Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Why People Matter in Ecological Restoration
DAVE EGAN, EVAN E. HJERPE, AND JESSE ABRAMS
Ecological restoration is a practice of hope; hope because restorationists envision a
better future as a result of their efforts. Ecological restoration is a practice of faith; faith
because restorationists work in a world of uncertainty. Finally, ecological restoration is
a practice of love; love because restorationists care about, and give their lives to, efforts
that protect and enhance the lives of humans and other-than-human beings alike.
Ecological restoration is a human practice, and because it is, people matter.
In this topic we endorse the idea that humans are an integral part of nature and
that they play a key role in determining, either consciously or otherwise, the condition
of the environment in which they live. We also support the idea that the practice of
ecological restoration is one of the more positive ways that humans can interact with
the rest of the natural world. Moreover, we seek to show why recognizing and under-
standing the human dimensions of ecological restoration are critical to the success
and longevity of all ecological restoration efforts, especially those undertaken at large
scales, on public lands, and/or within urban/suburban settings. These are situations
where restoration activities move beyond the vision and control of an individual land-
owner or small group of like-minded people; these activities are community-based ef-
forts that involve the ideas and concerns of many people.
A fundamental assumption underlying the concept of ecological restoration is that
humans are responsible for degrading the natural environment and, therefore, hu-
mans have a responsibility to repair it. At the heart of ecological restoration is a vision
of a better relationship between humans and the rest of the world. Unfortunately,
there is no unified vision of who we are as people, how the world around us operates,
and what this better relationship should look like. We believe, however, that ecologi-
cal restoration provides a forum within which we can study the dialogue between hu-
mans and nature, and between various human stakeholders. In this topic, we do so by
studying the human aspects of collaboration and community-based ecological resto-
ration, restoration economics, volunteerism, environmental education, eco-cultural
practices, and politics, governance, and planning.
One of the first things we observe when studying ecological restoration is that, be-
cause humans are intimately involved, the practice is inherently (1) value laden, (2)
