of ecosystem risk assessment science in ecosystem restoration and specifically how to apply the Red list of Ecosystems and is based on the content of a soon-to-be-released guide on this topic. Repairing degraded ecosystems is a complex task that requires a strategic agenda. Part of that agenda involves deploying restorative activities in the ecosystems that are most in need of restoration. Despite this, restoration planning to date has often been done without consideration of the degree of ecosystem risk. Including ecosystem risk assessment in restoration planning would allow practitioners to explicitly consider the degree of risk to different ecosystems in their evaluation of restoration opportunities. One increasingly utilised tool for ecosystem risk assessment is the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, a standardised global approach to assess the ecosystems at greatest risk of collapse. A Red List of Ecosystems assessment illuminates the areas in which reducing risks to threatened ecosystems is a priority, and therefore areas which may have the greatest need for ecosystem restoration. The Red List of Ecosystems can provide a range of valuable information for planning where to implement restoration activities and for monitoring restoration impacts. The objective of this webinar is to explore how ecosystem risk assessment science and ecosystem restoration can be jointly deployed to reduce the risk of ecosystem collapse. Specifically, we will address why it is essential to include ecosystem risk assessment when planning ecosystem restoration projects and programmes, how to integrate the Red List of Ecosystems into spatial planning exercises, and the how the RLE can inform monitoring the extent to which ecosystem restoration can contribute to reducing the risk of ecosystem collapse.

Biosketch
Marcos Valderrabano is the Programme Manager of Red List of Ecosystems in IUCN. Marcos is fascinated about linkages between science and practice in conservation, and recently in how to bring ecosystem science into action on the ground via conservation and restoration initiatives.

Andres is a Professor of Landscape Ecology at Javeriana University in Colombia in the Faculty of Environmental and Rural Studies, where I have worked for over 30 years. I hold a PhD from the University of Queensland in Spatial Ecology. To better understand the human impacts in a biodiversity hotspot such as Colombia, I have devoted time to the mapping of ecosystems using different approaches to integrate biophysical, socioeconomic, and historical data, applying geographic information systems, remote sensing, and mathematical modelling for scenario building. Recently I have been used this information to assess the risk of Colombian ecosystems by applying the Red List of Ecosystems framework, and how this can be used to inform priorities for restoration and protected areas planning.

James Hallett is a Research Ecologist and Affiliate Professor in Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences at University of Montana. For more than 30 years, Jim has been a principal on projects that directly bear on land management issues in the Pacific Northwest. From 2001-2018, he and colleagues developed a monitoring and evaluation program to assess the responses of vegetation and terrestrial wildlife to ecological restoration. This work started with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in northeastern Washington and adjacent Idaho, and later expanded into a regional monitoring program for five Tribes, covering a diversity of habitats over a very broad geographical area. With his interests in improving restoration outcomes, he collaborated on the recently published, second edition of the Society for Ecological Restoration’s International Principles and Standards for Ecological Restoration. He received his PhD from Texas Tech University, where he studied community ecology. He has served in several leadership roles for the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER) and is Past Chair of its board. Jim is also Vice-chair of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration (GPFLR).