This Week In The News
July 1, 2009
Click on the logo below for some great videos of coastal and salt marsh restoration projects
Houghton Lake Wetland Restoration to Begin Fall 2009
How often do you get the chance to help restore and protect a rare wetland and lake in Indiana? Houghton Lake, one of Indiana’s last remaining undeveloped lakes and fringing wetlands will forever remain a wild, natural place for the future. But it need our will help in getting there. The Nature Conservancy is currently looking for volunteers to help collect seed to be used to restore the site.
6th Meeting of the European Dry Grassland Working Group
Monday, 31st of August to Wednesday, 2nd of September 2009
The meeting will take place at the Institute for Geobotany and Botanical Garden in Halle (Saale), located near the city centre. The main topic of the meeting is dry grasslands – species interactions and distribution. We invite all interested persons from European countries to present talks or posters related to this topic.
Earth Restoration Service Launches Eco Short Film
Environmental charity The Earth Restoration Service has produced a short animated viral film that encourages viewers to make a contribution to restoring the environment. The film, which features a voice-over by actress Joanna Lumley, is available to view on YouTube. It will be broadcast between musical acts including Blur, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and The Killers at a series of Live Nation concerts in Hyde Park.
Saving One of the Last Tropical Dry Forests, an Interview with Edwina von Gal
A newly established organization, the Azuero Earth Project, is working not only to preserve some of the world’s last tropical dry forest on the Azuero peninsula in Panama, but also to begin restoration projects hoping to aid both the forest’s viability and the local people. The Azuero peninsula lies 250 kilometers west of Panama City.
Climate Change Survival Guide Funded
The book will incorporate information from the program’s upcoming research projects and other projects that showcase effective ways to accommodate climate change in habitat restoration efforts. The Coastal Bend and Bays Estuary program in Corpus Christi, Texas, will be a partner. Specifically, the book will offer a tool kit of options for ensuring the success of publicly financed habitat restoration projects - even with rising sea levels, said Nanette O’Hara, public outreach coordinator for the local program.
Mangrove-Dependent Animals Globally Threatened
More than 40 percent of a sample of amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds that are restricted to mangrove ecosystems are globally threatened with extinction, according to an assessment published in the July/August issue of BioScience. The study, by David A. Luther of the University of Maryland and Russell Greenberg of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, was based on an extensive literature search and expert consultations. The conclusions emphasize the vulnerability of animals that are dependent on a habitat rapidly being lost or degraded through coastal development, overexploitation, pollution, and changes in sea level and salinity.
Vital Marine Habitat Under Threat
While the world has focused on the destruction mankind has brought to coral reefs, the massive loss of an equally important ecosystem has been widely ignored. Now the first comprehensive assessment of the state of seagrass meadows around the world has revealed the damage that human activities have wrought on these economically and biologically essential areas.
South Africa: Investing in Ecosystems
Economists have long assisted with valuing the world’s natural assets and ecosystems. To create functional markets to exchange this value is the next step. “After all those cosy years of working together, show me the money”: From economic valuation to real-world investment in the fynbos biome.
Oregon: A Stimulus for Ponds, People
Barriers to fish and people in the Delta Ponds area will come down thanks to $4.5 million in federal stimulus fund projects. A bevy of politicians met Monday on the East Bank Trail along the ponds to highlight the benefits of these “shovel ready” projects. The plans, which have been in the works for years, showcase the habitat restoration and recreation efforts that garner national recognition for Eugene, Mayor Kitty Piercy said.
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Welcome to the GRN
The Global Restoration Network (GRN), a project of the Society for Ecological Restoration International (SER), offers the field of ecological restoration a new database and web-based portal to trustworthy and hard-to-find information on all aspects of restoration, from historic ecosystems and causes of degradation to in-depth case studies and proven restoration methods and techniques. The overriding mission of the GRN is to link research, projects, and practitioners in order to foster an innovative exchange of experience, vision, and expertise.
The GRN is fast becoming the central hub for ecological restoration - a vital resource for policymakers, professionals and communities, whether researching options for habitat restoration, writing a project proposal, coordinating volunteers, or looking for educational programs and funding. Perhaps the most exciting feature of the GRN is the database where you can make a specific query and find restoration case studies and annotated links to a wide variety of relevant resources including experts, organizations and literature. Here is a small sample of the links you will find in the GRN website and database.
CASE STUDIES
Alexander River Restoration Project, Israel
The Alexander River Restoration Project is Israel’s leading river restoration and was awarded the Thiess International Riverprize in 2003. Implemented by Israeli agencies, with cooperation and support from local Palestinian officials in an unprecedented show of solidarity, the project aims to restore a river severely degraded by untreated sewage and pollution from more than 70 sources–in both Palestinian and Israeli territory.
Restoration of the Mata Atlantica, Brazil
Instituto Terra is a non-profit organization founded in 1999 by Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado and the renowned photographer Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado. It is located at the Bulcão Farm in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, and it covers an area of 676 hectares.
Mangroves Restoration in Andhra Pradesh, India
This project was launched in Andhra Pradesh with the aim of inducing concerted action towards conservation and sustainable management of the mangrove wetlands on the east coast of India. The restoration employed canal techniques, instead of simple plantation of seedlings, and a fish bone pattern of canals was utilized.
ORGANIZATIONS
Earth Restoration Service takes a proactive approach to ecosystem restoration worldwide, forming partnerships with community groups, charities, NGOs, governments and businesses in support of a broad range of environmental restoration projects.
Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration is a network of governments, organizations, communities and individuals who recognize the importance of forest landscape restoration and want to be part of a coordinated global effort.
European Centre for River Restoration supports the development of river restoration as an integral part of sustainable water management throughout Europe ensuring that projects will be more cost effective, more likely to succeed, and will encompass multifunctional objectives.
LITERATURE
Saltmarsh Restoration - Rebuilding Habitat with a Community Partnership
A recent project in the Tweed Estuary has shown that when the shared goal of committed stakeholders is the rehabilitation of a damaged saltmarsh ecosystem, then progress is definitely possible.
Sustainable River Restoration in Urban Streams
Based on a review of the literature, we identified candidate indicators of hydrologic alteration and ecosystem response that could be used to guide restoration. Using available biological and hydrologic data we tested candidate indicators to determine if flow-biology relationships could be identified and used as guidance in restoration programs.
The Restoration of Forests: Temperate Zone of China
The restoration of forests in the northeast and northern China, including the loess plateau, is of benefit to biodiversity conservation and the improvement of the natural environment.
VIDEO
Regrowing the Borneo Rainforest
By piecing together a complex ecological puzzle, biologist Willie Smits has found a way to re-grow clearcut rainforest in Borneo, saving local orangutans — and creating a thrilling blueprint for restoring fragile ecosystems.
Save The Bay’s Salt Marsh Restoration Demonstration
After four growing seasons Save The Bay’s salt marsh restoration demonstration at Fields Point is taking hold. First planted by volunteers and staff in 2004, the marsh has withstood pounding waves, relentless winds and more than a few destructive geese and swans.
A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek
The inspiring rebirth of a biologically critical river in Arizona is recounted in A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek. The one-hour documentary examines the ecological effects of a dam and hydroelectric facility on the waterway and chronicles the 15-year effort that led to decommissioning.
Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration
