Conservation-oriented restoration and its application to Central Asia

Continuing wide-scale habitat degradation and species extinctions indicate that existing plant conservation practices are inadequate and new approaches are needed. I briefly summarize the major principles of a previously proposed concept called conservation- oriented restoration and compare it with two other approaches to tackling ecosystems' degradation and biodiversity loss: traditional restoration and species-targeted conservation. I then present my perspective on how this concept can be applied in Central Asia as a possible solution to the regional biodiversity crisis.