BioRestNet: a network of biocultural restoration

Felipe Melo

What are the current challenges of ecological restoration?

• Improved techniques of restoration 👍
• Informed planning 👍
• Geopolitical momentum 👍
• Environmental justice 👎
• Ecological knowledge gaps 👎

How to pursue environmental justice and develop a competitive research agenda on restoration?

Traditional Ecological Knowledge - TEK

• Knowledge frontier
• Decolonial
• Would benefit from validation
• Mostly related to nature

TEK for Assessing Landscapes

• Participatory mapping
• Landscape Biographies
• Unforseen landscape metrics

TEK for Ecology

• Functional profile of useful species
• Functioning of managed ecosystems
• Role of secondary succession
• Technical recommendations

TEK for adding value to restoration

• Restoration for livelihoods
• Enforcement of TEK
• Environmental Justice

Why a network?

• It is the best way to scale up restoration
• Allows sharing of knowledge
• Strengthen actions
• Creates models

Core principles of Biocultural Approaches

source: Gavin et al 2015

An example from the Brazilian Caatinga

• Culturally important species
• Database on plant uses
• Multiple benefits
• Maintain Caatinga natural features

Sena et al (2022)

Toscano et al (under review)

Goals of the BioRestNet

• A worldwide database on TEK ontribution to restoration
  • Plants & Animals
  • inspired on TRY and GlobUNT
• Ecological assessments of TEK
• Generate participatory models of restoration

Experimental Design of the BioRestNet in Kenya

Module 1 - Biocultural Inventory

Question: What are the plants and animals that contribute more to both ecosystem functioning and livelihoods?

Assessment of Culturally Important Species

source: Conservation through Reconciliation

Asembling of databases of Culturally Important Species

Reyes-Garcia 2023

Meaniningful Functional Traits

Module 2 - Landscape Scale

Question: How landscape features affects biodiversity and livelihoods in the Savannah?

Assessing Working Landscapes

• The Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF)
• 100km² landscapes
• 16 cluster
• 10 plots per cluster

Workflow of the LDSF

We want to add Landscape Biograpahies and gender-based mapping

Module 3 - Local manipulative experiment

• Simulate biodiversity
• Functional diversity
• Measure Ecosystem Functions

How to mainstream Biocultural Restoration?

• What are the best landscape perspectives?
• How to integrate TEK into productive restoration models?
• How to create an effetive network of Biocutlural Restoration?

Asante Sana