Environmental restoration is closely allied with (or perhaps sometimes used interchangeably with) ecological restoration or environmental remediation. In the U.S., remediation is the term used more in the realms of industry, public policy, and civil services. Environmental restoration is a term common in the citizens’

environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...

. In the 1987 edition of his book ''Restoring the Earth: How Americans are Working to Renew our Damaged Environment'', scientific editor and writer John J. Berger defined environmental restoration (or “natural resource restoration”) as follows: ''"… A process in which a damaged resource is renewed. Biologically. Structurally. Functionally."''

Natural environment

The ongoing growth of the human population in the world and its associated impacts, mean that the need for ecological restoration has become increasingly clear. The old adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" points to the fact that ecological restoration is not always successful (or only over long spans of time) and, when feasible, is often difficult and expensive. Environmental restoration is often neglected, either being overlooked or being deemed inexpedient or of a low priority. However, in much of the industrialized world, it has been increasingly demanded by the public, at least since the early 1970s if not before. The interest and activity in environmental restoration have given rise to a new branch of research and applied techniques within biology, restoration ecology. Environmental restoration has been applied in aquatic situations
lake environmental restoration
stream
environmental restoration

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

environmental restoration

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

environmental restoration
etc.) and terrestrial ones (grasslands,

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, deserts, flatlands, hill country, mountain slopes, etc.).

Approaches

Environmental restoration involves many different approaches and technologies depending on the requirements of the situation. It can involve heavy equipment like cranes, graders,

bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous trac ...

s, or

excavator Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. They are a natural progression fr ...

s, and also hand processes like the planting of trees and other vegetation. It can involve high-tech processes such as those applied in the careful environmental control required in fish-hatchery procedures. Today, computerized regulation is often being utilized in these processes. Computer-based mapping has also become an important dimension of restorative work, as has computer modelling. In some situations, environmental restorative work is handled entirely by professionals working with skilled operators and technicians. In others, ordinary local community members may do much of the work, acquiring skills as the project proceeds. An example of this approach can be seen in Project Maitai where the Nelson City Council, New Zealand, has worked with community groups, such as Friends of the Maitai and local schools, to restore the Maitai River and its tributaries.

Ecological restoration markets

Although the international field of restoration is driven primarily by the non-profit, government and academic sectors, in the U.S and certain other countries (e.g. Australia, which has a robust mining restoration sector), there are active markets for ecological restoration. The U.S. market blossomed shortly after Congress passed the Clean Water Act and the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

issued implementing regulations aimed at preventing the loss of streams and wetlands, and in the wake of the passage of the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 also created restoration opportunities. When regulations stemming from these laws came online in the mid-1980s, there were few firms that were qualified or experienced in performing large-scale restoration projects. The first estimate of the dollars and jobs in the U.S. was $9.5 billion in annual sales, with 126,000 people employed.

US military and Navy

In 1975, the DOD started cleaning up contaminated military sites under the "Installation Restoration Program" . In 1986, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act from 1976 was amended to create the "Defense Environmental Restoration Program". In 2001, DoD established the "Military Munitions Response Program" for sites known or suspected to contain unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents. The Department of the Navy documents its environmental restoration in its administrative record file collections for each facility. As of 2022, these were grouped into 5 US regions, namely Northwest, Hawaii, Southwest, Midatlantic and Southeast.

References

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