Biodiversity loss and climate change mutually reinforce each other, and neither will be successfully resolved unless tackled together. Carbon sequestration projects remove excess carbon from the atmosphere, but will not necessarily halt or reverse human impacts on nature.

Ecological restoration is key to jointly tackling the twin environmental challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously restoring nature loss. As a large, sparsely populated, and politically stable country, Australia, and particularly Western Australia, which occupies a third of Australia’s landmass, is in a unique position to take advantage of major investment as the world pushes towards a carbon neutral and nature positive future. The restoration economy could be an important component of developing sustainable futures in Western Australia, but, until now, has been constrained by a lack of market analysis and evaluation.

The report identifies three key areas to advance the Western Australian Restoration Economy (WARE): expand, deliver and inform. Research, data, and digital tools and technology will be central to maximising the opportunity of the WARE with findings able to inform governance structures (through leadership, policy, and regulation) and support capacity building (through financial investment, education and training and quality and supply). A robust and enduring will require recognition as its own industry with associated strategies that support all actors involved. The multi-faceted nature of the WARE means that these strategies will need to be developed in collaboration with government agencies, industry and researchers.