Restoration's ambition

It can give ecosystems new life and yet many are still not clear on its real potential. With restoration at the centre stage of global commitments to achieve sustainable development goals, reverse declines in biodiversity, and mitigate climate change, the need to bring the practice up to date could not be more urgent. Professor Eric Higgs explores how. "Critics argue that ecosystem services commodifies ecosystems, which carries the burden of locking the value of nature into wider economic patterns. The explosive growth and pervasiveness of ecosystem services confers a new frame of reference for valuing nature: Obscured are arguments for non-anthropocentric valuation of nature, although contortions have been made to accommodate and adapt 'cultural services' to reflect spiritual and non-consumptive use."