Rehabilitation and Restoration Of Degraded Forests (PDF) - IUCN

Chapter 11: Conclusions
Large areas of the world’s forests are being simplified and degraded.
These changes are causing significant losses of biodiversity and
decreases in human well-being. The loss of biodiversity and other
ecological services may now be affecting the sustainability of many of
the agricultural practices on these former forested lands.
There are a number of ways in which these trends might be countered.
The appropriate method to use necessarily depends on the prevailing
ecological, economic and social circumstances. Preventing further
degradation is crucial, as is preventing the spread of weeds and pest
species.
Forest Landscape Restoration renews the provision of goods and
services to landscapes. The ecological context determines whether it is
feasible to attempt to restore the original forest ecosystem or whether a
less ambitious target is more realistic. The economic circumstances
determine the level of resources available and whether some form of
direct financial return is needed to justify the reforestation effort. This
may mean that some form of rehabilitation rather than restoration is
the preferred approach. Social circumstances, such as the pattern of
land tenure, legal frameworks and community structures, may determine
whether the community becomes actively involved in the whole
process and works for its success. If they are not involved then any
form of Forest Landscape Restoration is unlikely to be successful.
Communities must be convinced of the benefits they are likely to gain
and be empowered to help achieve these benefits themselves.
In most landscapes a variety of approaches may be needed to accommodate
different circumstances and the different requirements of
various stakeholders. The treated landscape may then comprise areas of
agricultural lands, patches of intact remnant forest and a mosaic of
various forms of restored or rehabilitated forest that differ in structural
and biological complexity. Ideally, this new landscape will have an
enhanced level of biodiversity as well as an improved supply of market
or subsistence goods plus some ecological services that collectively lead
to a more sustainable form of land use in the future.
It may not be possible to treat all degraded landscapes; degradation
may be so advanced and widespread that the costs of treatment are too
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Chapter 11
Conclusions