Words by Smiley Team
Exploring Restor’s interactive map, your eyes are opened to a world of possibilities for protecting nature. This innovative project aims to connect restoration workers around the world with those who can help them.
As a mark of its potential, the map is up for an international award, the Earthshot Prize, for which five winners will gain £1 million to take their work to the next level.
From the 15 inspiring finalists, Restor’s strengths include its roots in rigorous research that unveiled a need to connect restoration work internationally.
“Restor was an idea born out of a science lab at a university in Zurich, ETH Zurich,” explains Restor CEO Clara Rowe. “Researchers there published a paper in 2019, estimating how much tree restoration could happen around the world. It helped conceptualise the magnitude of restoration potential and its benefits.
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“But crucially, it also catalysed many questions from people from all over the world, reaching out to ask for advice. So that triggered the idea for creating a place where data was easily accessible and Restor is that place.”
On the platform, there’s something for everyone to get involved with. Those wishing to support restoration work can discover local volunteering opportunities or projects that need funding. Existing initiatives can connect with one another to share knowledge. Meanwhile, conservationists can select a specific plot of land they’d like to focus on to uncover vital data about the plant species growing there and plan new work.
From tree planting initiatives in India, to economic wellbeing projects in Kenya, the map hosts a multitude of positive efforts around the world that are vital for protecting the planet’s future.
Clara explains: “It's estimated that restoration has the potential to draw down 30% of accumulated global carbon emissions and is a key component of many nations’ climate mitigation goals by 2030. So from the broader climate perspective, restoration is a huge part of the solution to keep us to the 1.5°C limit of global warming that we need to achieve.”
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In addition to the environmental benefits, restoration is also socially useful. “Well restored wetlands and mangroves are a huge part of protecting local communities from the risk of flooding and other climate-related disasters,” she adds. “For example, if you use more regenerative agricultural methods, you're more likely to keep water in the soil and build community resilience to droughts, which of course protects the local economy.”
With so much to gain from restoration, the platform aims to enable and accelerate this vital work at an unprecedented scale. As Clara says, “Restor is about creating a global movement and putting everything that's needed to support restoration work in one map.”
Find further information and explore the map at restor.eco.
