Environmental Remediation
Shortcuts and Solution Stimulators for Most Important Environmental Remediation Information
Environmental remediation: Environmental restoration, Restoration ecology
Why? To help with sustainability
Why? To understand where this is not achievable
Keep in mind that while environmental remediation might be effective for over 40% of the world in 200 years, assuming that remediation will fix most problems now is really wishful thinking. While this technology needs to be developed strongly, think about how large 10 square kilometres is. And then think about the size of the earth in comparison to this. It needs to be developed but I doubt we will be able to depend on environmental remediation to solve environmental problems in the next 200 years. It might work for 2 square kilometres, but not for most of the earth.
John J. Berger defined environmental restoration (or “natural resource restoration”) as follows: "A process in which a damaged resource is renewed. Biologically. Structurally. Functionally."
Although the international field of restoration is driven primarily by the non-profit, government and academic sectors in the U.S and certain other countries (e.g. Australia, which has a robust mining restoration sector), there are active markets for ecological restoration.
Restoration ecology:
"Ecological restoration" is an "intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity and sustainability".[10] Ecological restoration includes a wide scope of projects including erosion control, reforestation, removal of non-native species and weeds, revegetation of disturbed areas, daylighting streams, the reintroduction of native species (preferably native species that have local adaptation), and habitat and range improvement for targeted species. For many researchers, the ecological restoration must include the local communities: they call this process the "social-ecological restoration".[11]
However, it has been well established that one of the main issues is that the questions studied by restoration ecologists are frequently not found useful or easily applicable by land managers.[80][84] For instance, many publications in restoration ecology characterize the scope of a problem in-depth, without providing concrete solutions.[84] Additionally many restoration ecology studies are carried out under controlled conditions and frequently at scales much smaller than actual restorations.
Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interruption and action. Effective restoration requires an explicit goal or policy, preferably an unambiguous one that is articulated, accepted, and codified. Restoration goals reflect societal choices from among competing policy priorities, but extracting such goals is typically contentious and politically challenging.[1]
Natural ecosystems provide ecosystem services in the form of resources such as food, fuel, and timber; the purification of air and water; the detoxification and decomposition of wastes; the regulation of climate; the regeneration of soil fertility; and the pollination of crops. These ecosystem processes have been estimated to be worth trillions of dollars annually.[2][3] There is consensus in the scientific community that the current environmental degradation and destruction of many of Earth's biota are taking place on a "catastrophically short timescale".[4] Scientists estimate that the current species extinction rate, or the rate of the Holocene extinction, is 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the normal, background rate.[5][6][7] Habitat loss is the leading cause of both species extinctions[7] and ecosystem service decline.[2] Two methods have been identified to slow the rate of species extinction and ecosystem service decline, they are the conservation of currently viable habitat and the restoration of degraded habitat. The commercial applications of ecological restoration have increased exponentially in recent years.[8] In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2021–2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.[9]
Restoration ecology may be viewed as a sub-discipline of conservation biology, the scientific study of how to protect and restore biodiversity. Ecological restoration is then a part of the resulting conservation movement.[citation needed]
Both restoration ecologists and conservation biologists agree that protecting and restoring habitat is important for protecting biodiversity. However, conservation biology is primarily rooted in population biology. Because of that, it is generally organized at the population genetic level and assesses specific species populations (i.e. endangered species). Restoration ecology is organized at the community level, which focuses on broader groups within ecosystems.[89]
In addition, conservation biology often concentrates on vertebrate animals because of their salience and popularity, whereas restoration ecology concentrates on plants.
There are many reasons to restore ecosystems (as well as prevent environmental problems). Some include:
Climate change:
Helping human communities and the ecosystems upon which they depend adapt to the impacts of climate change (through ecosystem-based adaptation)
Mitigating climate change (e.g. through carbon sequestration)
Not depleting resources:
Restoring natural capital such as drinkable water or wildlife populations
Regulated use/harvest, particularly for subsistence
Taking care of people and their priorities:
The environmental health of nearby populations
Cultural relevance of native ecosystems to Native people
Aesthetic reasons
Taking care of animal welfare and being aware of the inter-dependence of ecological systems
Helping threatened or endangered species
Moral reasons: human intervention has unnaturally destroyed many habitats, and there exists an innate obligation to restore these destroyed habitats
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