Lessons from the UN Decade: from ecosystem restoration to regenerative transformation

Although restoration science increasingly considers social-ecological complexity, many restoration projects still fall short of their ecological or social goals. We argue that such failures often stem from a lack of attention to long-term social-ecological dynamics within the target system. To overcome this problem, we propose 'regenerative transformation' as a new paradigm to guide ecosystem restoration. Regenerative transformation foregrounds the thriving of human and other forms of life and emphasizes healthy endogenous social-ecological dynamics rather than exogenous interventions. Facilitating regenerative transformation through restoration will require changes in how restoration is conceptualized, practiced, and governed-moving from a focus on abstract targets and simple outcome indicators toward developing supportive conditions for the long-term, equitable coevolution of healthy social-ecological dynamics.