Restor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Restor Eco AG
Company typeNon-Profit Organisation
IndustryNature Markets, Ecology
Founded2020
FounderThomas Crowther
Headquarters,
Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Thomas Elliott (CEO)
OwnerRestor Foundation
Number of employees
30
Websiterestor.eco

Restor, a research spin-off from Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich, is an open-data platform developed to support global efforts in nature restoration. It functions as a geospatial tool that enables visibility and data sharing for individuals and organizations engaged in restoration projects.

The platform hosts information on 200,000 project sites from 18'000 users and 2'000 organisations, making it a significant resource for community-led restoration efforts. Restor is the largest platform for ecological restoration. It covers various ecosystems such as forests, mangroves, coral reefs, and fynbos shrublands. It supports different restoration approaches aimed at enhancing biodiversity, including conservation, natural regeneration, active regeneration, sustainable ecosystem management, and regenerative agriculture or agroforestry.

Restor aims to enhance transparency in the nature restoration movement by offering access to high-resolution satellite imagery and data on water, biodiversity, and carbon, thereby facilitating informed decision-making and investment in nature-based solutions.

History[edit]

Published in Science, a paper from Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich, led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Crowther generated significant attention and controversy around the potential for forested ecosystems to sequester atmospheric carbon. This study found that an additional 0.9 billion hectares of forests could capture approximately 205 Gt carbon, i.e. two-thirds of the total human-made carbon emissions currently in the atmosphere.[1] This research was discussed in mainstream media, with news outlets falsely reporting that “planting trees can stop climate change”.[2][3]

Crowther shared the inside story of his research on restoration in a TED Talk in 2019,[4] which inspired the formation of the Trillion Trees Initiative and 1T.org.[5] Off the back of this research, in 2020, Thomas Crowther and the Crowther Lab founded Restor.[6] The first version of the platform was build in collaboration with Google Earth Engine and Google Creative Lab. In 2021, Restor became a finalist of the Earthshot Prize, an environmental award launched by Prince William and Sir David Attenborough.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bastin, Jean-Francois; Finegold, Yelena; Garcia, Claude; Mollicone, Danilo; Rezende, Marcelo; Routh, Devin; Zohner, Constantin M.; Crowther, Thomas W. (2019-07-05). "The global tree restoration potential". Science. 365 (6448): 76–79. Bibcode:2019Sci...365...76B. doi:10.1126/science.aax0848. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 31273120.
  2. ^ "A billion hectares of new trees could pause the climate-change clock". ABC News. 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  3. ^ "Climate change: Trees 'most effective solution' for warming". 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  4. ^ Crowther, Thomas (2020-10-10), The global movement to restore nature's biodiversity, retrieved 2024-02-16
  5. ^ Newsroom, Salesforce (2020-01-22). "One Trillion Trees to Combat Climate Change: Why It's Not So Outlandish". Salesforce. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  6. ^ "Restor Eco AG in Zürich - Reports". Moneyhouse. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  7. ^ "Restor". The Earthshot Prize. Retrieved 2024-02-16.