Ecological restoration

Ecological restoration is essential to sustain the important production, regulation, and cultural services that fresh waters provide. This chapter reviews the success of freshwater restoration actions in the light of current policies, including current understanding on the scale of restoration needed and timescales in recovery. Freshwater restoration in developing economies is still at an early stage in many countries, with gross organic and industrial pollution being widespread and often an increasing problem. The first step in developing any restoration plan is identifying targets for restoration and assessment of the cause of degradation. This requires monitoring data and appropriate diagnostic tools. The chapter focuses on restoration approaches within, or in close proximity to, waterbodies themselves. Most lake restoration programmes require external loading reductions to be in place before other approaches are considered. The concept of preventative management to off-set projected effects of climate change is gaining ground in freshwater sciences.