Ecosystem Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation for Sustainable Development

Dear Colleagues,

The world is facing unprecedented biodiversity loss due to rampant ecosystem degradation that is further accelerated by climate change. This loss has accelerated the impact of climate change on marginalized and vulnerable societies with consequences for human health, livelihoods, and well-being. The effective implementation of ecological restoration at local, regional and national level can bring diverse benefits not only for the environment but also promote social and economic sustainability to communities. Ecosystem restoration is the supremely important science for the Anthropocene and requires collaboration of experts from diverse disciplines such as social sciences, economics, life sciences, earth and environmental studies, along with policy makers and industrial partners can bring in pragmatic solutions to halt and/or reduce biodiversity loss and protect natural resources from further degradation. This approach is required to address the climate crisis and biodiversity emergency and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It will also contribute to, the Nationally Determined Targets, the Post 2020 global biodiversity targets, focusing on developing a mutually beneficial relationship between people and nature, the UBCCD targets for Land Degradation Neutrality and the success of the UN-Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). It is of paramount importance that integrated, participatory collaborative efforts are made to establish a hybrid knowledge framework that includes scientific, as well indigenous and traditional knowledge, to maximize the success of restoration efforts at local level. This must be effectively integrated in governance instruments and policy planning to enhance institutional capacity to tackle the complex challenges of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss and strengthen the global agenda of living in harmony with nature.

This special issue invites contributions in the form of original research papers, critical reviews, or opinion articles linking various disciplines, as outlined above, related to the development of integrated sustainable solutions for ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation.

This special issue invites contributions in the form of original research papers, critical reviews, opinion articles linking various disciplines, see above, and ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic) with sustainability in ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation. The research area (not limited to) may include the following:

1. Restoration and allied activities
2. Nature-based solutions, socio-ecological resilient systems
3. Business for and from ecosystem restoration and biodiversity
4. Community engagement, indigenous knowledge systems, and citizen science
5. Artificial intelligence, and big data in restoration monitoring
6. Corporate efforts and limitations to ecosystem restoration and biodiversity
7. Restoration finance and its economic feasibility
8. Climate sensitive transformative approaches in restoration by applying principals and standards of ecosystem and forest restoration are invited.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Kripal Singh
Dr. Shalini Dhyani
Prof. Debbie Bartlett
Dr. Somidh Saha
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.