438
and the day come pure water is not available but recycled water is available for best
designated uses. This is a right time to restore the ecological status of the coastal
water body before contamination and erosion. Coastal wetland Restoration is solely
applicable to severely degraded ecosystems such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, streams,
oceans and coastal environment. Although it can be used as an effective tool to
return the degraded ecosystem to a pre-disturbance stage, coastal wetland restoration is also an important tool for preventing environmental degradation. Strengthening
structural and functional elements through restoration can be helped to improve a
coastal wetlands ecosystem’s health.
Coastal wetland restoration is the process of returning a damaged ecosystem to
its original condition prior to disturbance (Cairns 1991; Berger 1991). The longterm goal of restoration is to imitate an earlier natural, self-sustaining ecosystem
that is in equilibrium with the surrounding landscape (Berger 1991). A National
Research Council (NRC) report (1992) defines restoration technology as a holistic
process as follows:
Coastal restoration is the return of an ecosystem to a close approximation of its condition
prior to disturbance. In restoration, ecological damage to the resource is repaired. Both the
structure and the functions of the ecosystem are recreated. The goal is to emulate a natural,
functioning, self-regulating system that is integrated with the ecological landscape in which
it occurs.
Restoration is not yet a perfected approach with accurate and precise predictive
capabilities and, in fact, is still “... an exercise in approximation” (Cairns 1991). The
practicality and attainability of restoration depend on many factors, including adequate tools, site-specific ecological conditions, social consent, legal authority, and
availability of resources i.e., personnel and funding. As with other water resource
management alternatives, restoration must address questions concerning practicality, predictability of outcomes, and overall effectiveness of specific technology.
Additionally, coastal ecological systems are complex and may take years to reach
equilibrium or fully demonstrate the effects of restoration and other management
activities, measuring results of restoration efforts may take a longer time than any
other method of treatment technologies.
14.2 Scope of Restoration
Coastal Wetland Restoration must consider all sources of factors on an ecosystem
and is therefore not restricted to any mitigation of impacts. The health and protection of a water body cannot be separated from the coastal ecosystem, and restoration
must address all coastal processes that degrade an ecological system, e.g., sediment
loading from littoral drift or development or increased polluted runoff from impervious areas. The intimate connection of rivers and estuaries is succinctly expressed
by Doppelt et al. (1993): Most people think of rivers simply as water flowing
through a channel. In the past 5–10 years many scientific studies and reports have
R. Manivanan
and the day come pure water is not available but recycled water is available for best
designated uses. This is a right time to restore the ecological status of the coastal
water body before contamination and erosion. Coastal wetland Restoration is solely
applicable to severely degraded ecosystems such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, streams,
oceans and coastal environment. Although it can be used as an effective tool to
return the degraded ecosystem to a pre-disturbance stage, coastal wetland restoration is also an important tool for preventing environmental degradation. Strengthening
structural and functional elements through restoration can be helped to improve a
coastal wetlands ecosystem’s health.
Coastal wetland restoration is the process of returning a damaged ecosystem to
its original condition prior to disturbance (Cairns 1991; Berger 1991). The longterm goal of restoration is to imitate an earlier natural, self-sustaining ecosystem
that is in equilibrium with the surrounding landscape (Berger 1991). A National
Research Council (NRC) report (1992) defines restoration technology as a holistic
process as follows:
Coastal restoration is the return of an ecosystem to a close approximation of its condition
prior to disturbance. In restoration, ecological damage to the resource is repaired. Both the
structure and the functions of the ecosystem are recreated. The goal is to emulate a natural,
functioning, self-regulating system that is integrated with the ecological landscape in which
it occurs.
Restoration is not yet a perfected approach with accurate and precise predictive
capabilities and, in fact, is still “... an exercise in approximation” (Cairns 1991). The
practicality and attainability of restoration depend on many factors, including adequate tools, site-specific ecological conditions, social consent, legal authority, and
availability of resources i.e., personnel and funding. As with other water resource
management alternatives, restoration must address questions concerning practicality, predictability of outcomes, and overall effectiveness of specific technology.
Additionally, coastal ecological systems are complex and may take years to reach
equilibrium or fully demonstrate the effects of restoration and other management
activities, measuring results of restoration efforts may take a longer time than any
other method of treatment technologies.
14.2 Scope of Restoration
Coastal Wetland Restoration must consider all sources of factors on an ecosystem
and is therefore not restricted to any mitigation of impacts. The health and protection of a water body cannot be separated from the coastal ecosystem, and restoration
must address all coastal processes that degrade an ecological system, e.g., sediment
loading from littoral drift or development or increased polluted runoff from impervious areas. The intimate connection of rivers and estuaries is succinctly expressed
by Doppelt et al. (1993): Most people think of rivers simply as water flowing
through a channel. In the past 5–10 years many scientific studies and reports have
R. Manivanan