Leveraging change in ecosystem restoration: from planting trees to regenerating people-nature systems
Publikation: Beiträge in Zeitschriften › Zeitschriftenaufsätze › Forschung › begutachtet
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in: Trees, Forests and People, Jahrgang 23, 101134, 01.2026.
Publikation: Beiträge in Zeitschriften › Zeitschriftenaufsätze › Forschung › begutachtet
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Leveraging change in ecosystem restoration
T2 - from planting trees to regenerating people-nature systems
AU - Frietsch, Marina
AU - Kaplin, Beth A.
AU - Mukuralinda, Athanase
AU - Nkurikiyimana, Donath
AU - William, Appollinaire
AU - Bariyanga, Jean Damascene
AU - Duguma, Dula Wakassa
AU - Kayitanirwa, Cecile
AU - Mujawamariya, Myriam
AU - Nsengimana, Venuste
AU - Nshimyumuremyi, Pierre
AU - Nyiramvuyekure, Verene
AU - Nduwamungu, Jean
AU - Serge, Shema
AU - Turikunkiko, Ezechiel
AU - Tuyizere, Diogene
AU - Fischer, Joern
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025
PY - 2026/1
Y1 - 2026/1
N2 - Despite calls for more integrated ecosystem restoration approaches, many restoration projects continue to focus on simple metrics capturing isolated ecological or social system dimensions. To realize the potential of ecosystem restoration to generate a multitude of desirable social-ecological outcomes, we argue that a change in mindsets is needed to move from planting trees to regenerating people-nature systems. Drawing on a leverage points perspective, we propose that changing the paradigms that underpin restoration could shift the modus operandi from an instrumental perspective of ‘nature for people’ to a relational perspective of ‘people with nature’. Following three interacting realms of leverage for transformational change, we use the case study of western Rwanda to exemplarily illustrate how restoration can serve as a critical entry point for re-connecting people and nature in degraded landscapes, re-structuring the time scales considered in natural resource management, and re-thinking the use of diverse types of knowledge in this context. Combining these three realms in place-based restoration efforts can inform new avenues for ecosystem restoration that are rooted in genuine social-ecological relationships. This, in turn, could trigger regenerative dynamics in restoration landscapes – i.e., mutually reinforcing dynamics that support both human and non-human wellbeing. This approach reflects a broader transition from repairing fragmented landscape elements to regenerating integrated social–ecological systems.
AB - Despite calls for more integrated ecosystem restoration approaches, many restoration projects continue to focus on simple metrics capturing isolated ecological or social system dimensions. To realize the potential of ecosystem restoration to generate a multitude of desirable social-ecological outcomes, we argue that a change in mindsets is needed to move from planting trees to regenerating people-nature systems. Drawing on a leverage points perspective, we propose that changing the paradigms that underpin restoration could shift the modus operandi from an instrumental perspective of ‘nature for people’ to a relational perspective of ‘people with nature’. Following three interacting realms of leverage for transformational change, we use the case study of western Rwanda to exemplarily illustrate how restoration can serve as a critical entry point for re-connecting people and nature in degraded landscapes, re-structuring the time scales considered in natural resource management, and re-thinking the use of diverse types of knowledge in this context. Combining these three realms in place-based restoration efforts can inform new avenues for ecosystem restoration that are rooted in genuine social-ecological relationships. This, in turn, could trigger regenerative dynamics in restoration landscapes – i.e., mutually reinforcing dynamics that support both human and non-human wellbeing. This approach reflects a broader transition from repairing fragmented landscape elements to regenerating integrated social–ecological systems.
KW - Ecosystem restoration
KW - Forest landscape restoration
KW - Leverage points
KW - Regeneration
KW - Social-ecological systems
KW - Environmental planning
KW - Environmental Governance
KW - Ecosystems Research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105025428689&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.tfp.2025.101134
DO - 10.1016/j.tfp.2025.101134
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:105025428689
VL - 23
JO - Trees, Forests and People
JF - Trees, Forests and People
SN - 2666-7193
M1 - 101134
ER -