The Day 3 plenary sessions focused on terrestrial ecosystems, highlighting the social and environmental complexity of restoring degraded and damaged lands.
Lessons from one of the world’s most significant mammal recoveries
The Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, a dynamic partnership between government and civil society, is a vast restoration project of over 180 million acres of steppe ecosystems in Kazakhstan. The project started with the urgent need to protect the migratory saiga antelope from extinction, with a broader, long-term objective to restore the steppe ecological processes, habitats, and their biodiversity. The result has been one of the most significant mammal recoveries in the world. Since 2003, the number of saiga has gone from 21,000 in 2003 to almost 3 million today.
As a result of this remarkable work, “a whole generation has grown up knowing about the need to protect the saiga antelope,” said Vera Voronova, chair of the initiative and Executive Director of the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK). “Kazakhstan is a small country, and one of the biggest challenges of a project of this scale is the lack of experts to do the work. To build capacity, we have developed a program called Students for Nature, where we pick talented students and give them a chance to engage with our work.”
Scale is also the reason that technology has been an essential part of this project. “It’s been essential to see what modern technologies we can bring to the country. There are a number of things we have already implemented, such as satellite tagging. Now we have the challenge of how to do an accounting of the saiga on such a huge scale, so we are working with technology companies to develop tools…and we have a good relationship with NatureMetrics to see how eDNA can help us to collect data.”
The project has been recognised as a World Restoration Flagship by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and winner of the ‘Protect and Restore’ category of the Earthshot Prize.
Trust, reciprocity, and respect need to be the grounding for collaboration
As with many large-scale restoration projects, collaboration was key to the success of the Altyn Dala project. But collaboration can also be an obstacle. The historic suffering and ongoing challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples in Canada has created deep-rooted and long-running tensions between them and the Government of Canada.
Ernie Gladstone is Executive Director of the Indigenous Stewardship Branch of Parks Canada. He spoke about the road to achieving collaboration between Indigenous Peoples and the Government of Canada in the protection and restoration of national parks, national marine conservation areas, and national historic sites across Canada. “Indigenous stewardship is not just about conserving nature, it is also about restoring the relationship with Indigenous people and the relationship that they have with their territories.”
Working closely alongside him for 30 years to build these essential relationships with the Haida peoples in Gwaii Hanaas, a National Marine Conservation Area, and Haida Heritage Site off the west coast of Canada, Cindy Boyko, Chair of the Indigenous Stewardship Circle, noted the lessons learned by the Archipelago Management Board during this long process, including the importance of giving Indigenous Peoples a real voice and a seat at the table. “If we don’t put culture first in Haida Gwaii or any First Nations, then we are going to have trouble doing any restoration….Cooperative governance is an opportunity, not a burden.”
Theodore M. Sperry Award honors two restoration leaders
Two outstanding individuals were presented with the Theodore M. Sperry Award for their enduring contributions to science, practice, and public engagement in restoration.
Peggy Olwell initiated and built the National Native Plant Materials Development Program for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Her work positively impacted 17 federal agencies, over 20 Tribal Nations, and all 50 states through scientifically rigorous and innovative approaches to land restoration.
Pedro Henrique S. Brancalion has advanced tropical forest restoration by developing economically viable, socially inclusive, and scalable approaches for Brazil’s Atlantic Forest and beyond. His innovative methods for establishing native vegetation, financing large-scale restoration, and monitoring outcomes support both ecosystems and communities.
Hackathon Winners: Terrestrial Category
The third award for SER’s inaugural virtual Hackathon went to the project titled “Tracking Restoration: Accessible MRV for Arid Lands.”. The team developed a concept for a lightweight MRV kit for deserted regions, making MRV accessible and engaging, co-developed with stakeholders.
SER2025 delegates can vote for the overall winner by clicking here.