Ecological Restoration Law: Concepts and Case Studies

Description

Ecological restoration is as essential as sustainable development for the health of the biosphere. Restoration, however, has been a low priority of most countries' environmental laws, which tend to focus narrowly on rehabilitation of small, discrete sites rather than the more ambitious recovery of entire ecosystems and landscapes. Through critical theoretical perspectives and topical case studies, this book's diverse contributors explore a more ambitious agenda for ecological restoration law. Not only do they investigate current laws and other governance mechanisms; they also consider the philosophical and methodological bases for the law to take ecological restoration more seriously. Through exploration of themes relating to time, space, geography, semiotics, social justice, and scientific knowledge, this book offers innovative and critical insights into ecological restoration law. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of contributors 1. Ecological restoration and the Anthropocene 1.1 Importance of ecological recovery 1.2 Terminology 1.3 Recent legal developments 1.4 Key themes 1.5 Methodologies of the book 1.6 Chapter synopses References PART 1: Concepts of ecological restoration law 2. The social life of plants and trees and the limits of environmental law’s recovery imagination 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The social life of plants and trees 2.3 Restoration science and the limits of science 2.4 Conclusion and directions for environmental law References 3. Timescapes of ecological restoration 3.1 Nature’s timescapes 3.2 Unpacking time and space 3.3 Natural timescapes 3.4 Space in ecological restoration 3.5 Time and ecological restoration 3.6 Conclusions: an agenda for better eco-restoration law References 4. The story of stewardship and ecological restoration 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Reframing restoration – restored relationships 4.3 The story of stewardship 4.4 The different guises of stewardship 4.5 Law and restoration 4.6 Conclusion References 5. Ecological reconciliation on private agricultural land: moving beyond the human–nature binary in property-environment contests 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Private property, agriculture and environmental law: problems and possibilities 5.3 Ecological restoration and reconciliation: promises, practices, pitfalls and potentials 5.4 Farmscapes: an analysis of the environmental narratives of four Australian farmers 5.5 Breaking the impasse: reconciling humans to nature and property to the environment 5.6 Conclusions References 6. Linking restoration science and law 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Scientific uncertainties and law 6.3 Ecological concepts in restoration law 6.4 Legal expertise in restoration science 6.5 Better aligning of science and law for restoration References 7. The green financing of ecosystem restoration 7.1 Financialisation in an era of ecosystem degradation 7.2 Green financing mechanisms 7.3 Reflections Acknowledgements References PART 2: Case studies of ecological restoration law 8. Legal considerations in operationalizing eco-restoration in the European Union: a Sisyphean task or unlocking existing potential? 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Ambivalent policy and legal context: eco-restoration as an explicit EU policy target 8.3 Implementing eco-restoration within EU environmental law: key considerations 8.4 Conclusions and recommendations References 9. Public participation and socio-economic justice in eco-restoration law and governance: the UN Environment–Ogoniland case study 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Participatory approach to ecological restoration: theoretical basis 9.3 State-based structures for restoration governance in Nigeria 9.4 The UN Environment–Ogoniland eco-restoration project 9.5 Conclusion References 10. Motivating ecological restoration by private landowners through special purpose districts 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Typology of private actors and ecological restoration 10.3 Restoration special purpose districts 10.4 Conclusion: shifting from private to collective rules Annex 1: Model language for a creation of a restoration district References 11. Reconstructing the environment: perception and change in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin 11.1 Introduction 11.2 The Murray-Darling Basin 11.3 Transformation of the legal policy framework 11.4 The biography of water 11.5 Framing devices 11.6 Conclusions References 12. Reforming restoration law to support climate change adaptation 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Australian biodiversity and climate change: the imperative to restore and create climate refugia 12.3 Restoration ecology: evolving concepts and practices 12.4 Australia’s legal frameworks for restoration: increasingly at odds with restoration science 12.5 Designing restoration laws for climate adaptation and ecological ‘renewal’ 12.6 Conclusion References Index