Design and evaluate a community-based urban wetland restoration plan

Thesis Abstract

Urban wetlands within rapidly expanding cities provide essential ecosystem services, yet threats from urbanisation, pollution, and insufficient stakeholder engagement compromise wetland integrity and community benefits. This study addresses the gap between restoration theory and real-world community uptake by designing and evaluating a community-based urban wetland restoration plan that integrates ecological restoration with local governance, social participation, and risk reduction. The aim is to develop a scalable restoration framework that delivers measurable ecological improvements while enhancing community ownership and long-term maintenance. Specific objectives are (1) diagnose ecological and social baselines of the target urban wetland site, (2) co-create a restoration plan with residents, local businesses, and schools using participatory action research, (3) implement restoration interventions comprising wetland regrading, native vegetation planting, water-quality enhancements, and the establishment of a community stewardship program, (4) evaluate ecological outcomes using hydrological indicators, water quality metrics, and biodiversity surrogates, (5) assess social outcomes via participation rates, knowledge gains, and perceived stewardship, and (6) generate a theory-informed, transferable framework for community-based urban wetland restoration. The study adopts a mixed-methods design under a pragmatic research paradigm. The population comprises stakeholders linked to the urban wetland and surrounding neighbourhoods (n?1,200 households, 25 local organisations). A stratified random sample of 400 residents will be surveyed to quantify baseline attitudes, willingness to participate, and perceived ecosystem services, while 60 participants will engage in in-depth interviews and focus groups to capture experiential insights and governance dynamics. Ecological assessments will be conducted pre- and post-intervention over 24 months, including hydrological measurements (water table fluctuations, lateral drainage patterns), water-quality tests (nutrient concentrations, turbidity, dissolved oxygen), and biodiversity surveys (avifauna, amphibians, and macrophyte diversity indices). Restoration interventions will be designed in collaboration with a Technical Steering Committee and implemented in two phased cycles, with a mid-term process evaluation. Instruments include structured household surveys, semi-structured interview guides, focus group protocols, water-quality meters, and standardized biodiversity survey checklists. Validity and reliability will be ensured through pilot testing, triangulation, and inter-observer calibration; thematic analysis will be applied to qualitative data, while ecological data will be analysed through repeated-measures ANOVA and generalized linear models to detect changes over time and across subgroups. Key expected ecological findings include improved hydrological retention, reduced nutrient inflows by at least 25%, higher native plant cover surpassing 60% of the plant community, and increased bird and amphibian species richness by 15–20% relative to baseline. Social findings are anticipated to show rising participation from 12% to 40% of residents within communities adjacent to the wetland, increased knowledge of wetland services by 30–40 percentage points, and stronger perceived sense of place and stewardship. The study will operationalise and test a theoretical framework that integrates weberian concepts of legitimacy with community-based conservation theories and resilience thinking, drawing on two established theories Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation to guide governance engagement and the Social-Ecological System (SES) resilience framework to interpret feedback loops between ecological restoration and community dynamics. The contribution to knowledge lies in delivering a rigorously evaluated, replicable design for urban wetland restoration that foregrounds community governance. It advances integration of ecological restoration with participatory planning, provides empirical evidence on social-ecological outcomes of community-based restoration, and yields a transferable framework for cities seeking nature-based solutions that align ecological gains with social empowerment. Policy relevance includes guidance on co-management structures, funding models for community stewardship, and monitoring protocols that balance scientific robustness with pragmatic community engagement. The main conclusion will indicate whether the integrated restoration plan produced both ecological improvements and enhanced social capital within the 24-month horizon, and whether the participatory process mitigated conflicts among stakeholders. Recommendations will include scalable governance arrangements, incentivisation for ongoing community involvement, adaptive management cycles, and guidelines for incorporating similar urban wetland projects into municipal climate resilience strategies.