The power of learning from the bottom up: working towards a blueprint for community-led biodiversity protection and restoration
The impacts of climate change have become more widespread and frequent, and society is beginning to recognise the connection between it and the biodiversity crisis. Communities have the capacity to play a key role in the success of multi-stakeholder nature restoration projects, but examples of succe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2754720525100024/type/journal_article |
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| author | Emma Verling Maria Power Melanie Biausque Lee Wah Pay Aoife Deane Rory Scarrott Darragh Ó Súilleabháin |
| author_facet | Emma Verling Maria Power Melanie Biausque Lee Wah Pay Aoife Deane Rory Scarrott Darragh Ó Súilleabháin |
| author_sort | Emma Verling |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The impacts of climate change have become more widespread and frequent, and society is beginning to recognise the connection between it and the biodiversity crisis. Communities have the capacity to play a key role in the success of multi-stakeholder nature restoration projects, but examples of successful projects, in which communities are the architects of the action – as opposed to the recipients of it – are not well documented. This study used a participatory evaluation research approach to explore a multi-stakeholder, community-led restoration project at Harper’s Island Wetlands, Co. Cork, Ireland to understand the elements of success and to extract key learnings for other communities. In order to rapidly upscale nature restoration and biodiversity protection globally, there is an urgent need to gain speed and momentum, identifying innovative approaches and disseminating them appropriately. The insights from this case study highlight four key components to be considered by groups at the beginning of community-led projects: setting up a core committee, assigning clear roles within the committee, creating a short-, medium- and long-term strategy and beginning practical tasks as soon as possible. This research serves as a step towards preparing blueprints to inform research, policy and practice in this space to enable stakeholders to respond collectively |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f2d45f1f4fa54d039aa6406dbb649a23 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2754-7205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures |
| spelling | doaj-art-f2d45f1f4fa54d039aa6406dbb649a232025-07-02T13:29:24ZengCambridge University PressCambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures2754-72052025-01-01310.1017/cft.2025.10002The power of learning from the bottom up: working towards a blueprint for community-led biodiversity protection and restorationEmma Verling0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1019-5812Maria Power1Melanie Biausque2Lee Wah Pay3Aoife Deane4Rory Scarrott5Darragh Ó Súilleabháin6MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine Environmental Research Institute, https://ror.org/03265fv13University College Cork, Cork, IrelandCommunity Consultants, Waterford, IrelandMaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine Environmental Research Institute, https://ror.org/03265fv13University College Cork, Cork, Ireland https://ror.org/04a7gbp98British Geological Survey, Belfast, UKhttps://ror.org/05m615h78Cork County Council, Cork, IrelandMaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine Environmental Research Institute, https://ror.org/03265fv13University College Cork, Cork, IrelandMaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine Environmental Research Institute, https://ror.org/03265fv13University College Cork, Cork, Irelandhttps://ror.org/05m615h78Cork County Council, Cork, IrelandThe impacts of climate change have become more widespread and frequent, and society is beginning to recognise the connection between it and the biodiversity crisis. Communities have the capacity to play a key role in the success of multi-stakeholder nature restoration projects, but examples of successful projects, in which communities are the architects of the action – as opposed to the recipients of it – are not well documented. This study used a participatory evaluation research approach to explore a multi-stakeholder, community-led restoration project at Harper’s Island Wetlands, Co. Cork, Ireland to understand the elements of success and to extract key learnings for other communities. In order to rapidly upscale nature restoration and biodiversity protection globally, there is an urgent need to gain speed and momentum, identifying innovative approaches and disseminating them appropriately. The insights from this case study highlight four key components to be considered by groups at the beginning of community-led projects: setting up a core committee, assigning clear roles within the committee, creating a short-, medium- and long-term strategy and beginning practical tasks as soon as possible. This research serves as a step towards preparing blueprints to inform research, policy and practice in this space to enable stakeholders to respond collectivelyhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2754720525100024/type/journal_articleCommunity-led projectsNature restorationBiodiversity lossMulti-stakeholder approachParticipatory Evaluation |
| spellingShingle | Emma Verling Maria Power Melanie Biausque Lee Wah Pay Aoife Deane Rory Scarrott Darragh Ó Súilleabháin The power of learning from the bottom up: working towards a blueprint for community-led biodiversity protection and restoration Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures Community-led projects Nature restoration Biodiversity loss Multi-stakeholder approach Participatory Evaluation |
| title | The power of learning from the bottom up: working towards a blueprint for community-led biodiversity protection and restoration |
| title_full | The power of learning from the bottom up: working towards a blueprint for community-led biodiversity protection and restoration |
| title_fullStr | The power of learning from the bottom up: working towards a blueprint for community-led biodiversity protection and restoration |
| title_full_unstemmed | The power of learning from the bottom up: working towards a blueprint for community-led biodiversity protection and restoration |
| title_short | The power of learning from the bottom up: working towards a blueprint for community-led biodiversity protection and restoration |
| title_sort | power of learning from the bottom up working towards a blueprint for community led biodiversity protection and restoration |
| topic | Community-led projects Nature restoration Biodiversity loss Multi-stakeholder approach Participatory Evaluation |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2754720525100024/type/journal_article |
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