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1. Restoration Concepts and Approaches

  • Elena, community forest NGO

    I help local stakeholders engage in policy development. When a new policy is being developed, I have to be able to explain to my stakeholders and capture their response in a way that will have an impact.

  • Peter, policy-maker

    I'm not a specialist in forestry! I have to quickly fully pull together briefings on complex topics and use non-technical language. I want to get to the key issues fast, understand the evidence and how reliable it is, hear stakeholder opinions, and find engaging examples from my country.

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Restoration is the process of actively or passively assisting the recovery of an ecosystem in order to improve its structure and functions, with the aim of conserving or enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Restoration means different things to different stakeholder groups – some may focus on the processes, others on the outcomes. In policy work it is extremely important to ensure a shared understanding (or at least recognise the different understandings) before engaging in the subject. In these pages we highlight useful material covering restoration concepts, the underlying need for restoration – forest degradation, and the range of different approaches taken to restoration in Europe.

Ecological conditions and forest ecosystems in Europe vary widely and are constantly changing due to human activities, natural events, and the impacts of climate change. Restoring and managing forests in a multifunctional, integrated way can boost biodiversity, strengthen forests’ resilience to future disturbances, and enhance other ecosystem services. 

The ownership and management of forest landscapes in Europe is also extremely varied: from small private owners to very large state forest enterprises responsible for hundreds of thousands of hectares. Organisations managing large areas are able to spread costs and risks more effectively if restoration activities are well-planned and programmed. Smaller owners and managers have less capacity for large-scale planning, and need simple, easy to implement policies. 

When planning and implementing restoration it is essential to consider the effects of climate change not only now but also in the future. The forests we manage must be able to flourish in current AND future conditions. This requires that instead of repeating previous practices and relying on past guidance, we implement more adaptive silvicultural practices, including adaptive forest restoration, or “prestoration”.

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1.1 What is forest restoration

An adaptive process improving forest health, biodiversity, and resilience in diverse contexts

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1.2 Understanding forest degradation

When forests become unhealthy or lose their complex structure and ability to function properly, we call this forest degradation.

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1.4 Restoration Objectives, Approaches and Adaptive Management

Forest restoration plays a central role in responding to ecosystem degradation, enhancing biodiversity, and supporting climate mitigation and adaptation. For restoration efforts to be relevant, effective, and resilient, it is critical to define clear objectives from the outset. These objectives will influence the design of restoration activities and their outcomes.

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