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The purpose of this Guide is to give advice to owners and managers on the restoration of those ancient woodland sites in England which were planted predominantly with non-native species since the 1930s. The emphasis of the Guide is on the potential contribution of restoration to biodiversity and the practical considerations for successful development of native woodland. The guidance aims to ensure that individual woods are considered within a landscape and regional context. Methods are proposed for identifying where the greatest ecological gains can be achieved and where there may also be significant economic, visual and cultural opportunities. Approaches to management planning, harvesting and regeneration are provided, together with methods for setting targets and monitoring success.

This approach intends to provide a standard prioritization method for selection of areas where artificial restoration of Black pine can be implemented. Existing knowledge, practical experience and awareness for the most critical post-fire problems of erosion allows efforts to be put on improvement of processes for the restoration of burnt Black pine forests. This is why the approach does not cover other issues regarding post-fire management such as silvicultural techniques used to support the post-fire natural regeneration or control of exotic invasive species. This report aims to present the rationale of the structured approach for the restoration of Black pine forests in 5 steps.

At the first Forum meeting in May 2002 one of the major recommendations was for the Forum to develop a biodiversity restoration ‘opportunities’ document to provide a framework for identifying key priorities for biodiversity restoration across the Waikato Region. The priorities and opportunities highlighted in this document are viewed as the ultimate collaboration of Forum members. The purpose of this document is to: raise awareness of the need to restore rare and depleted indigenous ecosystems across the Waikato Region; support and empower communities to undertake ecosystem restoration and contribute to biodiversity protection and enhancement in the Region; guide local groups and management agencies who want to prioritise restoration activities and projects across the Region; provide an overall context for the many restoration projects already completed or underway and for new restoration projects that may be undertaken in the future; and provide options for securing a better representation of all ecosystem types across the region.

The Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) provides a critical analysis of the state of knowledge regarding the importance, drivers, status, and trends of terrestrial ecosystems. The Report recognizes that combatting land degradation, which is a pervasive, systemic phenomenon occurring in all parts of the world, is an urgent priority in order to protect the biodiversity and ecosystem services that are vital to all life on Earth and to ensure human well-being. The Report identifies a mix of governance options, policies and management practices that can help support stakeholders working at all levels to reduce the negative environmental, social and economic consequences of land degradation and to rehabilitate and restore degraded land. The Report encompasses all the terrestrial regions and biomes of the world, recognizing that land degradation drivers and processes can vary in severity within regions and countries as much as between them, and includes the full range of human-altered systems, including but not limited to drylands, agricultural and agroforestry systems, savannahs and forests and aquatic systems associated with these areas.

Our review shows that all major ecosystems and landscapes have been the subject of 5 global assessments of degradation and loss, either directly or indirectly. While some 6 biomes are monitored regularly (e.g. forests by FAO, wetlands by Ramsar), some 7 others (e.g. grasslands) have no international organization responsible for the 8 assessment and reporting on their global state.