Based on the understanding that it is urgent to regenerate, the first step is to admit that our mistaken perspective that nature is something outside, external or distant from us is what brought us here. The linear economic model, based on dominate-simplify-extract-produce-waste, has brought us to a reductionist relationship with the Earth, with other living beings and with everything we now call “natural resources”.
Instead of trying to impose our point of view, there is nothing more necessary than really “putting on the sandals of humility” and understanding once and for all that a system that has been in flux for billions of years, our planet, has more than tried and tested patterns, systems, cycles and processes. This nature, which we insist on treating as if it were something outside of us and at our service, is above all what makes it possible for us to remain here. It is the master of which we are fragments, not a servant at our disposal.
By changing the perspective of relations with the planet from linear to circular, we replace the extraction-exploitation-pollution perspective with regeneration, building natural capital by emulating natural systems and not imposing other forms of behavior on them. Today’s reality calls us to think beyond spontaneous regeneration, but rather to regenerate on a scale, because we need to stimulate and enhance results, in other words, we are talking about assisted regeneration.
Life as inspiration
It is now well known that life is organized into systems within larger systems. Cells are part of tissues, tissues are part of organs, organs part of organisms and living organisms part of ecosystems and social systems. This nested integral structure is inherent in all living systems and respecting this pattern is decisive if we are to think of projects capable of bringing about the necessary systemic transformation. Ecological principles and the fundamental patterns of nature teach us how interventions should be made in socio-ecological environments to re-establish the harmony that has been broken. Only from this perspective is it possible to work on regenerative development at scale.
Living systems are open systems that interact and co-evolve with their environment and, in this dynamic interdependence, the health of a system at any level necessarily influences the health of the whole. And this reciprocal pattern of relationships within and between different systems is never static. In this sense, regenerative development is a design process that aims to facilitate the emergence of health across scales for human and natural systems.
The name of the moment is Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) which, as the term itself says, include measures inspired by, supported by or copied from nature, seeking to meet environmental, social and economic objectives at the same time. It is an umbrella term, created by the European Union, which includes solutions that mimic natural processes, designed to be efficient, economically viable and capable of generating multiple benefits, such as biodiversity conservation, improved quality of life and community resilience. The aim is to manage natural resources, generating benefits for biodiversity in conjunction with solutions for socio-economic development and human well-being.
A concept aligned with SbN is Biomimetics, a branch of science that draws inspiration from nature’s strategies and solutions to apply them to projects in different sectors. This includes biology, design, architecture, engineering, medicine, agronomy and geosciences, among others. Biomimicry seeks to bring practical solutions to real everyday problems faced by people, places and organizations.
Ahe central idea of biomimicry is that nature has already solved many of the problems we are dealing with. Observing how she has found these solutions and understanding their operating principles can help humans evolve towards technologies that consume less energy, reduce the use of materials, reject the use of toxins, and work in a systemic rather than destructive way to create conditions conducive to life.
Paths exist (and I’ll talk about them below)
There are various paths that are based on nature so that we can adjust productive human systems, such as Permaculture, Agroforestry Systems, Agroecology and Syntropic Farming. Bioconstruction techniques are also a separate chapter, applied in these systems and in urban agglomerations. There are solutions! Let’s explore them!
PERMACULTURE
Permaculture consists of planning and implementing sustainable human settlements, combining ancestral practices with modern knowledge from the fields of agricultural sciences, engineering, architecture and social sciences, all approached from an integrated perspective. The term permaculture was coined in the 1970s in Australia by ecologists Bill Mollison and David Holmgren who, at the time, developed the concept “permanentagriculture“.
Over the years, the concept has expanded beyond agricultural practices and incorporated other areas, such as engineering, architecture and the social sciences, becoming known as permanentculture. This combination encourages the establishment of sustainable environments that meet basic human needs and the infrastructures that support them. The ethical principles of permaculture form a triad that complements each other. They are
- Caring for the earth so that all life systems continue and multiply
- Caring for people, enabling everyone to access the resources necessary for their existence
- Sharing surpluses, including knowledge, striving for parity
Permacultural systems bring together the most varied technologies for planning properties and communities, based on zoning and the use of technologies and techniques. Bioconstruction, compostable toilets, mandala gardens, herb spirals, animal tractors, biodigesters, green roofs, rainwater harvesting, alternative currencies, circular leadership, for example, are just a few examples of this varied menu of possibilities, which is progressively enriched and constantly evolving!
AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS
Agroforestry systems (SAFs) encompass forms of land use and management in which trees and/or shrubs are used in association with agricultural crops and/or animals in the same area, either simultaneously or in a temporal sequence:
- They combine the cultivation of trees and shrubs with food production
- Promote the recovery of degraded or poorly productive areas
- Improve the soil, microclimate and biodiversity
- Guarantee income over time for those who produce
- Based on the natural ecosystem
In the current context of urgent climate change mitigation, the search for effective and attractive large-scale alternatives, agroforestry also stands out for its high carbon sequestration potential, as well as its direct contribution to food security, equity and biodiversity, among other positive impacts.
AGROECOLOGY
Agroecology is a multidisciplinary field of knowledge, a science that studies and applies the concepts of ecology to the management of agroecosystems. Agroecosystems are not just agricultural systems, but all their relationships with the environmental and social aspects that depend on it and on which it itself depends. We must look at the relationship between the production system and its physical surroundings: the environment and human beings (producers, consumers, markets, communities, etc.).
Agroecology proposes cultivation and management capable of providing food production and environmental conservation, thus differing from the dominant orientation of agriculture with industrial production characteristics. It helps regenerate the soil, stimulates biodiversity, produces clean and fair food, and keeps nature, animals and people healthy. Based on the premises of Food Sovereignty and Security, it aims to ensure the quality of food from a safe source, from cultivation to consumption, promoting a cycle of benefits, from the rural producer to the final consumer.
Read also: Agroecology: welcoming and respecting the complexity of the world when it comes to production
SYNTROPIC AGRICULTURE
Syntropic agriculture, created by Ernst Götsch, also described as successional agroforestry, is, first and foremost, a change in perspective, a proposal for reading ecosystems, in which natural processes are translated into agricultural practices in terms of their form, function and dynamics. It materializes agricultural planting concomitant with the regeneration of ecosystems. It is agriculture based on processes, not inputs.
It allows regeneration through use, since the establishment of highly productive agricultural areas, which tend to be independent of inputs and irrigation, results in the provision of ecosystem services, with particular emphasis on soil formation, microclimate regulation and favoring the water cycle. Syntropy is directly related to natural succession and is therefore based on the natural processes of forest formation, with the aim of bringing agricultural systems closer to natural ecosystems.
Finally, the ways and knowledge to regenerate are already known! There is no shortage of resources. It’s the “money world” that needs to change its ways while there’s still time.
