עקרונות יסוד בשיקום מערכות אקולוגיות: [מתוך המדור: סקירות]

Ecological restoration is a well-established scientifically-applied field that aims to restore the functionality, integrity, sustainability, and human benefits of ecosystems. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) and its accompanying convention call for the restoration of 30% of the world's degraded lands by this decade’s end and highlight the importance and urgency of this issue. Israel, a signatory to the convention, carries out numerous ecological restoration projects annually. However, the field of restoration ecology in Israel is still not sufficiently developed and faces many challenges. Many of these issues stem from the lack of defined criteria and principles for carrying out ecological restoration projects. This article presents some of the field’s principles and basic terms, most of which are presented in accordance with the definitions of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER): a. Soil health as a major condition for the success of a restoration project; b. Involvement of many stakeholders beyond the initiating bodies; c. Defining a native reference system that represents the vision to which the project is directed; d. A continuum of restorative activities that aims to support the ecosystem recovery processes; e. Assessing the ecosystem recovery against clear goals and objectives, using measurable indicators and long-term monitoring.