NEWS computer models . You can also view how the area has changed over time by pulling up super-highresolution satellite imagery .
5 . You can also draw your own area on the map to estimate , say , how many species of animals live in the forest behind your house , or how much carbon is in the soil . If you ’ ve got an ecosystem that you ’ re conserving , you can share it publicly .
There ’ s a more in-depth guide
here if you want to learn more .
Over the next decade , Crowther says Restor will focus on adding more projects to the platform and making it useful to companies that want to give customers a look into their supply chains . He imagines a future in which a customer buying a T-shirt , for example , might be able to pinpoint on Restor ’ s map where the cotton came from .
Figure 2 . The Nachusa Grasslands boast more than 730 native plant species . Courtesy of Charles Larry / The Nature Conservancy .
“ We ’ ve never known where all the conservation and restoration is happening on our planet ,” Crowther said . “ It ’ s the first time we can begin to visualize a global restoration movement .”
Restor aims to map restoration sites worldwide is “ excellent ,” but it comes with some limitations , said Karen Holl , a restoration expert at the University of California Santa Cruz who sits on Restor ’ s science advisory council . For one , a lot of information that feeds into the platform comes from global computer models that aren ’ t always accurate at a local level .
Plus , there ’ s no verification process to make sure the projects that people enter accurately reflect what ’ s happening on the ground . “ The ambitions are right ,” Holl said . “ I am concerned about it being misused .”
How to use the map
Crowther built the website largely for organizations and people who are themselves conserving land . But if you just want to poke around to find neat projects , or see what kind of ecosystems are in your backyard , it ’ s pretty easy to use . It ’ s also home to an impressive collection of data sets that you can explore ( though , once again , keep in mind that they ’ re not always accurate at a local level ). Here ’ s how :
2 . Click the pins on the map to learn about different landscapes that people are restoring .
3 . Pull up a project and you ’ ll see all kinds of information , like who ’ s running it and what ’ s being done with the land .
4 . Under the “ global predictions ” tab , you ’ ll see estimates for the amount of tree cover , diversity of wildlife , and carbon stored in the soil of any given area , based on global
The value of measuring what nature has regained
One problem with the onslaught of negative environmental news —
extinctions ,
oil spills , and so on — is that people
become numb to it , as Barney Long , senior director of conservation strategies at the nonprofit Re : wild ,
told Vox last fall .
“ I ’ m a strong believer in flipping this on its head and really starting to talk about the positive stories ,” said Long , who ’ s involved in IUCN ’ s new tools to measure recovery ( but not the Restor map ). We want to avoid extinction , he said , “ but what do we want to achieve ?”
Efforts to restore ecosystems don ’ t always work , of course , and it ’ s important to highlight failures and course corrections , Crowther said . His previous research into forest restoration helped inspire enormous tree-planting campaigns , for example , but these efforts
often fail to restore forests and can even destroy native ecosystems . Restoration is also not going to stop climate change on its own , experts say .
Scientists have learned a lot from those failures about how to help a landscape heal ; it ’ s important to consider the underlying conditions that fuel destruction in the first place , for example . Restor creates an opportunity to learn from the successes , too .
Figure 3 . A satellite view of the Nachusa Grasslands in Illinois . ( Photo : Restor )
A renewed focus on achievements could have a big upside beyond just feeling better about the state of the planet . It could help us imagine the world we want to build . “ If we start looking up the hill toward recovery ,” Long said , “ our ambition can almost be endless .”
43 Grassroots Vol 22 No 1 March 2022