Investment In Restoration Research Articles

SOIL DAMAGE AND RECOVERY IN UKRAINE: LESSONS FROM GLOBAL POST-WAR EXPERIENCES

The russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in extensive environmental damage, significantly affecting the country’s soil quality and raising concerns about long-term agricultural sustainability and environmental health. The war has resulted in soil degradation through contamination by military operations, destruction of farmland, and disruption of natural ecosystems. The objective of the research is to evaluate the environmental consequences of the war in Ukraine, with a particular emphasis on soil degradation and the development of strategies for post-war restoration. The manuscript will entail a comprehensive review of existing literature on soil degradation and post-war environmental restoration, with a particular focus on case studies from conflict zones such as Vietnam, the Balkans, and post-Second World War Europe. Furthermore, an analysis of data from Ukrainian government agencies, environmental organizations, and international bodies will be conducted to assess the extent and nature of soil damage caused by the war. To achieve effective recovery of its soils and ecosystems, Ukraine can draw on global experiences and implement long-term strategies combining modern decontamination technologies, sustainable agricultural practices and policy reforms that promote ecological resilience. Environmental, social, and economic factors must be integrated into the country’s post-war recovery strategy. It is imperative that international cooperation and investment in environmental restoration, in conjunction with community involvement, are pursued in order to guarantee the success of these endeavours and to provide Ukraine with the support it requires in order to achieve a sustainable and resilient agricultural future. The research provides a foundation for the development of integrated strategies that leverage global lessons, thereby ensuring long-term recovery for Ukraine’s soil and agricultural systems.

Recovering population of the southern sea otter suppresses a global marine invader

Understanding the role of apex predators on ecosystems is essential for designing effective conservation strategies. Supporting recovery of apex predators can have many benefits; one that has been rarely examined is control of invasive prey. We investigated whether a recovering apex predator, the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), can exert local control over a global marine invader, the green crab (Carcinus maenas). We determined that southern sea otters in Elkhorn Slough estuary in California can consume large numbers of invasive green crabs and found strong negative relationships in space and time between otter and green crab abundance. Green crabs persisted at highest abundance in this estuary at sites with artificial tidal restriction that were not accessible to otters. Green crab abundance remained lower in this estuary than in all other estuaries in the region, which lack resident sea otters. Conservation organizations and agencies have invested heavily in recovery of southern sea otters, increasing their numbers in this estuary. Restoration of natural tidal exchange, lost marshes, and seagrass beds further support sea otter populations. We have demonstrated that these investments in top predator recovery and habitat restoration have reduced the impacts of a global invader. Our investigation highlights that investment in recovery of top predators can increase beneficial food web interactions and resilience of the entire ecosystem.

Current constraints to reconcile tropical forest restoration and bioeconomy

Large-scale forest restoration is vital for delivering a broad array of ecosystem services benefits to society. However, it is often perceived as an economically noncompetitive land use choice. Integrating economic opportunities into restoration aligns socioeconomic and environmental goals, reducing conflicts between forest production and conservation-oriented management decisions. Supply chains focusing on high-value goods can enhance the reach of forest restoration efforts and unite ecological and economic benefits in a multifunctional manner. The bioeconomy has emerged as a potential but critical driver for attracting investments in restoration. We outline the challenges and solutions to reconcile forest restoration and bioeconomy, specifically about (i) native timber production, (ii) non-timber forest products, (iii) biotechnological products, and (iv) intangible ecosystem services. This requires collaborative and multidisciplinary efforts to improve investment in large-scale projects. The intricacies of these issues intersect with research development, market dynamics, legal frameworks, and regulatory paradigms, underscoring the necessity for nuanced and tailored public policy interventions. These integrated approaches should enable tropical countries to lead the global forest-based economy and usher in a new era of forest restoration.Graphical abstract

Leveraging extensive soil, vegetation, fire, and land treatment data to inform restoration across the sagebrush biome

