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 RESTORE is a weekly e-bulletin, published by SER International, linking you to the latest, breaking news stories from around the world keeping you up-to-date on a wide variety of topics related to ecological restoration including the latest funding opportunities. RESTORE is free to SER International members or can be subscribed to for only $20/year by visiting: www.ser.org/content/restoration_network.asp. Please send your news stories and articles to the RESTORE editor at info@ser.org. | |
Get Involved / Community-Based Restoration
Attention SER Members
Get Involved/Community-based Restoration
Kansas: Saving the Snyder Prairie
Norman is a board member of Grassland Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Johnson County that is devoted to prairie preservation and education, and coordinator of restoration efforts at the 140-acre plot of prairie east of Mayetta. "Our goal is we want to keep the prairie - our native vegetation," he told the group before they headed out on a walking tour of the land. "We're trying to get back to pre-settlement times." http://cjonline.com/life/2010-06-19/saving_the_snyder_prairie
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| New Books & Articles
The Law of Oil Pollution and Environmental Restoration: A Comparative Review
Against the background of the BP oil spill aboard the Deepwater Horizon on April 22, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico which is fast turning into one of the worst environmental disasters in US history, the book, "The Law of Oil Pollution and Environmental Restoration: A Comparative Review" written by Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies is timely and thought-provoking. If the US with all its preparedness response plan and technology is still struggling to respond to the disaster more than two months after it occurred, it is best imagined what would be the case if it had happened in environments where there are no response plans or where the response plans are merely existing in an inconsistent and uncoordinated manner. http://thenationonlineng.net/web2/articles/50477/1/Issues-in-Law-and-environment/Page1.html
Socioeconomic Road in Ecological Restoration in China
Many factors have contributed to China's environmental crisis and are hindering environmental recovery campaigns. One neglected factor is the structure of China's government and the resulting decision-making process. To better understand this aspect of ecological restoration, I discuss some lessons learned from China's current bureaucratic system, and propose changes that could make this system work better in the future. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es101338c?cookieSet=1
Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land
The first practical guidebook to give restorationists and would-be restorationists with little or no scientific training or background the "how to" information and knowledge they need to plan and implement ecological restoration activities. The book sets forth a step-by-step process for developing, implementing, monitoring, and refining on-the-ground restoration projects that is applicable to a wide range of landscapes and ecosystems. http://islandpress.org/bookstore/details6d13-2.html?prod_id=2015
Dead planet, living planet: Biodiversity and ecosystem restoration for sustainable development
Biodiversity and ecosystems deliver crucial services to humankind - from food security to keeping our waters clean, buffering against extreme weather, providing medicines to recreation and adding to the foundation of human culture. Together these services have been estimated to be worth over 21-72 trillion USD every year - comparable to the World Gross National Income of 58 trillion USD in 2008. http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/dead-planet/ |
| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
Oregon: Ecology and economy, hand in hand
Environmental benefits have long been the focus of forest and watershed restoration projects, but a new study unveiled during a recent meeting of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board in Baker City sheds light on economic factors, including the creation of 163 full-time jobs with watershed councils across the state. "We've come a long way from the volunteer watershed boards and part-time or volunteer directors we had 10 years ago," said Cassandra Moseley, a representative director of the Ecosystem Workforce Program (EWP) at the University of Oregon, which conducted the economic analysis. http://www.bakercityherald.com/Business/Ecology-and-economy-hand-in-hand |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Indo-Pacific Conservation Alliance
The Papua Forest Stewards Initiative (PFSI) is an innovative plan to conserve biodiversity by supporting and preserving the traditional knowledge of New Guinea's most remote societies. PFSI recognizes that the forests of New Guinea are a biocultural phenomenon -- the product of thousands of years of interaction between humans and their environment. These forests and the cultures that shaped them are precious global resources, but are threatened by the forces of globalization. Conserving forests and supporting the community knowledge and customs that have shaped and depend on them is critical to the survival of both. http://www.indopacific.org/papuaforeststewards.asp |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Banana plantations -plus- Volcanoes and global warming
