A Roadmap to Ecosystem Restoration Success

Presented by the Restoration Decade Alliance at the 10th World Conference on Ecosystem Restoration in Darwin, this statement outlines the actions needed to scale up ecosystem restoration across Australia and meet our national and international biodiversity commitments. It highlights the growing gap between the scale of ecosystem degradation and current restoration efforts, and identifies key barriers including inadequate funding, limited restoration capacity, regulatory constraints, and insufficient support for First Nations leadership and participation.

The statement calls for the development of a National Restoration Plan to provide clear national priorities, targets and coordination for restoration activities across governments, industry, non-government organisations and communities. It recommends establishing an independent advisory panel of restoration experts and outlines key elements required for success, including stronger coordination, community engagement, integration across policy areas, improved valuation of ecosystem benefits, regulatory reform and long-term investment.

The document represents a sector-wide call for a nationally coordinated approach to ecological restoration that delivers nature-positive outcomes for biodiversity, climate resilience and community wellbeing.

The below statement and media release were generated at the SER2023 conference by the Restoration Decade Alliance arising from a series of workshops culminating in a symposium and workshop at the SER 10th World Conference on Ecological Restoration: