Identifying Challenges to Building an Evidence Base for Restoration Practice
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Questionnaire Design and Administration
- rate the adequacy of collection of baseline information in their projects (we use the dictionary meaning [28] of the word adequate as meaning fit for the respondent’s particular purposes or needs);
- identify obstacles to adequate baseline information collection;
- comment on what could be done to increase the adequacy of baseline information collection;
- identify goals applicable to their projects as well as obstacles to the documentation and quantification of goals;
- comment on the setting of goals of restoration;
- identify obstacles to monitoring and comment on what is needed to increase the incidence of long-term monitoring.
Baseline Measure | Goal | Monitored Indicator |
---|---|---|
Environmental awareness levels | Job creation | Person hours worked |
Unemployment rate | Poverty alleviation | Training provided |
People living in poverty | Livelihood improvement | Awareness campaigns held |
Household income | Development of a market for PES | Number of jobs created |
Literacy | Capacity building | Livelihood impacts |
Plant species composition | Environmental awareness creation | Environmental awareness levels |
Density/cover of indigenous species | Alien plant control | Area cleared of invasives |
Water quality | Water resource improvement | Fences erected |
Water quantity | Biodiversity conservation | Solid structures built |
Aquatic diversity | Soil conservation | Area revegetated |
Above-ground carbon stocks | Carbon sequestration | Water quantity |
Soil chemical quality | Ecosystem productivity improvement | Water quality |
Geomorphology | Restoring natural capital | Species richness |
Erosion/bare patches | Increasing resilience | Soil erodability |
Levels of degradation | Other (please specify) | Carbon sequestered |
Other (please specify) | Plant survival/growth | |
Biomass accumulation | ||
Other (please specify) |
2.2. Sample Selection
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Response Rates and Roles of Respondents in Restoration
3.2. Baseline Information Collection, Goal Setting and Monitoring
3.3. Perceived Obstacles
Variable | Obstacle | % Identifying Obstacle |
---|---|---|
Baseline measures | Not part of ToR | 9 |
Lack of funds | 6 | |
Lack of time | 6 | |
Lack of expertise | 3 | |
Goals | Not all goals can be quantified | 36 |
Stakeholders are vague about what they want | 15 | |
Resource constraints | 12 | |
Not necessary to specify and quantify goals | 12 | |
Goal not part of Terms of Reference | 6 | |
Goals change all the time | 3 | |
Monitoring | Lack of funds | 12 |
Capacity constraints | 12 | |
Lack of knowledge | 9 |
4. Discussion
4.1. Strength and Perception of the Evidence Base
4.2. Obstacles to Building the Evidence Base
4.3. Overcoming Obstacles
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Files
Supplementary File 1Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Ntshotsho, P.; Esler, K.J.; Reyers, B. Identifying Challenges to Building an Evidence Base for Restoration Practice. Sustainability 2015, 7, 15871-15881. https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215788
Ntshotsho P, Esler KJ, Reyers B. Identifying Challenges to Building an Evidence Base for Restoration Practice. Sustainability. 2015; 7(12):15871-15881. https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215788
Chicago/Turabian StyleNtshotsho, Phumza, Karen J. Esler, and Belinda Reyers. 2015. "Identifying Challenges to Building an Evidence Base for Restoration Practice" Sustainability 7, no. 12: 15871-15881. https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215788