restoration for whom, by whom?

Restoration for Whom, by Whom? With Marlène Elias

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Working from a foundation of feminist political ecology, Marlène Elias questions who decides the sustainability agenda and urges all of us to pay attention to the power and politics that shape the values, meanings and science driving restoration. Marlène leads gender research and gender integration at the Alliance of Biodiversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and Gender Research Coordinator for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry. Her research focuses on gendered dimensions of forest management and restoration, forest-based livelihoods, and tree resource management.

An article by Marlène and comrades wrote in spring 2021 caught my eye that was also the theme of a special issue in the journal Ecological Restoration called Restoration for Whom, by Whom? They work from a foundation of feminist political ecology which drills down on three pillars of power relations, historical awareness and scale integration.

Elias, M., Joshi, D., & Meinzen-Dick, R. (2021). Restoration for Whom, by Whom? A Feminist Political Ecology of Restoration. Ecological Restoration, 39(1-2), 3-15.

SER Webinar: Restoration for Whom, by Whom? Exploring the Socio-political Dimensions of Restoration

Elias, M., Kandel, M., Mansourian, S., Meinzen‐Dick, R., Crossland, M., Joshi, D., ... & Winowiecki, L. (2021). Ten people-centered rules for socially sustainable ecosystem restoration. Restoration Ecology, e13574.

Arranged roughly in order from pre-intervention, design/initiation, implementation, through the monitoring, evaluation and learning phases, the ten people-centered rules are:

1) Recognize diversity and interrelations among stakeholders;

2) Actively engage communities as agents of change;

3) Address socio-historical contexts;

4) Unpack and strengthen resource tenure for marginalized groups;

5) Advance equity across its multiple dimensions and scales;

6) Generate multiple benefits;

7) Promote an equitable distribution of costs, risks, and benefits;

8) Draw on different types of evidence and knowledge;

9) Question dominant discourses; and

10) Practice inclusive and holistic monitoring, evaluation and learning.

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Music on the show was from Cheel and DJ Freedem