The Workshop on Nature Restoration (WKREST) will review evidence on the active and passive restoration of marine habitats and species, and the ecosystem functions they provide. Topics to be addressed will include:
- definitions of active and passive restoration;
- how restoration can be initiated, monitored and assessed;
- restoration success criteria for species and habitats; and
- factors affecting recovery rates.
For active restoration the workshop will also consider the methods available, evidence of their effectiveness and capacity to scale to address legislative and policy targets. WKREST will examine how these topics apply to a wide range of ecosystem components, i.e., fish, marine mammals, benthos, birds, etc., and physical conditions (i.e., addressing eutrophication in the Baltic and Black Seas), including linkages with terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.
The workshop will further consider how the provision of evidence can be supported by existing ICES processes. Key outcomes of the workshop will be a concise summary of current evidence, gaps in knowledge and priorities for evidence collection to fill these gaps.
The workshop will take place physically at ICES HQ in Copenhagen, Denmark as well as online. It will be co-chaired by Ellen Kenchington (Canada), Daniël van Denderen (Denmark), and Jan Hiddink (UK), whom together with a core group of experts will prepare material for the workshop. The meeting will start on Tuesday at 13.00 CET (4 March) and end on Friday at 12.00 CET (7 March). The workshop will include plenary sessions and sub-group tasks.
WKREST Terms of Reference
a) Summarise available methods (including strengths and weaknesses) to model predictions of recovery times of marine habitats and species, the parameters and data required to apply these methods, and describe additional evidence needs to predict the effects of management measures intended to achieve restoration.
b) Summarise available methods to monitor and assess the rate of recovery of marine habitats and species, the resources required to apply these methods, the scales of implementation and their statistical power to detect recovery on defined timescales. Identify additional evidence needs to guide effective monitoring and assessment of the effects of management measures intended to achieve restoration.
c) Review and report on available methods to quantify habitat connectivity, and to monitor and assess changes in connectivity, with a focus on benthic species and habitats of the continental shelves and deep-sea. Report on the implications of habitat connectivity for recovery rates and restoration, and priority evidence needs.
d) Report on the ways in which existing data streams/ calls and methods adopted by the ICES Data Center and expert groups may contribute to meeting evidence needs and priorities identified in ToR a-d.
e) Summarise available and proposed measures and potential threats to achieving the active restoration of marine habitats, their state of development (e.g. from experimental to large-scale trails and applications), relative benefits and costs, and effectiveness. Identify additional evidence needs to evaluate the costs and benefits of active restoration.
f) Review the current use of ecological restoration objectives in marine management and policy and identify the set targets.
Registration
To register please send an email to reception (reception@ices.dk) indicating whether you will be attending in person or online. Registrations will close 21 February 2025. Please note that confirmation of your registration may arrive slower than normally during January.
If requests to attend exceed the meeting space available ICES reserves the right to refuse participants. Choices will be based on the experts' relevant qualifications for the Workshop. Participants join the workshop at national expense.
