Presentation short abstract

In this paper we conduct a comparative case study (treating each concept as a case) of a set of concepts associated with the notion of "going back" or returning to a previous state, including restoration, resilience, reclamation, remediation, and more recently, regeneration and rewilding.

Presentation long abstract

A diverse set of concepts has been introduced by different communities of environmental scholars and practitioners to capture the importance of returning to a previous state. Among these we can count the following: restoration, reclamation, remediation, and more recently, regeneration and rewilding. Each of these concepts has represented a governance or management approach and received both advocacy and criticism. The concepts of resilience and robustness also refer to a desirable return, typically as the ability to “bounce back” following a disturbance. In this paper we conduct a comparative case study (treating each concept as a case), evaluating each concept along the following dimensions:

What social groups (e.g., scientific disciplines, professional associations) have advocated for or against a concept, and if the advocacy of this concept has been associated with the criticism of other concepts;

What aspects of the environment and human-environment relations is the concept applied to (e.g., forestry, coastal hazards, urban systems, pollution);

Whether it is framed primarily as a governance approach (input) or a desired outcome (output);

If and how it relates to dynamics of equilibrium and feedback (positive or negative);

The extent to which the concept represents relatively superficial coping strategies, deeper adaptive responses, or fully transformational transitions.

Whether it is framed primarily in technical, political, or cultural terms; and

Whether it applies mainly to nature, to humans, or to both (e.g., rewilding is framed both as an environmental management strategy and as a personal and social transformation).