On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, co-host Rachel Donald speaks with Laura Martin, an associate professor of environmental studies at Williams College in Massachusetts. Donald and Martin dive into the restoration vs. preservation debate, and why Martin says a focus on the former is the way to address the biodiversity crisis. Martin defines restoration as “an attempt to design nature with non-human collaborators,” which she details in her book Wild by Design: The Rise of Ecological Restoration.

Restoration isn’t a new concept, but it is increasingly championed by researchers and scientists for its ability to tackle planetary crises like climate change and biodiversity loss. Historically, it’s been given less consideration by state and local governments, some of which continue to favor a “fortress conservation” model of preservation. That model is increasingly criticized for its human rights record and its failure to incorporate the human element that has helped mold and shape ecosystems for centuries.

“I do think that idea that nature is something outside of society, this Western idea [that] permeates much of global environmentalism is also … a barrier to imagining a different future,” Martin says.

Today, nearly 80% of the remaining biodiversity on Earth is on land stewarded or owned by Indigenous populations. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification says that Indigenous land rights are crucial to scaling up restoration efforts. One popular vision of such efforts is reforestation, though restoration is distinct from monocultural tree planting: even partially logged or degraded forests have been shown to provide more ecological services than plantations, according to research.

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Rachel Donald is an investigative reporter and journalism lecturer based in London. She hosts the podcast Planet: Critical and her latest thoughts can be found on 𝕏 via @CrisisReports and at Bluesky via @racheldonald.bsky.social.

Mike DiGirolamo is Mongabay’s audience engagement associate based in Sydney. He co-hosts and edits the Mongabay Newscast. Find him on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and Instagram.

Banner Image: A ranger planting a sapling in the Masungi Georeserve, Philippines. As of 2023, more than 100,000 native trees have been planted and are being continuously nurtured by rangers, visitors and partners in Masungi’s reforestation site. Image courtesy of Masungi Georeserve.