Book Description Review Quotes Contents
Book Description

When it comes to implementing successful ecological restoration projects, the social, political, economic, and cultural dimensions are often as important as-and sometimes more important than-technical or biophysical knowledge.

Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration takes an interdisciplinary look at the myriad human aspects of ecological restoration. In twenty-six chapters written by experts from around the world, it provides practical and theoretical information, analysis, models, and guidelines for optimizing human involvement in restoration projects. Six categories of social activities are examined:

  • collaboration between land manager and stakeholders
  • ecological economics
  • volunteerism and community-based restoration
  • environmental education
  • ecocultural and artistic practices
  • policy and politics

For each category, the book offers an introductory theoretical chapter followed by multiple case studies, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of the category and provides a perspective from within a unique social/political/cultural setting.

Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration delves into the often-neglected aspects of ecological restoration that ultimately make the difference between projects that are successfully executed and maintained with the support of informed, engaged citizens, and those that are unable to advance past the conceptual stage due to misunderstandings or apathy. The lessons contained will be valuable to restoration veterans and greenhorns alike, scholars and students in a range of fields, and individuals who care about restoring their local lands and waters.


Review Quotes

"This was my introduction to ecological restoration and I was genuinely impressed by the number of disciplines, ways of thinking, and approaches that were integrated into one book."
Ecological Restoration

"...the editors have compiled a useful selection of papers that help readers appreciate what human dimensions are and how they might figure into an ecological restoration project. They also help readers appreciate that human dimensions might range from the relatively simple to the very complex."
Restoration Ecology

"This book is most appropriate for practitioners collecting the tools they will need to build resilience in social-ecological systems....Educators too can use the case studies to inform and inspire students outside the traditional classroom."
Ecology

"[T]he first book of its kind to provide a comprehensive overview of the ways in which people intersect with and ultimately determine the success of those efforts."
Electronic Green Journal

"Egan, Hjerpe, and Abrams offer the most comprehensive treatment of the human dimensions of ecological restoration to date. From the sychological, social, and cultural aspects of restoration to political, economic, and educational issues, its chapters describe successful restoration in a world dominated by humans. This book will contribute to theory and application and belongs on the bookshelf of scholars, students, and practitioners alike."
Paul H. Gobster, Research Social Scientist, US Forest Service

"By placing humans in nature at the center of restoration and focusing on the themes of participation, power, and perspective, Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration provides a valuable contribution to furthering the restoration of our planet. This book offers useful insights for a broad range of professionals, including land managers, restoration practitioners, and nongovernmental organizations. Anyone teaching ecological restoration will find this work a valuable classroom reference."
Peter J. Daugherty, Acting Private Forest Divisions Chief, Oregon Department of Forestry

"Egan and his coeditors provide the first comprehensive attempt to apply social science concepts and analyses to the challenges of ecological restoration and to illustrate them with practical, illuminating case studies. Their multiperspectival approach—value-laden, context-driven, complex, and demanding attention to the interaction of classic social forces of culture, economics, and power—is exactly what is needed."
Jill M. Belsky, Professor of Rural and Environmental Social Science, University of Montana

Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword \ Eric Higgs
Chapter 1. Why People Matter in in Ecological Restoration \ Dave Egan, Evan E. Hjerpe, and Jesse Abrams
 
PART I. Participation: Volunteers
Chapter 2. Restoration and Stewardship Volunteerism \ Marty Lee and Paul Hancock
Chapter 3. From Adversity to Diversity: The Cape Florida Project \ Kellie Westervelt
Chapter 4. Restoring Coasts and Connections on a South Australian Coastline \ Matthew Fox
Chapter 5. Inclusive Urban Ecological Restoration in Toronto, Canada \ Allegra Newman
 
PART II. Participation: Collaboration
Chapter 6. Public Participation and Socioecological Resilience \ Javier Escalera Reyes
Chapter 7. Collaboration: A Catalyst for Restoration \ Nils D. Christoffersen
Chapter 8. Community-Based Forest Management in Arcata, California \ Mark S. Andre
Chapter 9. Ecological Restoration as the Zone of Agreement in Southeast Alaska \ Karen Hardigg
 
PART III. Power: Politics, Governance, and Planning
Chapter 10. Toward a Political Ecology of Ecosystem Restoration \ John C. Bliss and A. Paige Fischer
Chapter 11. Ecological Restoration across Landscapes of Politics, Policy, and Property \ David Brunckhorst
Chapter 12. The Policy Context of the White Mountain Stewardship Contract \ esse Abrams
Chapter 13. Climate Change Implications for Ecological Restoration Planning \ Mark Buckley and Ernie Niemi
 
PART IV. Power: Restoration Economics
Chapter 14. Merging Economics and Ecology in Ecological Restoration \ Yeon-Su Kim and Evan E. Hjerpe
Chapter 15. The ARISE Project in South Africa \ James Blignaut, Jotte van Ierland, Travor Xivuri, Rudi van Aarde, and James Aronson
Chapter 16. Jobs and Community in Humboldt County, California \ J. Mark Baker and Lenya N. Quinn-Davidson
Chapter 17. Game Theory Tools for Improving Ecological Restoration Outcomes \ Mark Buckley and Karen Holl
 
PART V. Perspective: Eco-cultural Restoration
Chapter 18. Restoration and Reciprocity: The Contributions of Traditional Ecological Knowledge \ Robin Kimmerer
Chapter 19. Implications of Landscape History and Cultural Severance for Restoration in England \ Ian D. Rotherham
Chapter 20. Eco-cultural Restoration of the Mesopotamian Marshes, Southern Iraq \ Michelle Stevens with Dr. Hamid K. Ahmed
Chapter 21. Environmental Art as Eco-cultural Restoration \ Lillian Ball with Tim Collins, Reiko Goto, and Betsy Damon
 
PART VI. Perspective: Restoration-Based Education
Chapter 22. Restoration-Based Education: Teach the Children Well \ Elizabeth McCann
Chapter 23. Great Plains Environmental Education: A Personal Reflection \ William S. Whitney
Chapter 24. Realizing the Education Potential of Ecological Restoration \ Kern Ewing and Warren Gold
Chapter 25. Educating Teachers and Increasing Environmental Literacy \ Rick Hall and Cheryl Bauer-Armstrong
Chapter 26. Synthesis: Participation, Power, Perspective \ Dave Egan, Jesse Abrams, and Evan E. Hjerpe
 
List of Contributors
Index