Ecological Restoration: A Theoretical Approach to the History of a Technoscience

David Tomblin
Science and Technology Studies, Virginia Tech

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     Last modified: February 10, 2005
     Presentation date: 07/15/2005 2:00 PM in MACK 223
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Abstract
Ecological restoration is a conservation-oriented management technique that has experienced a rapid increase in the frequency of its implementation across North America since the late 1980s. This ecosystem management tool is broadly understood as a process that attempts to repair damaged ecosystems to some agreed upon past condition. However, agreement on how ecological restoration should be implemented, for what purposes it should be used, to what extent it can actually “restore ecosystems” and to what situations it should be applied is difficult to find in the scientific literature. Further, the number of public controversies over the merits and goals of ecological restoration has increased over the last 20 years. Therefore, there is no consensus on how ecological restoration should be used nor does there seem to be an agreed upon criteria on how one should restore natural systems.
What are the social and ecological forces behind this apparent ambiguity? Deciding which attributes of natural systems to restore has become a highly negotiated process that is unique to each restoration project. This negotiation process often involves local, regional and national government officials, scientists, environmental groups, and the general public. Some of the attributes of natural systems that are typically debated are identifying appropriate historical reference points, determining what constitutes ecosystem integrity or health, and intended use of the restoration site (e.g., recreational, sanitary, preservation, conservation, multiple-use, etc.). Since no clear-cut value neutral and objective criterion have emerged to resolve debates about these attributes and ecosystem dynamics are hard to predict, multiple loci for political controversy and ecological contingency evolve and interact within and between society and non-human nature as it relates to ecological restoration as a process. Therefore, how have ecological restoration projects in different geographical contexts historically interacted with society and non-human nature to shape “restored” ecosystems?
Given this question, the purpose of this paper is twofold: 1) Outline how Developmental Systems Theory (DST) can be used as a framework that eloquently captures the ecological and political variation of the history of ecological restoration as a discipline in different geographic and social contexts. 2) Apply this theoretical framework to provide a more fine-grained context specific historical analysis of how local social and ecological processes interact to form the goals and outcomes of ecological restoration projects in the urban and suburban contexts of Chicago, Illinois.