security at risk (McIntyre et al. 2009). This is
largely due to human activity and significantly
attributed to unsustainable farming practices, and
in turn increases the impact of climate change by
compromising the ability of the environment to
mitigate climate disruption—with a rise in critical floods as well as droughts (Stringer 2008;
Montanarella 2007; FAO 2011). Proposed
strategies to improve unsustainable agricultural
practices are intended to mitigate detrimental
effects on the environment whilst improving
outcomes in productivity, socio-economics,
nutrition and health beyond current certified
organic or biodynamic farming (IPES Food
2016) and in alignment with the sustainability
concept People-Planet-Profits (United Nations
1987; Slaper and Hall 2011) and sustainable
development goals (SDGs, United Nations
2015). Given the magnitude of worldwide land
degradation (MEA 2005), the agricultural practice should not only change from ‘unsustainable’
systems to ‘sustainable’ systems that are ‘able to
last’ or ‘have the capacity to endure’, but it
should reach further towards ‘restorative’
1 or
‘regenerative’
2 processes that can be viewed as
more in tune with natural cycling processes
(Chabay et al. 2016; Rhodes 2015; Shepard
2013; Lyle 1994) and in line with SDGs, in
particular SDG 15, life on land, supporting also
SDG 2 (zero hunger) and SDG 6 (clean water
and sanitation) (UN 2015).
1.1 Permaculture and Agroecology
Regenerative processes are supported by a concept known as permaculture. ‘Permaculture’ is a
portmanteau word created from ‘permanent’ (for
‘lasting’) and ‘agriculture’ or ‘culture’. It was
coined in the late 1970s with the publication of
the book Permaculture One by Bill Mollison and
David Holmgren, advocating “…for an integrated, evolving system of perennial or selfperpetuating plant and animal species useful to
man” (Mollison and Holmgren 1978). Permaculture is a holistic approach to designing farming systems and human settlement, starting with
three ethical principles often referred to as Earth
Care, People Care and Fair Shares (setting limits
to growth and redistributing surplus). It focuses
on a holistic agroecosystem design process that
mimics nature (Mollison 1988). The framework
has been playing a key role in grassroots
engagement around social movements in transition to sustainability (Feola and Nunes 2014;
Santiago et al. 2017). Grassroots networks of
such social movements can be seen as agents of
change who act against environmental degradation by implementing innovative solutions to
pressing environmental problems and by
influencing institutions to speed up this process
(Ferguson and Lovell 2015). Such bottom-up
initiatives may be important allies in the combined effort to address land degradation—in
collaboration with governmental or intergovernmental approaches, thus making change processes more participatory and as such more
regenerative.
In terms of scope, permaculture has developed
to become possibly one of the most comprehensive sustainability frameworks devised so far
and avoids recommending or imposing specific
rules or practices, thus facilitating universal
applicability irrespective of local conditions such
as climate, geology or culture. Permaculture
embraces many themes as important elements in
‘the move beyond sustainability’, within systems
thinking approach as defined by the co-originator
of the permaculture concept (Holmgren 2011)—
for instance, land and nature stewardship, the
built environment, tools and technology, education and culture, health and spiritual well-being,
finances and economics or land tenure and
community governance. However, permaculture
is not a scientific discipline and existing literature
is mostly written by non-scientists for a popular
audience. It has only recently entered academic
discourse as one of the various movements
related to agroecology (Ferguson and Lovell
2013). The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) also lists
1
‘restore’ (v.) from Latin restaurare “repair, rebuild,
renew``. (Harper nd).
2
‘regenerate’ (v.) from Latin regenerare “bring into
existence again” (ibid.).
58
I. Fiebrig and M. Van De Wiel
largely due to human activity and significantly
attributed to unsustainable farming practices, and
in turn increases the impact of climate change by
compromising the ability of the environment to
mitigate climate disruption—with a rise in critical floods as well as droughts (Stringer 2008;
Montanarella 2007; FAO 2011). Proposed
strategies to improve unsustainable agricultural
practices are intended to mitigate detrimental
effects on the environment whilst improving
outcomes in productivity, socio-economics,
nutrition and health beyond current certified
organic or biodynamic farming (IPES Food
2016) and in alignment with the sustainability
concept People-Planet-Profits (United Nations
1987; Slaper and Hall 2011) and sustainable
development goals (SDGs, United Nations
2015). Given the magnitude of worldwide land
degradation (MEA 2005), the agricultural practice should not only change from ‘unsustainable’
systems to ‘sustainable’ systems that are ‘able to
last’ or ‘have the capacity to endure’, but it
should reach further towards ‘restorative’
1 or
‘regenerative’
2 processes that can be viewed as
more in tune with natural cycling processes
(Chabay et al. 2016; Rhodes 2015; Shepard
2013; Lyle 1994) and in line with SDGs, in
particular SDG 15, life on land, supporting also
SDG 2 (zero hunger) and SDG 6 (clean water
and sanitation) (UN 2015).
1.1 Permaculture and Agroecology
Regenerative processes are supported by a concept known as permaculture. ‘Permaculture’ is a
portmanteau word created from ‘permanent’ (for
‘lasting’) and ‘agriculture’ or ‘culture’. It was
coined in the late 1970s with the publication of
the book Permaculture One by Bill Mollison and
David Holmgren, advocating “…for an integrated, evolving system of perennial or selfperpetuating plant and animal species useful to
man” (Mollison and Holmgren 1978). Permaculture is a holistic approach to designing farming systems and human settlement, starting with
three ethical principles often referred to as Earth
Care, People Care and Fair Shares (setting limits
to growth and redistributing surplus). It focuses
on a holistic agroecosystem design process that
mimics nature (Mollison 1988). The framework
has been playing a key role in grassroots
engagement around social movements in transition to sustainability (Feola and Nunes 2014;
Santiago et al. 2017). Grassroots networks of
such social movements can be seen as agents of
change who act against environmental degradation by implementing innovative solutions to
pressing environmental problems and by
influencing institutions to speed up this process
(Ferguson and Lovell 2015). Such bottom-up
initiatives may be important allies in the combined effort to address land degradation—in
collaboration with governmental or intergovernmental approaches, thus making change processes more participatory and as such more
regenerative.
In terms of scope, permaculture has developed
to become possibly one of the most comprehensive sustainability frameworks devised so far
and avoids recommending or imposing specific
rules or practices, thus facilitating universal
applicability irrespective of local conditions such
as climate, geology or culture. Permaculture
embraces many themes as important elements in
‘the move beyond sustainability’, within systems
thinking approach as defined by the co-originator
of the permaculture concept (Holmgren 2011)—
for instance, land and nature stewardship, the
built environment, tools and technology, education and culture, health and spiritual well-being,
finances and economics or land tenure and
community governance. However, permaculture
is not a scientific discipline and existing literature
is mostly written by non-scientists for a popular
audience. It has only recently entered academic
discourse as one of the various movements
related to agroecology (Ferguson and Lovell
2013). The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) also lists
1
‘restore’ (v.) from Latin restaurare “repair, rebuild,
renew``. (Harper nd).
2
‘regenerate’ (v.) from Latin regenerare “bring into
existence again” (ibid.).
58
I. Fiebrig and M. Van De Wiel