Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 10.8
Project manager Dr Laura Jackson at the restoration research farm near Eloy, Arizona, explored options for
restoring abandoned farmland. Simple techniques of water harvesting hastened recovery, but the project also illustrated the
challenge of working on long-term problems with short-term funding. (Photograph by David Bainbridge.)
problems for local communities and families and
despair with the suicide of more than 200 000 farmers
in India in a little over 10 years (Sainath 2009). It leads
to unnecessary suffering, migration and displacement,
and unrest. Water is perhaps the most critical concern,
but desertifi cation also involves equally pressing con-
cerns about food, economics, justice and biodiversity.
These problems are all expected to become worse as
climate change disrupts rainfall and stream fl ow in arid
and semi-arid lands (Ribot
et al
. 1996 ; Lorimer
et al
.
2009). Solving these problems demands an under-
standing of ecological and cultural histories because
they develop over time and almost always involve
subtle or not so subtle signals and incentives that
encourage people to do the wrong thing. Historical
insights can help us plan policies or developments
that restore ecosystem structure and function, protect
and restore endangered species and ecosystems, and
improve the quality of life today and for future
generations.
Restoration research has improved our understand-
ing of the ecological issues involved in restoration, but
this has done little to improve management. Successful
restoration in protected areas has been possible, but the
key challenge today is improving management of areas
in use by addressing the ecological and socio-economic
causes of desertifi cation. This effort will benefi t from
setting sustainability goals, better understanding less
disturbed reference ecosystems, developing and dem-
onstrating restoration approaches, ensuring funding
for long-term research and addressing the potentially
critical impacts of climate change (Figure 10.8).
We must address the complex problem of desertifi ca-
tion and restoration of arid and semi-arid lands with
intelligence, commitment and compassion (Bainbridge
2007a). Solutions are likely to be very different from
one area to the next, refl ecting the cultural, adminis-
trative and political differences present even when eco-
logical factors are similar. Restoration is both possible
and essential and can help protect vulnerable ecosys-
tems and communities from increasing risks from
global climate change while contributing to the devel-
opment of viable eco-economies (Brown 2001, 2005;
Critchley 2010 ).
The costs of ecological restoration are not insignifi -
cant, but the cost of not acting will be higher in terms
of human suffering and ecosystem damage. Combin-
ing restoration and improved management can provide
