Ecosystem restoration: what, why, how, and where?

Our world contains many ecosystems, from tropical forests to coral reefs to urban parks. Ecosystems help us in important ways, including cleaning our air and water, storing carbon, and producing food. People have been shaping most ecosystems for at least 12,000 years. Human impact has become so intense that many ecosystems are now threatened. That is why the United Nations has decided that the next 10 years are the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. But what is ecosystem restoration and how do we do it? In this article, we will tell you why ecosystem restoration is important and why it can be difficult. We will explain how it can be done well, and give examples from a range of projects. Successful restoration must include local people and requires lots of data. Restoration should not always return ecosystems back to what they were like once before.