ContextWidespread ecological degradation has prompted calls for massive global investments in ecological restoration, yet limited resources necessitate efficient application of restoration efforts. In western North America, altered fire regimes are increasing the scale of restoration needed to preserve the sagebrush (Artemisia species) biome but prioritizing and implementing effective restoration is complicated by the vast and heterogeneous sagebrush landscape, which includes gradients in climate, disturbance, and species composition.ObjectivesTo develop spatially explicit and context-dependent estimates of treatment efficacy and sagebrush recovery rates.MethodsWe leveraged a suite of spatio-temporally extensive datasets to evaluate the influence of restoration treatments and environmental conditions on trends in post-disturbance sagebrush cover, with an emphasis on understanding differences between sites recovering naturally and sites receiving restoration treatments. We used estimates from these models to develop spatially explicit projections for sagebrush recovery, conditional on disturbance, restoration practice, and environmental conditions.ResultsWe found seeding Artemisia spp. increased sagebrush cover over time relative to natural recovery, but this relationship depended on spring soil moisture availability and treatment methods. Natural recovery was positively influenced by soil moisture and sagebrush cover and negatively influenced by cumulative burns and annual herbaceous cover, while the influence of perennial herbaceous cover varied with soil moisture.ConclusionsOur results provide biome-wide insights and spatially explicit tools that can inform economic cost-effectiveness analyses, restoration prioritization tools, and other scientific endeavors to ensure managers have the tools and information needed to effectively steward the sagebrush biome in a rapidly changing world.

Economic Assessment of Hydrologic Ecosystem Services in Morocco’s Protected Areas: A Case Study of Ifrane National Park

This study delves into the complex interplay between land use dynamics, hydrological services, and intangible benefits within the context of Ifrane National Park (INP) in Morocco. Due to its extensive mountain forests and numerous wetlands, INP is a crucial contributor to the nation’s water supply and a vital source of hydrological ecosystem services (HES). However, climate change and evolving land use patterns have led to diminishing water resources and the desiccation of certain wetlands. This research used the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs software (InVEST 3.10.2) for HES quantification and environmental economics approach for monetization to comprehend how HES values respond to challenges posed by urbanization, intensive agriculture, and other land use alterations. This work underscores INP’s role as a significant “water tower”, emphasizing the evolution of its services amidst challenges. Our findings reveal an annual decrease in HES economic value by USD 4000. This economic assessment serves as a compelling tool to enlighten decision-makers and park users about the imperative need to preserve natural ecosystems and use water resources judiciously. It advocates for investments in conservation and restoration within protected areas to sustain these vital services.

Management of sustainable land use projects in accordance with EU requirements

The purpose of the study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the management of sustainable land use development projects in Ukraine and the EU countries and to develop recommendations for improving Ukrainian practices in accordance with the requirements of the European Union. The methodology was based on a systematic approach and included the analysis of statistical data, an expert survey, and the calculation of an integral index of compliance with EU requirements. The study focused on three key aspects: restoration of degraded land, introduction of organic farming, and water management. The results revealed that Ukraine is lagging behind in all the parameters under study. In the area of restoration of degraded land, it was found that the area of restored land in Ukraine (8.4% of the total area of degraded land) is almost twice less than the average of the EU countries studied (16.8%). Investments in land restoration in Ukraine (310 EUR/ha) are only 39% of the EU average (792 EUR/ha). The analysis of the development of organic farming showed that the share of organic land in Ukraine (1.1% of the total agricultural area) is almost 6 times lower than the average for the EU countries under study (6.7%). The number of certified organic producers in Ukraine (3.2 per 100,000 population) is 6.4 times lower than the average for EU countries. In the field of water management, it was found that the irrigation efficiency in Ukraine (60%) is significantly lower than the EU average (77.4%), and the share of land with drip irrigation in Ukraine (5.2%) is 3.5 times lower than the EU average (18%). The calculation of the integral index of compliance with EU requirements showed that Ukraine (56 points) significantly lags behind the average of the EU countries studied (82.4 points). Based on the identified differences and successful practices of EU countries, a set of recommendations has been developed to improve the management of sustainable land use projects in Ukraine. Key recommendations include the development of a comprehensive national strategy, the creation of specialised financing funds, the introduction of economic incentives, the modernisation of monitoring systems, the harmonisation of standards with the EU, and large-scale educational campaigns. The study emphasises the need to significantly improve approaches to managing sustainable land use projects in Ukraine to bring them closer to EU standards and ensure efficient use of land resources

