A collaborative research project investigating nature-based solutions to human-caused degradation and destruction of ecosystems in Canada

This project is based at the University of Victoria in collaboration with researchers at Carleton University, Université Laval, and the University of Waterloo. Primary support is from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council‘s 2020-21 Canadian Future Challenge Knowledge Synthesis program and is situated in the Future Challenge Area “Living Within the Earth’s Carrying Capacity”

Principal Investigator

Eric Higgs, PhD
Environmental Studies, University of Victoria

 

Co-Investigators

Steven Cooke, Carleton University
Line Rochfort, Universite Laval
Nancy Shackelford, University of Victoria
Sarah Wilson, University of Victoria
Stephen Murphy, University of Waterloo

Team Members

Tim Alamenciak, University of Waterloo
Sarah Bird, University of Victoria
Claire Boismenu, Université Laval
Gwendal Breton, Université Laval
Stephanie Cruz Maysonet, University of Waterloo
Alina Fisher, University of Victoria
John-Francis Lane, Carleton University
Dorian Pomezanski, University of Waterloo
Kent Prior, Parks Canada
Sonia Voicescu, University of Victoria

Research Institutions and Funding Partners

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
Carleton University
Université Laval
University of Victoria
University of Waterloo

Our primary aim was to assess the contribution and capacity of ecological restoration to provide nature-based solutions to human-caused degradation and destruction of ecosystems in Canada. Much has been achieved, but how can we build on this accomplishment to make Canada an undisputed global leader in ecological restoration?
This question is especially timely at the dawn of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). The combination of climate change, resource extraction, urbanization, invasive species, nitrogen deposition, microplastics, and other drivers of change in land, freshwater, and marine ecosystems is causing an unprecedented collapse of some ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs), biodiversity losses, and extinction in others, and the erosion life-support capacities.
An increasingly prominent remedy for these urgent challenges is ecological restoration. Ecological restoration embodies the aspiration of creating something positive and hopeful. Canadians have played an outsized role in leading and developing the field of ecological restoration. Fourteen percent of the International Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) members are Canadian (the highest per capita in the world).
Parks Canada and the Canadian Parks Council (2008) developed the first national-level principles and guidelines for ecological restoration in the world. These guidelines formed the basis for the first global advice on restoration. The University of Victoria claims the oldest restoration training program in North America (the Restoration of Natural Systems program). The Peatland Ecological Research Group of Canada has collectively published more than 220 scientific articles solely on the topic of peatland restoration.
Practically every type of restoration practice is represented in Canada, from large-scale tree planting to schoolyard rewilding, from long-term research restoration projects to pop-up urban restoration. With restoration happening everywhere and at many scales, what gaps exist and how can these be filled? What are the elements of a comprehensive Canadian research agenda for the next decade? How can Canadian approaches be coordinated with international initiatives? How can restoration policy involve and support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people, and how can co-designed approaches to restoration with FN communities inform wider practices? What policy instruments are working, and why?
Answering these questions would constitute the first comprehensive and systematic examination of ecological restoration in Canada. It will position Canada to be a world leader in addressing a major challenge of the 21st century.
Objective 1: Synthesize and critically assess the state of ecological restoration knowledge in Canada

What gaps exist, and how can these be filled? What opportunities are presently unmet? What are the elements of a comprehensive research agenda for ecological restoration for the next decade? Objective 1 addresses the Knowledge Synthesis mandate to assess “the state of knowledge, strengths and gaps” and “research data”. Using a combination of literature reviews, semi-structured interviews, and case studies, we will compile a comprehensive overview of restoration practices in Canada. Congruent with these SSHRC mandates, we will centre our data collection and review around three key dimensions of effective restoration: 1) Sources of knowledge, especially issues around incorporation of TEK; 2) quality of knowledge (rigour of methods, types, quality and sharing of data); and, 3) synthesizing and testing the use of knowledge mobilization techniques from the literature.

Objective 2: Identify and assess restoration policy in Canada

What opportunities are there for increasing nature-based solutions through effective policy? What current policy instruments seem to be working? Where could policies be strengthened, modified, or implemented to encourage restoration efforts? Using targeted review of policy directives within key land management agencies, we will assess restoration policy advances over the last decade with special focus on citizen engagement and climate mitigation.