Speed Presentation 2024 Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting combined with NZMSS

A global conversation in seascape restoration (#290)

Alice Howie 1 , Simon Reeves 2 , Melanie Bishop 1
  1. Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
  2. The Nature Conservancy, Australia

Restoration of marine ecosystems is scaling up, fuelled by the growing recognition of the ecological and socio-economic benefits sustained by nature. With this scaling has been an increasing trend towards ‘multi-species’, ‘multi-habitat’ and ‘seascape’ restoration projects. Despite the increasing usage of these terms in the scientific literature, definitions are seldom provided and it is unclear if these terms are distinct or interchangeable. Here we report results of a global survey of marine restoration practitioners and researchers examining: (1) Variation in the definition of ‘seascape restoration’; (2) Overlap of its definition with ‘multi-species’ and ‘multi-habitat’ restoration; and (3) Instances of ‘seascape restoration’ projects around the world. Our survey revealed that the core elements of seascape restoration are: (1) The coordinated restoration of multiple habitat types, (2) Restoration over a large geographic area, (3) Improvement of habitat connectivity, and (4) Improvement of the connection between people and nature. The survey also revealed considerable overlap, in usage of the terms ‘seascape’, ‘multi-species’ and ‘multi-habitat’ restoration. With increasing implementation of seascape restoration projects globally, it is important that terminology is reconciled so that cross project learnings can be maximised.