The need for holistic approach in the identification of priority areas to restore: a review

Abstract

Several authors have recommended that the incorporation of different stakeholders and the implementation of a holistic approach including social, economic, and ecological components be considered critical factors for the long‐term success of restoration programs. These recommendations are especially important for identifying priority areas to restore. We conducted a review of scientific studies on the identification of priority areas for restoration in terrestrial biomes with the objective of determining whether these considerations have been taken into account over time. Our main questions were: (1) What is the context, publication year, journals, author and co‐author affiliation of these published studies? (2) Have stakeholders been involved in the identification of priority areas for restoration? (3) What have been the main goals for the identification of priority areas for restoration? (4) What are the main criteria used to prioritize areas? Has the inclusion of social and economic criteria increased over time? We analyzed all the scientific studies about this topic published between 2008 and 2018. We found 64 studies, of which 70.3% did not incorporate stakeholders whatsoever in the identification of priority areas for restoration and 18.8% of them considered only experts as stakeholders. Approximately 87.5% of the studies had biodiversity conservation as their main goal; 10.9% also included social goals and 9.4% socioeconomic goals. All the studies considered ecological criteria, and the main criterion was to increase landscape connectivity. We conclude that there is still a need for greater inclusion of other approaches besides ecology in the identification of priority areas for restoration.