Restoration 
Plantations and tree crop commodities 
Enhanced nutrition and food security 
Biodiversity, safeguarding and conservation 
Nationally determined contributions 
Bioenergy and biomaterials 
Blue carbon and peatlands 
Climate change adaptation 
Landscape governance 
Gender 
Silvopastoral systems 
Market-based agroforestry-forestry 
Farm-forest policy interface 
Agroecology 
Livelihood trajectory modelling and assessment 
Inclusive finance and business models 
Innovating finance for sustainable landscapes 
Public and private commitments to zero deforestation 
Orphan tree crops 
Effectiveness of approaches to sustainable supply 
Quality of FTA research for development 
Sentinel landscapes 
Foresight 
Seeds and seedlings delivery systems 
Smallholder tree-crop commodities 
Background: A deep discussion of the phases of planning by all stakeholders will help to identify the challenges faced by countries that are embarking on large-scale restoration actions to comply with international agreements. Question: Was the planning phase of restoration projects done according to international guidance? We evaluated six of the eight aspects of the international guidance for the planning phase of restoration projects carried out in Mexico between 1979 and 2016. Methods: The information about the restoration projects was compiled using a digital survey composed of 137 questions. Results: Seventy-five projects with a total area of 1,556,840 hectares were analyzed, mainly in temperate, humid, and deciduous forest. More projects measured the baseline with biotic than with abiotic variables, and social variables were seldom evaluated. Most projects aimed to recover biodiversity or ecosystem services, and they identified a reference ecosystem. Planned budgets included mainly field work. Conclusions: To promote the integration of ecological, social, and economic priorities, landscape restoration is suggested, since it is done at a scale which maximizes the benefits for nature and people. The inclusion of only field work in the budgets may decrease the total cost, but it may jeopardize project success due to poor planning. Careful and detailed planning of a national strategy constructed by all stakeholders that includes restoration of original ecosystems, agroforestry systems (which facilitate social participation and increase land productivity) and patches under natural succession, and investing in highly trained human resources will allow successful compliance with international restoration commitments.
Authors:
Martínez-Garza, C.; Méndez-Toribio, M.; Ceccon, E.; Guariguata, M.R.
Subjects:
ecological restoration, ecosystem services, forest rehabilitation, natural regeneration
Publication type:
ISI, Journal Article, Publication
Year:
2021
ISSN:
2007-4476
