Scaling-up requires scaling-out
How do we scale-up from existing scattered restoration initiatives to a programme more than an order of magnitude larger than all collective efforts to date? Any such challenge requires a “complex adaptive systems thinking approach” that transcends disciplinary boundaries and spatial and temporal scales. It requires drawing on knowledge sourced from multiple scientific fields to inform strategies across policy, society, economic, and environmental sectors.
Scaling-out across disciplines and sectors is complex, but is exactly what is needed to effectively address scaling-up of forest restoration. The
Latsis Symposium 2018
on Scaling-Up Forest Restoration convenes at ETH Zurich on 6, 7 and 9 June to explore how this might be achieved in practice (see Box).
Towards a shared vision
We first need to forge a common vision from different, and at times contrasting, views of what forest restoration should look like. Different stakeholders might have quite different expectations of restoration – they might not even believe that restoration is worthwhile.
We need to clarify if, and how, the benefits of restoration outweigh its costs, particularly in relation to the economy and livelihoods. We must start by understanding the motivations behind contrasting visions, then negotiate acceptable visions across different interests, and finally chart a path that navigates conflicts that inevitably arise. If we simply rush to embrace restoration with normative values that might not be universally shared, we risk trampling on other legitimate interests in what would be tantamount to green land grabbing.
