Setting Priorities

Setting Priorities

The ELP engages in processes to identify the most important knowledge gaps and barriers to landscape restoration in Europe and to look for solutions to these challenges.

There are many challenges that are slowing or preventing the widespread implementation of landscape-scale restoration across Europe. These barriers include gaps in knowledge or understanding of species’ ecology, physical processes and human dimensions, as well as the interactions within and between these factors.

Other constraints stem from a lack of resources or capacity, or political or legal restrictions. Given that there is limited research time and resources available to address such challenges, it is important to know where efforts should be focused. Identifying which barriers are having the greatest impact is a vital first step in finding solutions that will enable more effective and widespread restoration in Europe.

In order to identify and prioritise possible research directions, the Endangered Landscapes Programme convened a group of more than 40 experts in landscape restoration to identify ‘One hundred priority questions for landscape restoration in Europe’ that, if answered, would make a substantial difference to our ability to restore terrestrial and marine landscapes. The group came from a wide range of European governmental and non-governmental conservation organisations and universities, as well as independent ecologists and land managers

The hope is that these questions will act as the basis for researchers and policy makers to identify new directions, as well as support funders and programme managers in allocating funds and planning projects, resulting in improved understanding and implementation of landscape-scale ecological restoration.