Ecological restoration is increasingly promoted and funded as an important solution for environmental degradation and climate change throughout the world. When implemented effectively, it can enhance biodiversity, deliver ecosystem services, benefit people and local communities, and support climate change mitigation, resilience, and adaptation. Although many recent restoration projects achieve their intended goals, a significant number of projects also fail—due to a variety of factors ranging from ineffective project design and implementation, to the complexities of ecosystem dynamics, to the uncertainties of climate change. Restoration is also defined in different ways by different entities.

In 2016, the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) published International Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration to provide a framework for improving the effectiveness and implementation of restoration projects on the ground from both ecological and social perspectives. This year, SER will be releasing an updated version of these standards that is based on extensive international consultation. As the United Nations (UN) prepares to implement its newly declared UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the SER International Standards offer a framework to help individual restoration projects and global restoration initiatives achieve their intended goals, while addressing the many challenges of effective implementation, including ecosystem complexity, climate change, ineffective design and implementation, and the trade-offs between social priorities and biodiversity.

About the Speaker
Bethanie Walder joined the Society for Ecological Restoration as Executive Director in September 2015 and has more than 25 years of experience in environmental conservation, restoration, and education. Prior to joining SER, Bethanie worked for U.S.-based conservation organizations, where she led several highly successful regional and national conservation and restoration campaigns, largely focused on U.S. federal lands management. Bethanie has also worked as an organizational development, strategic planning, and natural resources management consultant. She was a founding member of several coalitions and non-governmental organizations including Women’s Voices for the Earth and the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative. She is responsible for helping guide SER's overall work to achieve its mission of advancing the science, practice, and policy of ecological restoration.

About the Pulse of the Planet Webinar Series
NatureServe, GEO BON and EcoHealth Alliance present a series of webinars delivered by the world's leading experts in biodiversity science. The webinar topics focus on our ability to measure the pulse of the planetary living system. Our goal is to establish the basis for a knowledge-sharing platform in the Western Hemisphere that breaks down geographical barriers while keeping our carbon footprint to a minimum.

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