The global cost of international commitments on land restoration

AbstractLand restoration and sustainable land management projects have now been proposed for up to a billion hectares globally, responding to continuous land degradation processes. But, a lack of reliable cost estimates hinders implementation, which results in a high perceived risk of restoration investments. This study addresses this gap, using cost data from 243 restoration projects from multiple sources to estimate the cost ranges for different types of restoration more precisely. The analysis shows median restoration costs vary from 185 $US/ha to 3012 $US/ha depending on the restoration measure, implying current global land restoration commitment cost 0.04%–0.27% of annual global GDP to implement. Since the majority of these commitments are made by developing countries, international cost‐sharing mechanisms, through climate or private finance, are required to move from goal setting to implementation.

Integrating socioeconomic and ecological data into restoration practice.

Driven by the United Nations Decade on Restoration and international funding initiatives, such as the Mangrove Breakthrough, investment in mangrove restoration is expected to increase. Yet, mangrove restoration efforts frequently fail, usually because of ad hoc site-selection processes that do not consider mangrove ecology and the socioeconomic context. Using decision analysis, we developed an approach that accounts for socioeconomic and ecological data to identify sites with the highest likelihood of mangrove restoration success. We applied our approach in the Biosphere Reserve Marismas Nacionales Nayarit, Mexico, an area that recently received funding for implementing mangrove restoration actions. We identified 468 potential restoration sites, assessed their restorability potential based on socioeconomic and ecological metrics, and ranked sites for implementation with spatial optimization. The metrics we used included favorable conditions for propagules to establish and survive under sea-level rise, provision of ecosystem services, and community dynamics. Sites that were selected based on socioeconomic or ecological metrics alone had lower likelihood of mangrove restoration success than sites that were selected based on integrated socioeconomic and ecological metrics. For example, selecting sites based on only socioeconomic metrics captured 16% of the maximum attainable value of functioning mangroves able to provide propagules to potential restoration sites, whereas selecting sites based on ecological and socioeconomic metrics captured 46% of functioning mangroves. Our approach was developed as part of a collaboration between nongovernmental organizations, local government, and academics under rapid delivery time lines given preexisting mangrove restoration implementation commitments. The systematic decision process we used integrated socioeconomic and ecological considerations even under short delivery deadlines, and our approach can be adapted to help mangrove restoration site-selection decisions elsewhere.

Modeling the Potential Habitat Gained by Planting Sagebrush in Burned Landscapes

Many revegetation projects are intended to benefit wildlife species. Yet, there are few a priori evaluations that assess the potential efficiency of restoration actions in recovering wildlife habitats. We developed a spatial vegetation–habitat recovery model to gauge the degree to which field planting strategies could be expected to recover multi-factor habitat conditions for wildlife following wildfires. We simulated a wildfire footprint, multiple sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) planting scenarios, and tracked projected vegetation growth for 15 years post-fire. We used a vegetation transition framework to track and estimate the degree to which revegetation could accelerate habitat restoration for a Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus) population within the Great Basin, western United States. We assessed the amount of habitat 15 years post-fire to estimate the degree to which revegetation could be expected to accelerate habitat restoration. Our results highlight a potential disconnect between the expansive areas required by wide-ranging wildlife such as sage-grouse and the relatively small areas that planting treatments have created. Habitat restorations and planting strategies that are intended to benefit sage-grouse may only speed up localized habitat restoration. This study provides an example of how linked revegetation–habitat modeling approaches can scope the expected return on restoration investment for habitat improvements and support the strategic use of limited restoration resources.

Safeguarding China’s long-term sustainability against systemic disruptors

China’s long-term sustainability faces socioeconomic and environmental uncertainties. We identify five key systemic risk drivers, called disruptors, which could push China into a polycrisis: pandemic disease, ageing and shrinking population, deglobalization, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Using an integrated simulation model, we quantify the effects of these disruptors on the country’s long-term sustainability framed by 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here we show that ageing and shrinking population, and climate change would be the two most influential disruptors on China’s long-term sustainability. The compound effects of all disruptors could result in up to 2.1 and 7.0 points decline in the China’s SDG score by 2030 and 2050, compared to the baseline with no disruptors and no additional sustainability policies. However, an integrated policy portfolio involving investment in education, healthcare, energy transition, water-use efficiency, ecological conservation and restoration could promote resilience against the compound effects and significantly improve China’s long-term sustainability.

