This September, over 1,300 people from more than 80 countries will convene in Denver, Colorado at the world’s largest gathering of experts on ecological restoration. SER2025, the 11th World Conference on Ecological Restoration brings together individuals and experts from scientific, technical policy, governmental, financial and socio-cultural sectors working in nearly all biomes and continents. The gathering of this diverse group of participants offers a vital and unique opportunity for collaboration as we reach the midpoint of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (the UN Decade).
Of SER’s Eight Principles Underpinning Ecological Restoration, #1 and #2 define the need to engage all stakeholders, and to draw on many types of knowledge. In practice, this means involving – not just informing – diverse stakeholders from the outset and throughout, with collaboration at the heart of successful restoration.
Citation: Gann GD, McDonald T, Walder B, Aronson J, Nelson CR, Jonson J, Hallett JG, Eisenberg C, Guariguata MR, Liu J, Hua F, Echeverria C, Gonzales, EK, Shaw N, Decleer K, Dixon KW. 2019. International principles and standards for the practice of ecological restoration. Second edition. Restoration Ecology S1-S46. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/rec.13035
Each member of SER’s global community brings their own unique background, lived experiences, and perspectives. SER2025 provides an opportunity to discover and share new and innovative approaches to the ecological restoration process on a global scale.
Harnessing Collaboration
Through collaboration, SER’s 5,000+ members design, implement, study, regulate, and finance restoration in more than 130 countries across the world, from Sweden to Brazil, from Kenya to Japan. One thread that unites their success is the engagement of local communities. SER’s catalog of Restoration Stories provides inspiration and blueprints for effective approaches to community and collaboration-led restoration.
In Cyberjaya, Malaysia, the community-based Ecological Enhancement of Cyberjaya Lake Garden, with the support of the Sepang Municipal Council aims to restore the 15-acre main lake, enhance biodiversity and water quality, and connect the local community to this important piece of nature.
In Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) territory on the St. Lawrence River, Canada, the Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office (KEPO) hosted community events to gather feedback, comments, and suggestions on proposed components to be incorporated into the final design of a project to restore degraded shorelines, improve water flow and restore wildlife habitats.
And in South Central Phoenix, Arizona, a collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU), Audubon Southwest, Tiger Mountain Foundation and the City of Phoenix, is restoring pollinator habitat and informing the public about the important connection between pollinators and their habitat. The project aims to improve environmental engagement, quality of life, habitat, and health of neighborhoods along the Salt and Gila river corridor in metro Phoenix.
The UN Decade has been continuously helping to inspire a global restoration movement, including through its emphasis on youth (#generationrestoration); promotion of restoration flagships; new resources and tools (e.g. the UN Decade Principles and Standards of Practice); global monitoring efforts; and awareness raising through media (the documentary series RESTORE will soon enter its third season). The UN Decade is also driving new collaborations like the Australian Restoration Decade Alliance, which is envisioning and advocating for high-impact action on the KM-GBF across Australia.
Everyone has a role to play, and through collective engagement, there are many ways to get involved and make a meaningful impact. By uniting our efforts, we can create lasting change.
In alignment with this year’s COP16 theme of “making peace with nature,” we believe the successful implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework(GBF) requires strong collaboration between restoration practitioners, policymakers, and the business community. Through collaboration, we can accelerate the Framework’s adoption and drive meaningful progress toward global restoration goals.
Join us in Denver from 30 September to 4 October 2025 to discover how you can contribute to global ecological restoration efforts. For more information, visit the official conference website at ser2025.org. Early-Bird registration will open in February 2025.