Restoration of the world in one book Our once and future planet: Restoring the world in the climate change century, Paddy Woodworth : book review

• Published in: South African journal of science 2015-01, Vol.111 (1), p.8-9
• Main Author: Lubke, Roy A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0038-2353; 1996-7489
• DOI: 10.17159/sajs.2015/a0091

Shortly after the International Conference of the Society of Restoration Ecology in Madison, Wisconsin, USA in October 2013, Paddy Woodworth launched his book on restoration of environments from around the globe. Paddy Woodworth, who is a well-known investigative journalist from Ireland, has been following the world's restoration ecologists around for the last 8 years to get a first-hand account of their work. When I met him at the International Conference of the Society of Restoration Ecology in Spain in 2005 he had just started on the book and I suggested that he come to South Africa to look at restoration projects here. He subsequently did and I met him in Grahamstown to show him some of the restoration after removal of aliens in Grahamstown by the Working for Water (WfW) programme. His chapter on 'Greening the Rainbow Nation: Saving the World on a Single Budget' is surely the definitive account of the WfW project and a fascinating example of how the aspirations of numerous individuals have played out to result in clearing of aliens with the hopeful restoration of natural systems that will increase biodiversity and water and empower local people. The programme is not without its critics, but has nevertheless persevered, as is explained in this book.