The power of biodiversity: feedback loops for positive change | Tom Crowther | TEDxPorto

Summary

This video highlights the importance of working with nature's feedback loops for sustainable change. It introduces Desta's coffee farm in Ethiopia, where the practice of integrating coffee cultivation with forest preservation improves productivity without harming ecosystems. It also explores how feedback loops in nature drive powerful processes, from the creation of stars to the regulation of climate. The video emphasizes how restoring biodiversity and ecosystems can combat climate change, showcasing local initiatives worldwide that are turning restoration into an economically sustainable option. By empowering local communities and connecting them through digital platforms like Restore, global-scale positive environmental changes become achievable.

Takeaways

• 😀 Coffee's origins in Ethiopia highlight the environmental challenges of modern coffee farming, where deforestation leads to ecosystem degradation and the need for increasing fertilizers and irrigation.
• 🌱 Desta, a farmer in Ethiopia, shows how working with nature—rather than against it—can improve agricultural productivity while preserving the environment, using coffee trees planted in a thriving forest ecosystem.
• 💧 By allowing coffee trees to grow in the forest's natural water and nutrient cycles, Desta eliminates the need for fertilizers or excessive irrigation, demonstrating a sustainable model for farming.
• 🐝 Desta's introduction of honeybees to pollinate the coffee plants not only increases yields by 30%, but also produces honey and wax, further contributing to the farm's sustainability.
• 🔄 Feedback loops, both positive and negative, shape the environment, economy, and human behavior. These loops drive processes like the formation of stars, the growth of human populations, and even the deterioration of ecosystems.
• 🌍 Biodiversity is key to a stable environment, where species depend on each other to thrive. Feedback loops within ecosystems, like those that regulate climate, demonstrate the interconnectedness of life.
• 🔥 Human exploitation of the environment is disrupting natural feedback loops, causing ecosystem degradation, deforestation, and climate change, which creates new feedback loops accelerating the problem.
• 🌳 Global efforts to protect and regenerate ecosystems can capture significant amounts of carbon, with potential to counteract climate change, as demonstrated by the possibility of planting a trillion new trees.
• 💡 Local empowerment is crucial for successful ecological restoration. Platforms like 'Restore' connect communities to map, monitor, and collaborate on restoration projects, fostering a bottom-up approach.
• 🌏 When nature becomes an economically viable option for local communities, positive feedback loops begin to form, creating a cycle of nature protection that leads to greater sustainability and community development.
• 🌿 A collective global movement, where billions of people engage in positive feedback loops, can drive transformative environmental change, making restoration efforts not only possible but likely.

Q & A

What is the primary issue with traditional coffee farming in Ethiopia?

The primary issue with traditional coffee farming in Ethiopia is the depletion of ecosystems due to deforestation. As the forest is cleared to make room for coffee trees, farmers rely heavily on fertilizers and irrigation to maintain the crops, which further degrades the land and leads to diminishing productivity over time.

How does Desta’s coffee farm differ from traditional coffee farming methods?

Desta's coffee farm differs by working with the forest rather than clearing it. He plants native coffee plants within the forest, utilizing the natural ecosystem to provide water and nutrients. This eliminates the need for fertilizers and irrigation, creating a healthier environment and improving productivity.

What role do honeybees play on Desta’s farm?

Honeybees on Desta’s farm help pollinate the coffee plants, which increases the coffee yields by up to 30%. They also produce honey and wax, providing additional income for the farm.

What is a feedback loop, and how does it relate to the coffee farming example?

A feedback loop is a process where an action causes an effect that then reinforces that action, creating a self-sustaining cycle. In the coffee farming example, Desta’s practice of planting coffee in a thriving forest creates a positive feedback loop: a healthy forest leads to better coffee production, which in turn promotes further forest health.

What is the connection between feedback loops and the creation of stars in the universe?

The creation of stars is driven by gravitational feedback loops. When atoms cluster together, gravity pulls more atoms towards them, leading to larger clusters and more gravity, which eventually leads to the formation of stars. This is an example of how feedback loops can lead to exponential growth in natural systems.

How do feedback loops influence human behavior, particularly in the context of wealth inequality?

Feedback loops can create reinforcing cycles, such as the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Wealth accumulates for those with initial advantages, reinforcing their ability to gain more wealth, while those without wealth struggle to access resources, perpetuating inequality.

Why is biodiversity important for regulating the climate?

Biodiversity is important because diverse ecosystems lock away carbon in the long term, contributing to a more stable climate. A greater variety of species enhances the resilience of ecosystems, helping to regulate and stabilize climate conditions.

What are some of the negative feedback loops currently threatening ecosystems?

Negative feedback loops currently threatening ecosystems include soil microorganisms releasing more carbon dioxide as temperatures rise, which accelerates climate change. Other examples include melting ice reducing reflectivity, leading to more heat absorption, and drier forests increasing the risk of wildfires, which further degrades the environment.

What is the significance of the global study on tree density?

The study on tree density revealed that there is room for a trillion new trees to recover naturally outside urban and agricultural lands, which could capture up to 30% of the excess carbon released into the atmosphere. This highlights the potential of nature-based solutions to combat climate change.

How does the Restore platform support ecological restoration efforts?

The Restore platform helps facilitate thousands of ecological restoration projects globally by providing ecological data, monitoring carbon and water storage, and connecting local communities and restoration practitioners. It enables collaboration, visibility, and access to funding and resources, helping projects gain momentum and achieve success.