Restoring layered geographies: ecology, society and time

Our planet has suffered vast ecological losses, yet the law attaches little priority to restoration of past damage and environmental history. While many jurisdictions have enacted laws for environmental restoration, such as remediation of former mines and cleanup of chemical spills, few focus on regeneration of entire landscapes and ecosystems. However, the rewilding movement and a variety of community-based initiatives are pioneering restoration projects around the world, demonstrating not only benefits to restoration governance but helping communities to become ecologically literate and compassionate about their environs. In legislating new approaches to ecological restoration, governments must embrace these social and temporal layers of our geographies. We should approach ecological restoration as a multi-faceted agenda that includes healing human culture along with healing the natural environment itself.