Designer Ecosystems for the Anthropocene—Deliberately Creating Novel Ecosystems in Cultural Landscapes

Accepting that nature and culture are intricately co-evolved has profound implications for the ethical, legal, philosophical pragmatic dimensions of social environmental policy. The way we think about affects how understand manage ecosystems. While ideals preserving wilderness conserving ecosystems have motivated much conservation effort to date, achieving these may not be feasible under Anthropocene conditions unless communities accept custodial responsibilities landscapes other species. This paper’s origins in author’s work with Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council representing Indigenous traditional owners Australia’s Kimberley region. These landscapes, shaped by 60,000 years human occupation, interweave knowledge, laws governance regimes, material spiritual connections country. interweaving offers insights into options dealing humanity’s complex sustainability challenges. paper also draws on literature cultural ecological design, agroecology permaculture explore applying design as a planning problem-solving framework. concludes design-based approaches offer significant opportunities using science integrate production agricultural ways can meet needs while biodiversity climate change.