This report presents ten restoration good case studies from key vulnerable ecosystems in China. It is based on decades of restoration practices in major national restoration programmes, and science-based experiments from the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network. This report can be used as a technical reference of ecosystem restoration for local practitioners, civil society actors, policymakers and government officials within a similar context.

These cases show that vulnerable ecosystems, like deserts, degraded grasslands, sandy lands in the agriculture-pasture transition area, mountain gully areas and urban rivers, can be effectively managed by engaging multistakeholders. The report provides not only specific intervention approaches, techniques and restoration outcomes but also cost-benefit analyses, policy contexts and their potential application scope and lessons learned.

This report shows that long-term monitoring and research on ecosystem restoration lays the foundations for effective restoration intervention. An adaptive management approach by all stakeholders in restoration initiatives is critically important, as achieving sustainable development and balancing social-ecological trade-offs is fully dependent on the response and feedback of coupling nature and society ecosystem elements. The short- and long-term regional water resource balance should be thoroughly evaluated during ecosystem restoration, considering the socioeconomic benefits.

This report is part of the UNEP Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods flagship programme, which is the 10-year strategy of the United Nations Environment Programm International Ecosystem Management Partnership(IEMP). It is expected to enhance the good practices knowledge hub and capacity-building in order to help implement the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and facilitate South-South cooperation of vulnerable developing countries.