Biomimicry … is learning from nature Subtopic: learning from relations and interactions Club of Amsterdam 23 februari 2012 Bowine Wijffels

Consultant ‘learning for sustainable development’ and ‘environmental education’. Trainer and former teacher biology/geography Specific interest: ‘patterns of interaction’

Real time business challenges The World is changing…. Economic recession and loss of stability Rapid market changes and quick cycles Environmental and social instability Open source, new media, networks and cooperations Today’s vocabulary… (in respons) Adaptive – Agility – Resilience - Networking Learning organisation – Interconnection Sustainable development.

Biomimicry = learning from nature an ecology of mind 1.On a individual level (Biomimicry of behaviour, structure and form). 2.On a level of groups and species (teams, family, colleagues). 3.On ecosystem level (organisations, cities, communities).

Ad 1 Fysical and individual (source: biomimicry.org) …housing …get a grip …cleaning a surface Using effective tools…

Ants: teamwork in bridging the gap Birds: temporary and shared leadership Bee’s: group communication about resources Ad 2 Coorperation in groups…

Accepted leadership A leader is accepted by the group when the leader; Is smart enough to lead the way. Is social enough to take care of the individuals in the group. Chimpansee politics - Frans de Waal De natuurlijk leider – Mark van Vugt

Sustainable principles of life… Basic principles Life creates conditions for life… Life develops and adapts. To understand these principles we need to: Accept the idea of interdependancy and see the whole (system).

System thinking? Observations: Change one player …and the achievements of the whole team change. The ‘loss’ of one member of the family … has an impact on all relationships. Add just a little more fish food …and the pond turns green. One organ is not functioning …and the whole is sick. We only know that we are part of a system when things are changing and moving…

Ad 3 learning from natural systems A variety of simple and complex systems

Characteristics of living (eco) systems Basic ingredients of systems are; Elements (physical parts) Connections (the interactions) Function (purpose) A system is more than the sum of the parts; interaction is vital The system purpose is usually: to sustain or survive (and every function is focussed on that). If it dies, it loses its system-ness.

Why are natural (eco)systems so different? De first time the word ecosystem was used by the English botanist A.C. Tansley, in 1935.

Because this is how they operate 1.Optimal use of nearby resources (sun, minerals, water or lack of these resources). 2.External cycli are fully integrated (cycli like: day and night, dry and wet, tide, seasons….). 3.It is stable and responds to external disturbance (stability through diversity and flexibility). 4.No central management but small teams and transparant communication (action and reaction based).

Natural systems are stable because they are resilient Engineering (operation) resilience: –The extent to which the system can respond to changes (back in balance). Ecological resilience: –The extent to which the system can change into another system (new balance).

Living system thinking Characteristics When living systems want to get stronger, they connect to more living things (diversity). Living systems grow in chaos and are self organising. Nature makes its most important connection at root level (underground). You can’t change a living system, all you can do is disturb it. The ‘best’ disturbances challenge the equilibrium and assumed order of the system. If we can re-engineer it, it’s probably already dead!

Model for organic leadership and innovative organisations

7 lessons for leaders in system change 1.To promote system change, foster community and cultivate networks. 2.Work at multiple levels of scale (Oakland strategy) 3.Make space for self organisation. 4.Seize breakthrough opportunities when they arise. 5.Facilitate change (but give up the idea that you can direct change). 6.Assume that change is going to take time. 7.Be prepared to be surprised.

Related initiatives Blue Economy Alliance The Natural Step Ellen MacArthur Foundation Biomimicry 3.8 C 2 C Circle Economy Living system thinking Anecologymind (5th of March)