Let’s make some connections between sustainability, regenerative agriculture (both covered in this chapter), and environmental sociology, covered in Chapter 2. Environmental sociology acknowledges that environment and society can only be understood in relation to each other (McCarthy and King 2009:1). This area of sociology also acknowledges that people are responsible for the world’s environmental problems. Therefore, we have both the ability and the responsibility to address them. The sustainability movement emerged as an expression of that responsibility, and regenerative agriculture is one activity of that movement.

As we explored in the previous section, Indigenous worldviews have always acknowledged our environmental responsibility. The “modern” concepts of sustainability and regenerative agriculture are simply the ways that Indigenous systems have operated for millennia. But Indigenous belief systems take an understanding of our relationship with nature further. They express an intimate, interconnected worldview that allows humans to carry out our ecological role as part of the whole. As Tania Roa describes in the Chapter Story:

Because we are only one species of many on this planet, we cannot carry natural cycles on our own. And so we know that we have to connect with other species to carry out the balance of earth’s ecosystem (“How to Protect People and Planet” 2023).

Watch the 5-minute video from Tania Roa (figure 10.53) to hear more from her about our ecological role, projects that are demonstrating this role, and how we can participate. She introduces the ecosystem restoration movement, which aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems.

Roa also introduces some very recent examples from Colombia. It’s a country challenged by ecological changes, like rapidly increasing deforestation, but it hosts an extraordinarily committed civil society working to address them. As you watch, consider: Why is eco-restoration an important strategy for our environmental concerns? How might eco-restoration address climate injustice?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJzV0Ghhd44

Licenses and Attributions for Making Connections: Regeneration and Collaboration

Open Content, Original

“Making Connections: Regeneration and Collaboration” by Aimee Samara Krouskop is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Figure 10.53. Tania Roa, Climate Justice Advocate by Aimee Krouskop is licensed CC BY 4.0.