Mission Statement
Across the globe, centuries of unsustainable activities have damaged the aquatic, marine, and terrestrial environments that underpin our economies and societies and give rise to a diversity of wildlife and plants. SER is dedicated to reversing this degradation and restoring the earth’s ecological balance for the benefit of humans and nature.
Our Mission To promote ecological restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and re-establishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture
Our Vision Ecological restoration becomes a fundamental component of conservation and sustainable development programs throughout the world by virtue of its inherent capacity to provide people with the opportunity to not only repair ecological damage, but also improve the human condition
Our Guiding Principles These underlying principles guide and inform our work:
Ecological restoration is an engaging and inclusive process. Restoration embraces the interrelationships between nature and culture, engages all sectors of society, and enables full and effective participation of indigenous, local and disenfranchised communities.
Ecological restoration requires the integration of knowledge and practice. Science and other forms of knowledge are essential for designing, implementing and monitoring restoration projects and programs. At the same time, lessons learned from practical experiences are essential for determining and prioritizing the scientific needs of the field.
Ecological restoration is policy-relevant and essential. Restoration is a critical tool for achieving biodiversity conservation, mitigating and adapting to climate change, enhancing ecosystem services, fostering sustainable socioeconomic development, and improving human health and well-being.
Ecological restoration is practiced locally with global implications. Restoration takes place in all regions of the world, with local actions having regional and global benefits for nature and people.
Description
The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) is a non-profit organization comprised of individuals and partner organizations from around the world who are actively engaged in the repair and recovery of degraded ecosystems utilizing a broad array of experiences, knowledge sets, and cultural perspectives. SER members include scientists, planners, administrators, consultants, indigenous peoples, landscape architects, teachers, artists, engineers, natural resource managers, farmers/growers, community leaders, and volunteers. Founded in 1987, SER now has members and partners in more than 60 nations with chapters and networks serving states, provinces and regions of North America, Europe, Latin America, and Australia. SER is also working actively to expand its presence in Asia and Africa.
The Society’s mission is to promote ecological restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture. SER’s primary focus is to advance the science and practice of ecological restoration as a tool for recovering biodiversity and ecosystem services, and thereby addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing humanity and the biosphere: namely desertification, land and water degradation, and the associated loss of sustainable livelihoods. In addition, ecological restoration plays an important role in ameliorating the drivers and effects of climate change by increasing carbon storage capacity and ecosystem resilience.
Connecting and Informing the Global Restoration Community SER is positioned at the critical interface between restoration science and practice in order to support and promote participatory, knowledge-based restoration projects and programs from around the world. SER serves its members, partners, and others in the field by:
Facilitating communication and exchange: SER organizes biennial world conferences, regional chapter meetings, and workshops where scientists, practitioners, community leaders, and students come together to exchange ideas, showcase their work, and forge new alliances. SER also provides a wide array of restoration resources through a number of web-based networks such the Global Restoration Network, Indigenous Peoples’ Restoration Network, and Community Restoration Network.
Sharing information and knowledge: SER publishes the peer-reviewed journal Restoration Ecology, which highlights the results of restoration projects worldwide as well as conceptual advances and new perspectives in the field. SER also publishes a book series in association with Island Press called the Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration, which now includes over 25 titles for scientists, practitioners, students, volunteers, and natural resource managers. Lastly, SER publishes a quarterly newsletter, SERNews, and the biweekly e-bulletin RESTORE.
Informing decision-makers: SER produces occasional briefing notes, policy position statements, and technical documents such as the SER International Primer on Ecological Restoration, and contributes to the publications of other bodies such as the UNEP Rapid Response Assessment entitled Dead Planet, Living Planet: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration for Sustainable Development. SER is a long-standing member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and an observer organization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ramsar Science and Technical Review Panel.