Environmental, Economic and Social Perceptions of Community Members on The Role of Water, Soil and Natural Grasslands as A Basis for Local Development in Acopalca, Peru

The concept of ecosystem services has gained popularity among academics, researchers and policymakers to support environmental management and biodiversity conservation, so that many development projects in rural areas have merited investment for restoration and improvement of grassland ecosystems accompanied by training programs for the beneficiaries, With this criterion in mind, the study investigated the perception of puna pastoralists in Acopalca, Peru, regarding the degree of knowledge about the significance of the ecosystem services provided by soil-water-grasslands, with the objective of characterizing the environmental, social and economic dimensions of this local perception, through the application of a survey to the representative of the livestock family affiliated to two producers' associations. It was evidenced that cattle-raising families have a limited understanding of the role of the natural resources they directly access and little clarity on the relationship between natural pastures, family income and access to basic services. The results revealed limitations in environmental perception, evidencing a lack of knowledge about the multifaceted contribution of pastures. Social perception showed neutrality in the relationship between pastures and family income, and a discrepancy in access to basic services. The comparison between associations highlighted significant differences, indicating the need for training strategies adapted to the local idiosyncrasies of the beneficiaries. In conclusion, addressing the deficiencies identified in community understanding was essential to strengthening sustainable natural resource management in Acopalca. It highlights the importance of designing specific training programs, considering the particularities of each group, to promote self-management and community participation and thus achieve more comprehensive and sustainable local development.

Financing ecosystem restoration

The global community has outlined ambitious ecosystem restoration targets. Yet implementation is slow, and a lack of funding is a key barrier to upscaling restoration activities. Most restoration projects are funded by public institutions and recent high-level initiatives have emphasised the need to scale private finance in restoration. Private finance can be channelled into restoration through various financial mechanisms but is held back by a lack of return-making investment opportunities. Various institutions have now been created to commodify previously non-market ecosystem services and make them investable, most prominently voluntary carbon markets and biodiversity compliance market-like mechanisms, such as biodiversity-offsetting systems targeting the achievement of 'no net loss' of biodiversity for a given regulated sector. However, attracting private finance into restoration comes with risks, as private finance objectives in restoration often are misaligned with wider social and ecological objectives. Private finance mechanisms to date have tended to underinvest in monitoring and impact evaluation mechanisms and to favour investments in cost-effective nature-based solutions such as plantation monocultures over naturally regenerated ecosystems. Many technological and institutional solutions have been proposed, but these cannot mitigate all risks. Therefore, scaling of ecosystem restoration through market-like mechanisms requires substantial fundamental investments in governance and civil society oversight to ensure that ecological integrity and social equity is safeguarded. Here, we outline the high-level policy landscape driving restoration finance and explore the roles and potential of both public and private investment in restoration. We explain how some common mechanisms for drawing private investment into restoration work in practice. Then, we discuss some of the shortcomings of past private finance initiatives for ecosystem restoration and highlight essential lessons for how to safeguard the ecological and social outcomes of private investments in ecosystem restoration.

Water security consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war and the post-war outlook

Russian forces have destroyed one-third of Ukraine’s freshwater storage since February 2022 to 2024. Potable, industrial and irrigation water supplies have been cut across the south and east of the country. Overall, social, economic and ecological damages are estimated in the tens of billions of $US, while the loss of Ukraine’s economic potential and necessary investments in restoration reach $600 billion. We consider the current eco-economic efficiency of irrigated crops, as well as damage to commercial and recreational fisheries including losses of littoral areas and spawning grounds. Alternative water supplies for the war-torn regions by construction of wells to tap groundwater are presented and justified; various scientific opinions and approaches to ecosystem management and options for the future reconstruction of the Kakhovka Reservoir are discussed; and, finally, strategic development options for the water sector are considered to ensure water security in the post-war development period.

