Ecosystem Restoration

Ecosystem restoration is generally understood as the practice of interfering in an ecosystem and taking specific actions to return that ecosystem to a prior state, thus restoring what was previously in existence. Efforts at restoration often occur because an environment is degraded or altered in an undesirable manner. Ecosystem restoration is a strategy used by cities to improve biodiversity and ecosystem services in areas that have been polluted or otherwise damaged.

Human activity can be to blame for ecosystem degradation or alteration. This could be in the form of deliberate alteration of an environment for a specific aim; for example, the removal of predators from an area to ensure that ranchers’ stock is not compromised. A famous instance of this type of ecosystem alteration is the removal of wolves from North American landscapes. The recent reintroduction of wolves is one effort at ecosystem restoration. Human activity can also inadvertently radically alter ecosystems, as with the often-unintentional introduction of “exotic” and “invasive” species. A recent and problematic example of this is the case of zebra mussels entering waterways—often by attaching themselves to boats and stowing away in ballast tanks—where previously there were none. The mussels introduce radical change and new pressures to local ecosystems. There are numerous cases such as these around the world.

Ecosystem restoration efforts are not conducted solely in rural environments, however, as many cities pursue restoration efforts with goals as diverse as providing cleaner and healthier water to its citizens, to providing aesthetically pleasing recreation areas, to protecting and providing spaces for local wildlife to flourish. For example, the city of Dallas, Texas, is currently implementing the Trinity River Corridor Project. This multifaceted project demonstrates a confluence of common motivations that cities have for embarking on restoration efforts. The major anticipated outcomes of restoring this urban river include providing flood protection to the city's inhabitants, installing new design features that provide enhanced recreation activities (e.g., Olympic-class boating; newly installed courses for kayakers and canoeists; parks and trails, etc.). In addition, the efforts aim to provide a variety of educational opportunities and facilities for citizens young and old, as a means for inhabitants to better understand and connect with the river. The efforts are not only aimed at human benefit, however; there is also a focused effort to improve the habitat for local birds and other wildlife, in addition to improving the overall health of the river ecosystem itself. These types of efforts pose a number of interesting and challenging conceptual and ethical issues.