But help is on the way, largely thanks to the pioneering work of the Rainforest Alliance, which certifies as sustainable those banana farms and plantations that meet certain criteria for responsible farm management set by the Sustainable Agriculture Network, a coalition of non-profits striving to improve commodity production in the tropics. As a result of the program, some 15 percent of all bananas sold internationally now come from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. The group is especially proud of its agreements with two of the largest growers, Favorita and Chiquita. All of Favorita's farms in Ecuador and all of Chiquita's farms in Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama are certified sustainable under the program. http://www.swnewsherald.com/online_contentcrf/etalk/et062110bananas.php
Could Grasslands Help Fight Global Warming? Scientists Dig Deep for Carbon Solution
Lake District grasslands could be playing an important role in the fight against global warming.Grasslands cover a vast area of the UK, forming the backbone of the livestock industry. However, they also play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle, storing vast amounts of carbon beneath them in their soils. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100621121256.htm |
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US: Three New Mexicans to Serve on Forest Restoration Advisory Board U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today announced that three New Mexicans have been appointed to an advisory committee set up to help select large forest restoration proposals from around the country for federal funding. Bingaman is the author of the legislation that created both the advisory board and the restoration funding program. http://bingaman.senate.gov/news/20100618-01.cfm?renderforprint=1
Montana: Tester sticks with logging in new version of wilderness-logging bill
At issue is Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, a bill the senator released last July that requires logging on about 100,000 acres of Montana forests and establishes some 600,000 acres of new, permanent wilderness in the state, along with a new national recreation area. Tester's bill was the result of an agreement worked about among loggers, Montana's largest wilderness group and others with forest interests. http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_f37d152a-7a26-11df-a95b-001cc4c03286.html |
| Wetland Restoration
Indiana: $2.8 million added to aid restoration of wetlands
Farmers wanting to preserve wetlands only to be turned down for lack of funding will have more chances thanks to a $2.8 million National Resources Conservation Service award. With local matches from the Little River Wetlands Project in Fort Wayne, The Nature Conservancy of Indiana and Loblolly Marsh, 700 acres in the Upper Wabash River watershed could be restored to wetlands and protected in perpetuity. http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100619/NEWS07/306199972/1002/LOCAL |
River & Watershed Restoration
Great Lakes restoration funding targets soil erosion in key watersheds
President Obama's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is targeting $5 million to watersheds that are heavily impacted by soil erosion and sedimentation. The grant funding will be made available to local watershed organizations by the Great Lakes Commission under its Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control. http://www.glc.org/announce/10/06basin.html
3 Watersheds Chosen As Bay Restoration Projects
Three watersheds in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania have been chosen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as pilot projects for Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts. Federal agriculture officials will be at a farm outside Chestertown on Friday to announce the selection of the watersheds. Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service will also be at farms in Broadway, Va., and Hershey, Pa. http://wjz.com/wireapnewsmd/Watersheds.in.Md.2.1758960.html |
| Grassland Restoration
UK: Grassland Restoration and Creation for Bumblebees
The loss of over 97% of the UK's wildflower-rich grasslands has, unsurprisingly, had a huge impact on bumblebees, which have seen simultaneous dramatic declines. Even with good management, many grasslands have lost their wildflower seed bank so seed introduction is needed to bring the flowers back. http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/Meadow_restoration_England.pdf California: Landscape-scale Restoration Planning - Upper Chiquita Canyon
NewFields is responsible for the management of a 1,158-acre conservation easement in southern Orange County that supports important populations of California gnatcatchers and coastal cactus wrens. NewFields staff have conducted evaluations to define restoration opportunities on approximately 500 acres of land disturbed by historic dry-land farming and grazing, and developed efficient restoration techniques for large-acreage areas of coastal sage scrub, native grassland, oak woodland habitats and rare plant species. http://newfieldsrestoration.com/Projects/UpperChiquitaCanyon.html |
| Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
Africa: Drylands valuable for learning
In hardly any ecosystem other than drylands - which cover roughly 40% of the earth's landmass - are the interactions between the challenges of climate change and the conservation of biodiversity so closely linked with the key development policy issues of food security and the fight against poverty. The development chances of the more than 2 billion people living in drylands depend largely on efficient water management, adapted land use, conservation of traditional crop and animal varieties and general ecosystem services.
