Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 100526 |
| Journal | Cell Reports Sustainability |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| Early online date | 1 Oct 2025 |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Nov 2025 |
Abstract
Marine biodiversity is rapidly declining, necessitating global political and financial solutions to prioritize habitat restoration in a “blue revolution.” However, marine and coastal restoration faces major technical, logistical, and resource challenges that are exacerbated by climate change, which must be urgently addressed. Unlike terrestrial restoration, marine efforts lack a long history or well-established methods, resulting in potentially high failure rates and a pressing need for innovation. As scientists and practitioners, we argue that scaling marine and coastal restoration requires policy reform, scientific advancement, and more adaptive regulatory frameworks. Current approaches are constrained by unrealistic ecological baselines and outdated assumptions about environmental stability. Licensing must move beyond recreating past habitats and instead support resilient ecosystems, ecological connectivity, and future colonization pathways. We need to rethink restoration for a changing world, guided by flexible systems that embrace uncertainty, integrate new technologies, and prioritize long-term coastal resilience over short-term fixes.
Keywords
- algae, coral, kelp, mangrove, mussels, oysters, saltmarsh, seagrass, seaweed
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Energy(all)
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecology
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
- Environmental Science(all)
- Water Science and Technology
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Cell Reports Sustainability, Vol. 2, No. 11, 100526, 21.11.2025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Rethinking marine restoration permitting to urgently advance efforts
AU - Unsworth, Richard K.F.
AU - Sweet, Michael
AU - Govers, Laura L.
AU - von der Heyden, Sophie
AU - Vergés, Adriana
AU - Friess, Daniel A.
AU - Jones, Benjamin L.H.
AU - Monfared, Margaux A.A.
AU - Steinfurth, Rune C.
AU - Fariñas-Franco, Jose M.
AU - Cullen-Unsworth, Leanne C.
AU - Banke, Timi L.
AU - Tomas, Fiona
AU - Lusk, Bowdoin W.
AU - Mendzil, Anouska F.
AU - Debney, Alison J.
AU - Sanderson, William G.
AU - Thomsen, Esther
AU - Preston, Joanne
AU - Lacey, Elizabeth A.
AU - Boerder, Kristina
AU - Walton, Rowana
AU - Vadi, Tali
AU - Brand, Jen
AU - Paul, Maike
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
PY - 2025/11/21
Y1 - 2025/11/21
N2 - Marine biodiversity is rapidly declining, necessitating global political and financial solutions to prioritize habitat restoration in a “blue revolution.” However, marine and coastal restoration faces major technical, logistical, and resource challenges that are exacerbated by climate change, which must be urgently addressed. Unlike terrestrial restoration, marine efforts lack a long history or well-established methods, resulting in potentially high failure rates and a pressing need for innovation. As scientists and practitioners, we argue that scaling marine and coastal restoration requires policy reform, scientific advancement, and more adaptive regulatory frameworks. Current approaches are constrained by unrealistic ecological baselines and outdated assumptions about environmental stability. Licensing must move beyond recreating past habitats and instead support resilient ecosystems, ecological connectivity, and future colonization pathways. We need to rethink restoration for a changing world, guided by flexible systems that embrace uncertainty, integrate new technologies, and prioritize long-term coastal resilience over short-term fixes.
AB - Marine biodiversity is rapidly declining, necessitating global political and financial solutions to prioritize habitat restoration in a “blue revolution.” However, marine and coastal restoration faces major technical, logistical, and resource challenges that are exacerbated by climate change, which must be urgently addressed. Unlike terrestrial restoration, marine efforts lack a long history or well-established methods, resulting in potentially high failure rates and a pressing need for innovation. As scientists and practitioners, we argue that scaling marine and coastal restoration requires policy reform, scientific advancement, and more adaptive regulatory frameworks. Current approaches are constrained by unrealistic ecological baselines and outdated assumptions about environmental stability. Licensing must move beyond recreating past habitats and instead support resilient ecosystems, ecological connectivity, and future colonization pathways. We need to rethink restoration for a changing world, guided by flexible systems that embrace uncertainty, integrate new technologies, and prioritize long-term coastal resilience over short-term fixes.
KW - algae
KW - coral
KW - kelp
KW - mangrove
KW - mussels
KW - oysters
KW - saltmarsh
KW - seagrass
KW - seaweed
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105018943836&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100526
DO - 10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100526
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:105018943836
VL - 2
JO - Cell Reports Sustainability
JF - Cell Reports Sustainability
IS - 11
M1 - 100526
ER -