Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
/enethics.html). In the realm of environmental psychology, there are several topics of
note, including those by David Abram (1996); Robert Bechtel and Arza Churchman
(2002); George Howard (1997); Rachel Kaplan and Stephen Kaplan (1989); Rachel
Kaplan, Stephen Kaplan, and S. Ryan (1998); and Theodore Roszak, M. E. Gomes,
and A. D. Kanner (1995).
Structure of This Topic
Our intention with this volume is to delve into some of the often neglected and, there-
fore, often misunderstood aspects of ecological restoration; areas of the practice that
ultimately make the difference between “good” and “bad” (or just “mediocre”) resto-
ration, between projects that are successfully executed and those that seem unable to
advance past the conceptual stage, between informed, engaged participants in resto-
ration and apathetic bystanders. In so doing, we draw on the experiences of the chap-
ter authors in this topic—a diverse assortment of restoration practitioners and re-
searchers from around the world. We hope the lessons contained herein will be
valuable to restoration veterans and greenhorns alike, scholars and students in a range
of environmental and natural resource fields, and individuals who care about restor-
ing their local lands and waters as well as themselves and their communities.
The careful reader will find that the topic is divided into three metathemes: partic-
ipation, power, and perspective. These overarching metathemes emerge naturally
from the narratives in this topic. Moreover, they represent and illuminate ecological
restoration's intrinsic characteristics of being (1) value-laden, (2) context-driven, (3)
prone to be immersed in disagreement and compromise, and (4) experiential.
Participation is the undeniable essence of ecological restoration because ours is an
active practice that requires participation in its planning, implementation, and man-
agement. Unlike hands-off preservation, restoration depends on an active, reciprocal
engagement with the land and with all the beings, including humans, who live there.
As restorationists, we are obliged to meaningful, thoughtful participation as part of our
practice. Within the metatheme of participation, there are two themed sections, one
of which discusses the important roles volunteers play in restoration while the second
explores the often tricky and deeper world of participation in a collaborative setting.
As is the case throughout the topic, each of these themed sections begins with a chap-
ter that introduces the basic theme and explores its general relation to ecological res-
toration. Subsequent chapters are case studies of projects, programs, and experiences
within that thematic area.
Power may seem like an unusual metatheme for ecological restoration, but once
ecological restoration is viewed as a practice that is value laden, context driven, prone
to disagreements and compromise as well as experiential, then it becomes clear why
and how power plays such a central role. Once restoration decision making is seen as
involving more than embracing scientific facts, and that someone or some group typi-
cally has the power (i.e., authority, money) to support/neglect/deny a restoration ef-
fort, and that other individuals or groups also have claims to power through their en-
gagement with the land and their neighbors, then the role of this metatheme in
