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Stimulating post‐COVID ‐19 green recovery by investing in ecological restoration
Author(s) -
Mansuy Nicolas
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
restoration ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1526-100X
pISSN - 1061-2971
DOI - 10.1111/rec.13296
Subject(s) - recession , restoration ecology , environmental restoration , economic recovery , covid-19 , business , environmental degradation , natural resource economics , economics , environmental resource management , ecology , medicine , disease , pathology , keynesian economics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , biology
In the face of the global COVID‐19 recession, countries are looking at stimulus packages to kick‐start their stalled economies. The recovery from the COVID‐19 crisis also coincides with a critical opportunity to fight against ecosystem degradation and climate change. In this opinion article, I put in perspective that by investing in ecological restoration, governments do not have to choose between economic priorities and environmental concerns. First, I describe the restoration economy and give real‐world examples of how investing in restoration activities can simultaneously ease pressure on the environment and create immediate jobs and revenues. Then I suggest that to obtain political attraction, a successful restoration strategy will require a triple‐bottom‐line approach to ensure that in addition to environmental objectives, stakeholders integrate socioeconomic outcomes in decision‐making. Finally, I conclude that a new economic approach that prioritizes investment in our ecological capital will necessitate transdisciplinary policies to build bridges across the different silos of the economy and the environment.