Hedonic analysis of willingness to pay for dam removal: evidence from Plymouth, Massachusetts

This study investigates how the removal of small dams, and subsequent river restoration investments, affect residential housing prices in Plymouth, Massachusetts, selected for its unusually high density of dam removals. From 2002 to 2019, 5 dams within 1.05 miles of each other have been removed. Following removal, riverine restoration was completed, leading to improved public safety for downstream infrastructure, fish passage, and better water quality. Yet, contention exists in local government decision-making from fear of loss of property values of homes that are no longer classified as “waterfront.” To examine that charge, we evaluate sale prices of 9,710 single-family homes from 1997 to 2021, in a comparative estimation of a hedonic regression and a difference in differences model. The results indicate that the price of homes sold in Plymouth after dam removal increased, with no impact on property values of waterfront and properties within 1 mile of riverine restoration locations. For properties within a 5-mile radius of a former dam, we observe comparative difference in price of a fraction of a percent for lots around 2 of the dams, in relation to all home lots in Plymouth. We explain that this difference is due to property-specific features, rather than the impact of dam removal. The implications are that dam removal would not negatively impact waterfront property values, while it may translate into an overall environmental price premium for the community at large.

On Revalorizing Natural Capital in Conflict and Climate Crisis

The environmental impacts of war include natural capital loss, with cascading impacts on development and peace, whereas investments in biodiversity and ecosystem restoration offer opportunities to mend social fabric and build peace. A revalorization of natural capital is needed in conflict-affected and fragile contexts.

Resilience Analysis of Different Retrofitting Solutions for a Prestressed Concrete Viaduct

This article introduces a resilience analysis conducted on Greece’s prestressed Polyfytos viaduct. As the nation’s second longest bridge, spanning 1,372 meters, it was conceptualized by Prof Riccardo Morandi and built between 1972 and 1975, marking it as an iconic structure at 48 years old. Notably, the bridge has strong interdependencies with key power plants, dams and solar pars in the region. Evaluating both risk and resilience, the study employed visual inspections and digital data collection methods. These methods involved a digital twin, offering current asset geometry and a dynamic model for advanced simulations; satellite imagery for ongoing updates on the structure’s deformations and geometry; and advanced numerical modeling aimed at interpreting current deflections via back analysis. The bridge shows signs of degradation commonly found in reinforced concrete (RC) and prestressed RC (PRC) bridges, specifically concerning corroded tendons and concrete bonding. Prior research focused on evaluating various retrofitting approaches and their lifecycle impacts, whereas this study integrates the resilience assessment of such retrofit solutions. This contribution represents a new step in the direction of a holistic approach to identifying the appropriate retrofit of an existing viaduct aiming to inform decision-making about the benefits of different restoration investments.

Mechanism of action of marine ecological restoration on ecological, economic, and social benefits—An empirical analysis based on a structural equation model

Marine ecological restoration is not only an important means to ensure the continuous delivery of ecosystem services by marine ecosystems, but also a socioeconomic process of economic investment and value recovery. Identifying the links to the benefits accrued to society from ecological restoration is of significant importance for achieving successful conservation outcomes and guiding financial investments in ecological restoration. This paper aims to analyze the action mechanism of marine ecological restoration on ecological, economic and social benefits in China. The research hypothesis of ecological, economic, and social benefits generated by marine ecological restoration was first proposed from a theoretical research perspective. On this basis, a structural equation model was employed to validate theoretical assumptions and quantitatively analyze the mechanism of ecological, economic, and social benefits generated by marine ecological restoration in China. We find that marine ecological restoration can improve the level of marine ecosystem services and have a significant positive impact on promoting economic and social development. The results indicate that marine ecological restoration has the greatest impact on social benefits, followed by ecological benefits, and finally on economic benefits, and this result is consistent with the original intention of marine ecological restoration, which aims to directly improve the ecosystem services and social welfare level and indirectly drive economic development.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Water Ecological Restoration Based on the Relationship between the Supply and Demand of Ecological Products—A Case Study of the Yellow River Delta

