Nature restoration legislation, implementation, and enforcement: status, challenges, and solutions for the Restocene

Introduction: The contribution outlines the rationale for a Special Issue and argues for a new epoch, the “Restocene.” Objective: The aim is to bring together innovative, groundbreaking, and policy-relevant perspectives on restoration laws and policies internationally, nationally, and locally. Methods: Mainly hermeneutic approaches to analyze articles describing and interpreting normative frameworks around the world. The papers were summarized and organized starting from the more general and conceptual to the more specific on certain ecosystem types, from terrestrial to aquatic environments. Findings: Restoration law and policy cannot be adequately understood through a single method, a single scale of analysis, or a single model of legal reasoning. Emerging trends are identified: First, there is growing recognition that nature restoration is a duty impending on the states. Second, it is not limited to recent damage whose cause is known. Third, restoration obligations can be implemented by administrative authorities and enforced in the courts. A clear and comprehensive legal framework can support effective restoration action on the ground. Legal scholarship remains crucial for clarifying the content, scope, and strength of restoration-related legal obligations. Finally, more than a simple technical response to ecological degradation, restoration may signal the emergence of a new epoch of human responsibility within the Anthropocene, which we propose to call the “Restocene.” Implications for Practice: Practical interpretation and implementation approaches are provided for multiple ecosystems from a diversity of legal perspectives, which can be useful for lawyers and non-lawyers. A research agenda for the “Restocene” is outlined from the contributions in this Special Issue.