We are the

Ecological
Restoration
Alliance

Ecological restoration, defined as a process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed, is now recognised worldwide as an important conservation activity. When done in the right way, ecological restoration aids in biodiversity conservation, climate mitigation, water and food security, and supports human livelihoods and well-being.

We are now in the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. India faces great challenges to meet national and international goals for reforestation, even as widespread concerns have arisen over mindless tree planting programmes and large-scale monoculture plantations instead of ecological restoration that is practiced in the right way to bring back biodiverse ecosystems with native species.

At the same time, the country has a number of efforts led by small, independent teams that have amassed a wealth of experience in ecological restoration practice in various ecosystems. Although many of these have been at small scales, they serve as excellent models that can be replicated and applied across India.

While these restoration models have developed and been sharpened over the last two decades or so, there remains a need for platforms to share these experiences, especially to enable more people to learn about and get involved in responsible and appropriate ecological restoration. In this context, the Ecological Restoration Alliance India (ERA India) comprising restoration practitioners and ecologists has come together to foster collective efforts to support and sustain ecological restoration in India.

10 principles for ecological restoration

Each landscape has layers of stories

Envision the landscape with current and future stakeholders

Every area does not need to be restored

Measure the progress against a locally appropriate benchmark

Be faithful to the benchmark, the diversity, and native community

Do not compromise on natural regeneration

Treat ecological restoration like a conversation with the land

Monitor the progress from the start to enhance learnings

Mutually beneficial for communities and restoration sites

Create a culture of sharing

Read the full charter here

Goals

The goals of the Alliance are to collate and share knowledge, experience, and case studies of ecological restoration of different natural ecosystems across India. By establishing models and fostering better understanding of ecological restoration, we hope to:

Achieve better praxis and protocols of ecological restoration, which continue to be refined with knowledge and experience
Increase awareness of the need to protect and restore remaining ecosystems
Restore the right kind of ecosystems using the right methods and species
Inform and influence policy decisions related to ecological restoration
Identify geographical areas and threatened sites that urgently need active ecological restoration
Enable individuals and groups to plan and responsibly execute ecological restoration

We will try to achieve these goals by:

Conducting periodic events, trainings, and activities on ecological restoration
Offering support and resources to others who may be conducting their own events or ecological restoration
Developing a knowledge portal containing useful information such as best practices, lists of native species for different biomes, native species nurseries, case studies, and guidelines on ecological restoration. Maintaining databases related to ecological restoration in India

Activities

ERA-India aims to:

Conduct events, outreach, and training to foster knowledge and practice of ecological restoration
Create a searchable directory of native plant nurseries and help connect people to local nurseries
Facilitate visits to restoration sites for Alliance partners
Organise seminars and meetings to share learnings and praxis related to ecological restoration
Create a searchable directory of practitioners, communities and academics who are actively involved in restoration

Support

ERA-India aims to

Provide support for other organisations, groups, and individuals in learning to use and adopting available tools for documenting and monitoring ecological restoration projects
Assist individuals and groups with how-to and guidelines for establishing native plant nurseries
Reach out to various organisations who are doing mass planting and influence them towards better ecological restoration practice
Help others in carrying out activities related to ecological restoration such as native plant identification and documentation, invasive species mapping, identification of native ecosystems and benchmark sites

Kaas Plateau by Parabsachin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Steering Committee

ERA-India partners are a group of organisations and individuals who have directly engaged in fostering the practice of ecological restoration and generating knowledge about ecosystem restoration. ERA-India is not intended to be a formally registered organisation that is associated with any particular organisation or individual. It aims to draw from a pool of people experienced in ecological restoration working in diverse settings across India. A Steering committee consisting of 8-12 such members with experience in and committed to the cause of ecological restoration will govern the Alliance. The Steering Group will collectively spearhead the Alliance activities, website, induction of new partners, functioning, and outreach efforts.