India was one of the first countries in Asia to commit to the Bonn Challenge, and has pledged to restore 26 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2030. However, the path to achieving this target is not yet clear, faces several challenges, and requires (1) adoption of scientifically rigorous restoration practices, (2) involvement of local communities, government organizations and civil society organizations, (3) prioritization and planning based on both scientific knowledge and community demand, and (3) enabling policies to encourage restoration, to mention a few key hurdles.



This symposium will feature presentations on a range of considerations, and will be divided into 4 parts; The first part will cover the research, planning and execution of ecological restoration in various ecosystems of India. The second part will be regarding the importance of community involvement and livelihood linkages to scale up restoration efforts. The third, will be regarding the current state of restoration in India and the importance of the right policy environment to scale up successful restoration across the country, including a talk on the detailed policy report put together by more than 45 restoration practitioners and scientists in India. Finally, we will have a 20-25 minutes discussion with the audience, giving an opportunity to different stakeholders, such as land managers, administrators, NGOs, and private sector companies, to engage with the topic and ask questions regarding how they can use existing and emerging knowledge on ecological restoration in their own initiatives and enable future collaboration.



This is a crucial time in an international conference on tropical biology such as ATBC to have a clear representation, synthesis, and way-forward for restoring India’s diverse and rich ecosystems. One where scientists, practitioners, other stakeholders from across disciplines and career-stages are part of the conversation.