Recentering the role of marine restoration science to bolster community stewardship

Abstract

The restoration of marine habitats is becoming a primary strategy for managing healthy coastal ecosystems, but initiatives often fail due to conflicts with social or industry activities. Confronting the challenge of expanding marine restoration for the ‘Ocean Decade’, this paper explores the ways that researchers could improve the way Governments and practitioners engage stakeholders with restorations of high socio-ecological and economic value. We seek to recenter the role of scientific knowledge-making in marine restoration by incorporating culturally informed socio-economic well-being into restoration practice; a process for encouraging greater marine stewardship by an engaged, more ocean literate public set to co-benefit from successful restoration practices. Using Australia’s shellfish reef restoration program as a case study, we underscore the value of understanding diverse perspectives on marine restoration to foster a more inclusive restoration practice, one that nurtures a meaningful knowledge base to shift how restoration is viewed, engaged with, and funded.