The imbalance between the supply and demand of ecological products between society and ecosystems is an important cause of a series of water ecological problems, and water ecological restoration projects aim to improve the above supply–demand relationship by means of inputs from the social side. For this reason, this paper takes the Yellow River Delta region as an example to launch a study on the assessment of the effectiveness of water ecological restoration projects from the perspective of the supply and demand of ecological products. Specifically, the level of the supply and demand of ecological products, as well as the relationship between the supply and the demand in the studied area, were measured using the equivalent factor approach and the water footprint approach, and the effects of the Yellow River Delta hydro-ecological restoration project were assessed by integrating the following four metrics: land use, supply of ecological products (ecosystem services), demand for ecological products, and the relationship between the supply of and demand for ecological products. The results of this study show that although the hydro-ecological restoration project continues to replenish water resources in the Yellow River Delta region, and promotes the level of ecological product supply in the study area through the restoration of wetlands and water, the growing and excessive demand for ecological products in the study area still puts the local ecosystems at risk of degradation. In the future, the Yellow River Delta region should continue to control the scale of land for production and living on the supply side of ecological products and increase its investment in water ecological restoration, while establishing a highly efficient mode of ecological product development and utilization and a reasonable mechanism for the payment of ecological products on the demand side. In addition, the Yellow River Delta region needs to pay attention to the impacts of rising sea levels and other climatic problems on ecological restoration.

Effectiveness and driving mechanism of ecological restoration efforts in China from 2009 to 2019

Over the past decades, China's rapid economic growth and industrialization have led to serious ecological concerns. To combat ecological degradation and promote ecosystem sustainability, China has made substantial investments in ecological restoration in recent decades. Nevertheless, a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness and driving mechanisms of these efforts are still lacking. Therefore, this study aims to bridge this gap by employing national land-use survey data to evaluate the effectiveness and driving mechanisms of China's ecological restoration efforts during 2009-2019, with a specific focus on ecological land preservation, land use structure, and their contribution to ecosystem services. Additionally, the Geodetector model was used to detect potential influencing factors and driving mechanisms of these efforts. The results of this study revealed that: (1) Between 2009 and 2019, a total of 585,492.61 km2 of non-ecological land was successfully transformed into ecological land through various ecological restoration efforts. Most of these areas were previously unused or cultivated land. (2) Forest and grass plantations were the major ecological restoration efforts in China, accounting for 47.35% and 41.91% of the total restored ecological land, respectively. Grassland restoration clustered northwest of the Hu Line, while forest restoration concentrated mainly to the southeast. Water and wetlands restoration were mainly distributed around China's major rivers, such as the Yangtze River and Yellow River. (3) China's ecological restoration efforts contributed to a 2.53 trillion CNY yuan increase in ecosystem service value during 2009-2019, with over 65% of the increase attributed to ecosystem regulating services. (4) China's ecological restoration efforts were mainly influenced by anthropogenic factors, such as population, land use, and urbanization, while the non-linearly enhanced interaction between natural and other factors also deserves attention. China should balance urban expansion, agricultural development, and ecological preservation, aligning restoration with socioeconomic trends while establishing effective inter-regional ecological compensation mechanisms.

Research on Timing Sequence Update Strategy Decision of Project Portfolio Based on Coupling Benefits in Strategic Period

The Chinese government’s substantial investment in water restoration has created numerous lucrative opportunities for commercial environmental restoration enterprises. Accordingly, this research study seeks to address the primary challenge faced by enterprise managers: selecting projects that fulfill both strategic imperatives and maximize economic returns. To tackle this issue, we segmented the overarching strategic period into multiple phases and studied the project portfolio from a holistic strategic period perspective. We introduced a decision model for the dynamic, sequential updating of the portfolio throughout the strategic period, emphasizing the combined benefits at each phase. This model guides the strategic selection of projects at any decision-making stage to optimize the benefits across the entire strategic duration. The multi-agent Nash Q-learning algorithm was employed for portfolio construction and updating strategies. This approach yields an optimal project portfolio for each phase of the strategy. Unlike traditional methods that predominantly focus on cumulative returns and find it challenging to accommodate strategic shifts, our proposed technique prioritizes intertwined strategic returns. It promotes project choices in tune with strategic contexts and supports ongoing adjustments to project strategies, providing invaluable guidance for decision makers. A comparison of our proposed method with other optimization strategies validated its superior performance. Furthermore, the case study described in this study confirms that our method promotes project choices in tune with strategic contexts and supports ongoing adjustments to project strategies, providing invaluable guidance for decision makers.