The high-level panel on Day 2 of SER2025 brought together leaders from global intergovernmental organisations, NGOs, and Indigenous communities, alongside experts from the government and corporate sectors, to discuss the enabling conditions needed to accelerate restoration in the second half of the UN Decade.
Anita Diedrichsen, Global Leader on Forest Landscape Restoration at WWF and the panel’s moderator, set the stage by reminding us of the wide-reaching targets and frameworks that “reflect a consensus on the urgent need to restore our natural world”. But she posed the challenge to our esteemed panelists to offer their insights on how these commitments can be translated into “real-world actions for meaningful and lasting change on the ground”.
The panellists offered rich insights and diverse perspectives on the need for collaboration, capacity-building, supportive policies, and innovative funding to scale restoration.
Ecological restoration is about relationships, collaboration, and community
The speakers were united on the critical need for collaboration and the involvement of broad stakeholder groups to deliver positive social and environmental outcomes from restoration at scale.
Maia Reed is Global Climate Lead at Mars Petcare. “Our business touches millions of people. We are committed to making sure that impact, and that interaction, is positive…this includes increasing farmer incomes, respecting human rights, and empowering women in our value chain.”
Ana Lucia Maya Aguirre emphasised the vital need for restoration to be based on community and capacity building, “We need to link nature-based solutions and community-based solutions…because communities have a bio-cultural relationship with their land.”
Capacity-building and training are key to scaling restoration
Beth Lambert, Director of the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, noted the four primary barriers to scaling restoration as funding, expertise at the local level, staff capacity, and regulation, and outlined steps they are taking to address this. ”We need to share the restoration knowledge that we have gained…by translating it into tools, guidance documents, standards of practices, and online training…and we are increasing our restoration capacity state-wide.”
Innovations in finance are key to progress
James. Rattling Leaf, an expert in the space between Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Western science, discussed the importance of thinking about new ways to finance restoration that are inclusive to Indigenous communities, “Part of this going from ‘commitment to action’ is how are we going to fund ecological restoration?…We need new economic models that are going to support that.”
Christophe Besacier, Senior Forestry Officer at FAO discussed the importance of finance mechanisms. “Another way to overcome barriers is to mobilise adequate financial resources to design, implement, and monitor large-scale ecosystem restoration initiatives. For this, we need to raise awareness of the benefits of ecosystem restoration. And we need to showcase the economic returns of what we are doing. We need the appropriate funding mechanisms for restoration, which we all know is a blended finance approach.”
The panel concluded with a reminder of the very different but real challenges faced by those who work in and support ecological restoration. Of the physical dangers that many environmental defenders face in developing countries. And of the economic headwinds that impact funding for long-term restoration projects, and the vital need to communicate and frame the benefits of restoration in a way that supports collaboration that leads to progress.
Open Access Training to Build Capacity for Restoration
Training and certification to increase capacity is the foundation for the Empower component of REVIVE, SER’s global program to scale up restoration practices worldwide and help meet urgent challenges in climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable land use.
Announced during the morning plenary, SER is developing a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC): Foundations of Restoration Ecology. This dynamic, science-based training is designed to provide practical skills and knowledge for professionals at every stage of their career.
The course supports those preparing for the Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) credential, as well as anyone seeking to strengthen their restoration expertise. Registration will open in early 2026.
John Rieger and Full Circle Awards honor exceptional contributions to restoration
The John Rieger award recognizes those who have dedicated their time and skills to the development of SER and advancing the field of restoration. This year, the award went to Kevin L. Erwin, a pioneering ecosystem ecologist whose decades of leadership and scholarship have shaped restoration science and practice worldwide. Since 2023, Kevin has been President of the Society of Ecological Restoration’s Large-scale Ecosystem Restoration Section (LERS) Board, where he has made a tremendous and lasting impact.
The Full Circle Award is given to restoration projects that are either led by local Indigenous people or communities, or that emphasize their full and effective participation. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (Naa-ti Faa-too-a O-raa-kay) are Indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. They are leading a unique regeneration programme titled “Ko Te Pūkākī (Goh Tay Poo-kah-kee): 2040” to establish a thriving, resilient environment which has their people, practices, and culture at its heart.
Restoration Hackathon: Best Auto-MRV Solution
The second of the awards for SER’s restoration Hackathon was for the best Auto-MRV solution. It was presented to Bioacoustic Monitoring of Grasslands Ecosystems. The innovation proposed the use of machine learning for a user-friendly systematic bioacoustic analysis system.
We encourage delegates to vote on the overall winner by clicking here.