8 May 2013 Dear colleagues, Ecological restoration was recently recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity as a key activity to reverse degradation globally. As many (both large and small-scale) restoration programs are being implemented across the world, many of which are located in developing countries, governance is a key component during planning and implementation1. In particular (i) the involvement of NGOs, private companies and governments alone or in various combinations and in different dimensions (technical, regulatory); (ii) the increasing importance of national and international investment promoted through global initiatives; and (iii) the role of national and global policy instruments and legal frameworks in ensuring the permanence of restored forests, have all received little attention in the tropical forest restoration literature. As an effort to shed further light into the role of governance in shaping tropical forest restoration outcomes, we are planning a Special Issue to be published in the open access journal Forests (www.mdpi.com/journal/forests) under the broad theme of "Governing Tropical Forest Restoration" ( Governance is defined here as a set of formal and informal institutional arrangements constructed by a combination of actors (public and private), driven by a common purpose, able to shape commonly agreed rules and to generate the necessary resources to make these rules work.) We are soliciting original contributions revolving on the following (somewhat interrelated) topics: 1. The environmental and socioeconomic consequences (and effectiveness) of policies, rules, norms and regulations in fostering the practice of tropical forest restoration. 2. The extent to which the interests of private landowners are affected positively or negatively by rules, norms and regulations governing the practice of tropical forest restoration. 3. The role of incentives, provision of technical guidance and related supportive measures. 4. How supply chains (nurseries, seed banks) are affected--either negatively or positively--in response to forest restoration policies and the consequences, if any, for the in situ conservation of restoration germplasm. 5. Environmental outcomes as they relate to before-after policy implementation. 6. Technical and biophysical constraints (and opportunities) in achieving restoration goals/targets as they relate to current policy implementation. 7. Genesis, evolution and status of multistakeholder platforms and/or associations in promoting forest restoration including current challenges for effective action. 8. Effectiveness and efficiency of government-led funding mechanisms for large scale restoration and/or reforestation including national or provincial schemes. 9. Capacity building and training needs for effective implementation of policies, rules, norms and regulations (local, national) on forest restoration: status, trends and challenges. 10. Lessons on the role of ecological research in informing (or not) forest restoration policy. Gaps and needs. 11. How national discourses and national policy (e.g., national restoration targets, or how the practice of restoration is framed to the wider public) influence tropical forest restoration practice. We are looking for papers with a clear analytical approach while emphasizing lessons learned, constraints, opportunities and challenges, and ways forward. Papers can take the form of either original research (country case studies) or topical reviews. Papers will go through the normal peer-review process of the journal (the journal became recently indexed in ISI-Thompson). Proposed timeline 31 December 2013 -- Deadline for first submission of manuscript draft for peer review. 31 March 2014 -- Deadline for submission of revised manuscript draft. If you are interested and most importantly, your schedule permits submitting a draft for peer review by the above date, please send to both of us a 150 word abstract, author(s) name(s) and affiliation(s) by May 30th 2013. Looking forward to receiving your contributions! Sincerely, Manuel R. Guariguata Center for International Forestry Research Bogor, Indonesia Email: m.guariguata(a)cgiar.org Pedro H. ------------------------------------------------- Daniela Kleinschmit Assoc. Professor Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Unit of Forest Policy PO Box 7008, SE-75007 Uppsala Visiting address: Vallvägen 9C Phone: +46 18 672493 Mobile: +46 72 5867588 daniela.kleinschmit(a)slu.se, www.slu.se<http://www.slu.se/>