Restoring ecosystems using risk assessment science: Guide to applying the Red List of ecosystems to restoration

Marcos Valderrabano, Programme Manager of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems

Andes Etter, Professor of Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Environmental and Rural Studies, Javeriana University of Colombia

James Hallett, research ecologist and associate professor of ecosystem and conservation science at the University of Montana

You can find the complete series playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?listPLy4Yp_6qh0uEz_oq53_UhEDLHUZNPljRU

Abstract
This webinar will inform participants about the use of ecosystem risk assessment science in ecosystem restoration, and in particular the application of the Red List of Ecosystems. It is based on the content of a forthcoming guide on the topic. Repairing degraded ecosystems is a complex task that requires a strategic agenda. Part of this agenda is implementing restoration actions in those ecosystems that most need restoration. Despite this, restoration planning has often been undertaken without considering the level of ecosystem risk to date. Incorporating ecosystem risk assessment into restoration planning would allow practitioners to explicitly consider the level of risk to different ecosystems when assessing restoration options. An increasingly used ecosystem risk assessment tool is the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, a standardised global approach to assessing the ecosystems at greatest risk of collapse. A Red List of Ecosystems assessment highlights the areas where reducing risks to threatened ecosystems is a priority and therefore the areas where the need for ecosystem restoration may be greatest. The Ecosystem Red List can provide a range of valuable information for planning the implementation of restoration actions and for monitoring the impacts of restoration. The aim of this webinar is to explore how the science of ecosystem risk assessment and ecosystem restoration can be used together to reduce the risk of ecosystem collapse. In particular, we will look at why it is important to include ecosystem risk assessment when planning ecosystem restoration projects and programs, how the Ecosystem Red List can be integrated into spatial planning exercises, and how the RLE can help monitor the extent to which ecosystem restoration can help reduce the risk of ecosystem collapse.

Short biography
Marcos Valderrabano is the Programme Manager of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems. Marcos is fascinated by the links between science and practice in conservation and, more recently, how to put ecosystem science into practice in conservation and restoration initiatives.

Andres is a Professor of Landscape Ecology at Javeriana University in Colombia in the Faculty of Environmental and Rural Studies, where I have worked for over 30 years. I have a PhD in Spatial Ecology from the University of Queensland. To better understand human impacts in a biodiversity hotspot like Colombia, I have spent time mapping ecosystems using different approaches to integrate biophysical, socioeconomic and historical data, and applying geographic information systems, remote sensing and mathematical models to create scenarios. Recently, I used this information to assess the risk of Colombian ecosystems using the Red List of Ecosystems framework and explore how this can be used to set priorities for restoration and protected area planning.

James Hallett is a research ecologist and associate professor of ecosystem and conservation science at the University of Montana. For more than 30 years, Jim has been a principal investigator on projects directly related to land management issues in the Pacific Northwest. From 2001 to 2018, he and his colleagues developed a monitoring and evaluation program to assess vegetation and terrestrial animal responses to ecological restoration. This work began with the Kalispel Indian Tribe in northeastern Washington and adjacent Idaho and later expanded to a five-tribe regional monitoring program covering a variety of habitats over a very large geographic area. His interest in improving restoration outcomes led him to collaborate on the recently published second edition of the Society for Ecological Restoration's International Principles and Standards for Ecological Restoration. He received his PhD from Texas Tech University, where he studied community ecology. He has held several leadership positions with the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER) and is a past board chair. Jim is also Vice Chair of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration (GPFLR).

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