Thursday, July 30, 2009

Ecological restoration substantially boosts biodiversity and ecosystem services

A new analysis reports that ecological restoration generally deliver benefits for both conserving biodiversity and supporting human livelihoods, but does not completely reverse degradation caused by humans.

The research, published in Science, examined 89 studies and found that ecological restoration increased provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 44 percent and 25 percent respectively. Values of both, however, remained lower in restored than in intact reference ecosystems.

Still, Jose Rey Benayas and colleagues are encouraged that restoration projects could become increasingly viable under emerging payments for environmental services schemes like the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) mechanism proposed for a post-Kyoto climate agreement. Such initiatives, which could compensate developing countries for protecting and restoring ecosystems, could simultaneously deliver benefits to the environment and local communities. …

Ecological restoration substantially boosts biodiversity and ecosystem services

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