The science and sociology of restoring Asia’s tropical forest ecosystems

ABSTRACT: Thirty years ago, reforestation in the tropics meant planting monocultures of economic trees. Ecosystem restoration was rarely practised, due to lack of effective techniques. Since then, ecologists have devised ways to: i) assist natural forest regeneration (ANR), ii) plant the right trees in the right places and iii) ameliorate soils on severely degraded sites. Such techniques can maximize recovery of i) biomass, ii) structural complexity, iii) biodiversity and iv) ecological functioning on sites at all stages of degradation. Forest restoration has now become a global priority, with the UN calling for restoration of 350 million hectares by 2030 (the Bonn Challenge). However most of the area pledged to the initiative will become monoculture plantations (45%) or agroforests (21%), even though ecological restoration sequesters 40 and 6 times more carbon respectively and supports far higher biodiversity. Whilst scientists have overcome the technical barriers to restoration, social “scientists” have yet to develop effective tools to overcome the socio-economic barriers, such as poor governance, inadequate stakeholder motivation and ineffective funding mechanisms and science-policy interface. Scientists have delivered the technical tools for restoration – now the social scientists, economists and politicians must deliver the socio-economic tools.