Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
PART IV
Power: Restoration Economics
Ecological restoration and economics have always been linked at the project scale by
costs and the perceived benefits of each project. Traditionally viewed as a necessary
evil and a social barrier, economics is now merging with restoration at a larger scale as
restorationists and others are championing the ideas of restoring natural capital and
ecosystem services (e.g., water quality and supply, raw materials, climate regulation),
while providing “green” jobs and improving regional economies. However, this intel-
lectual move brings ecological restoration into a deeper connection with the meta-
theme of power and power relations where our contemporary culture values of work,
profit, and growth are increasingly balanced with the need to protect and restore the
environment that makes economic development possible. The authors in this section
discuss and analyze this new movement and provide unique perspectives about how
ecological restoration is being reshaped in light of these new goals.
To start the section, Yeon-Su Kim and Evan E. Hjerpe introduce a broad frame-
work to analyze the integration of ecological economics and ecological restoration. In
addition to providing the basic tenets of ecological economics, they suggest that com-
bining restoration and economics will lead to more efficient project outcomes and
greater cultural synergies. In the next chapter, James Blignaut and his colleagues ex-
amine the socioeconomic impacts of a short-lived restoration project in the rural and
developing region of Greater Giyani, South Africa, a project that was designed to alle-
viate poverty and improve the land. Findings from a survey they administered to resto-
ration participants are used to determine the extent of economic contributions and
lessons learned.
A necessary first step in the nascent integration of economics and ecological resto-
ration is the gathering of baseline information to shed light on how restoration proj-
ects can provide economic outputs and contribute to regional economies. J. Mark
Baker and Lenya N. Quinn-Davidson supplement this knowledge gap with their
analysis of the socioeconomic contributions and organization of restoration work in
Humboldt County, California. They identify constraints that hinder the growth of res-
toration sectors and address the type of institutional infrastructure that develops with
restoration activities as a largely government-supported restoration economy matures.