http://www.ethiopianreview.com/news/152011 |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
California: Dream of restoration gets real about diversity
That was the beginning of the North Bay's sweeping wetland restoration, one of the most ambitious projects of its kind the federal government has ever undertaken. Combined with state holdings, wetland restoration projects in the North Bay now encompass 23,000 acres in three counties, with another 15,000 acres in the works. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/19/BA4N1E0966.DTL
Mangrove restoration team visits Essequibo Islands
Public awareness is continuing for the Mangrove Restoration Project, with the latest event being a visit to the Essequibo Islands by the Mangrove Restoration Project Team on Monday. The first stop at Wakenaam Island coincided with a visit by the Agriculture Minister, according to Project Coordinator of the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP), Bissasar Chintamanie. "We were able to meet a fair amount of people" he explained. Chintamanie pointed out that the restoration of mangroves is important to the island, since it is very vulnerable to high tides. http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2010/06/16/mangrove-restoration-team-visits-essequibo-islands/ |
| Extractive Industries
Half a World From Gulf, a Spill Scourge 5 Decades Old
Big oil spills are no longer news in this vast, tropical land. The Niger Delta, where the wealth underground is out of all proportion with the poverty on the surface, has endured the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill every year for 50 years by some estimates. The oil pours out nearly every week, and some swamps are long since lifeless. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/africa/17nigeria.html?hp
Obama's Gulf Coast restoration plan is short on details
The White House could offer almost no details Wednesday about the "Gulf Coast Restoration Plan" pledged by the president in his Oval Office address. Experts, meanwhile, said any meaningful plan to restore a region damaged by decades of poor industrial planning, frequent hurricanes and now the oil spill could cost as much as $30 billion over the next 15 to 20 years. Such a sum would dwarf the country's largest environmental restoration project so far -- the $12 billion plan for the Florida Everglades. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/16/AR2010061605650.html?hpid=topnews |
| Urban Restoration
A Human Ecology Of Urban Ravine Restoration: A New Zealand Example
This study reports the results of a survey of owners of properties that are part of a system of ravines networking the city of Hamilton, New Zealand. It explores attitudes, knowledge, and ravine management by urban residents who seem well placed to undertake protection or restoration of indigenous flora and fauna. http://www.urbanhabitats.org/v06n01/urbanravine_abs.html
US: Greening Our Capital Cities
Greening America's Capitals is a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities between EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to help state capitals develop an implementable vision of distinctive, environmentally friendly neighborhoods that incorporate innovative green building and green infrastructure strategies. This program will assist three to four communities per year, with the first projects beginning in the fall of 2010. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/41449 |
| Funding Opportunities
California: Ecosystem Restoration on Agricultural Lands (ERAL) Grant funding applications are accepted on a year-round basis. The WCB meets four times each year, normally in February, May, August, and November to consider approval of funding for projects. http://www.wcb.ca.gov/ERAL/grants.html
Ohio: Funds made available for landowners - Closes July 1, 2010 The funds will be made available to agricultural producers and landowners through the Environmental Quality Incentives; Wildlife Habitat Incentives; the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection; and the Emergency Watershed Protection Floodplain Easement programs. More than $34 million will be offered in the eight Great Lakes states. Ohio's share is $6.4 million. Applications will be ranked according to impact, wildlife habitat restoration and protection and prime farmland preservation. Ohio watersheds affect Lake Erie more than those in any other state. http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20100604/NEWS01/6040310
CIAP Protection and Restoration of Critical Forested Habitats - Closes July 31, 2010 Approximately $16M of the CIAP funds allocated to the state of Louisiana are being used to develop and implement a Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative (CFCI) to conserve critical coastal forest habitat for storm damage reduction and the protection and restoration of rare, declining, or ecologically significant habitats. http://www.lacpra.org/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&nid=72&pnid=2&pid=61&fmid=0&catid=0&elid=0 |
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