SOPER Explore
Assessment
Assessment is a critical foundational phase involving broad stakeholder engagement and multi-scale evaluation that encompasses detailed site-level analysis of physical and biotic conditions, landscape-scale examination of broader environmental and socioeconomic contexts, and baseline monitoring of pre-restoration conditions.
5 Subcomponents, 35 Practices
Planning and Design
Planning is essential for achieving desired restoration outcomes and involves developing a comprehensive restoration plan through participatory decision-making that includes all stakeholders, rights-holders, and experts to create shared visions, identify restoration targets, and establish specific goals and objectives through fair negotiations that address conflicts and optimize ecosystem recovery.
13 Subcomponents, 84 Practices
Implementation
Implementation must maximize net gains for nature and people through participatory governance, social equity, and fair working conditions while ensuring sufficient human resources, tools, and materials are available at project sites, with all activities conducted in compliance with applicable laws and respect for Indigenous Peoples' and key groups' rights and customs.
11 Subcomponents, 87 Practices
Ongoing Management
Ongoing management is necessary to ensure that sites do not regress into a degraded state. Continuous engagement, monitoring, and adaptive management can address degradation drivers, allow implementation of appropriate corrective measures, and achieve long-term ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic benefits.
5 Subcomponents, 25 Practices
Monitoring and Evaluation
Ecosystem restoration is a long-term process with uncertainties on how to best achieve project goals and objectives. Consequently, it is imperative to monitor and evaluate project outcomes over time so that successful actions can be adopted and expanded, ineffective approaches can be discontinued, and promising new methods can be added.
11 Subcomponents, 80 Practices