Welcome to Gaiacene
Cultivating the vision of Gaiacene
Gaiacene is a visionary geological epoch where humans thrive as stewards and beneficiaries of ecological abundance. Gaiacene therefore offers an alternative to Anthropocene. Where the latter seeks to describe the onset of significant human impact on the planetary systems, Gaiacene is brought to life through unleashing the full agency of humans to build and enjoy ecological abundance.
At the core of Gaiacene Labs is the undivided trust in the human capacity for problem solving. Humans are innovative, adaptive and enormously creative when we set our minds to it. Our thoughts are immensely powerful.
Yet, in a world dominated by environmental degradation and climate change it is easy to get stuck in problem thinking -this cripples the human capacity for mighty solutions thinking. According to established Cognitive Behavioral Therapy models, our thoughts determine how we feel, and subsequently our decisions and our actions.
At Gaiacene Labs, we believe that in order to unlock the full potential of the human capacity to safeguard life on Earth, our minds and thoughts need redirecting towards the positive outcomes we want for ourselves. We need to cultivate feelings of hope and joy in order to direct the focus of our creative power to the world we wish to build. Our work is therefore designed to steer the conversation towards the socio-ecological future we aspire, Gaiacene.
Aspiring for ecological abundance
The natural world is our bank, the ecosystems our capital stock, generating an annual interest, or services, to support human activities. These services enable essential human benefits such as clean drinking water, timber, textile, climate regulation, crop production, storm protection, and oxygen production. Ecosystem services are crucial to everyone’s well-being, regardless of where they live, all the time, and not only for individuals and communities but for entire nations and businesses, either directly or indirectly through supply chains.
Wetland ecosystems, for example, provide worldwide services worth trillions of USD to humans; every year, according to Ramsar. Their services range from removal of particulate matter, nutrients, and toxicants, to offering habitat for diverse wildlife, to name a few. It is also wetlands that help protect us from floods, landslides, and storms.
Sites with abundant wetlands, such as river valleys and coastal plains, have supported ancient human civilizations for over 6000 years. Today, businesses, cities and policy makers are increasingly recognizing the value of wetlands for benefits such as, but not limited to, climate impact mitigation and cost-effective water treatment.
Farming benefits from a myriad of ecosystem services. For example, the majority of the world's crops is directly dependent on pollination services, which can also help increase crop yield. The economic worth of global pollination services has been estimated to around 150 billion USD annually and investments in biodiversity and ecosystem services near cultivations can therefore safeguard agricultural systems while also boosting natural pest control and reduce vulnerability to disease.
The examples are countless, ranging from fishery nurseries to flood protection. As stewards we can strengthen and secure these gains from the natural world. However, the benefits extend beyond material values to also include emotional healing and well-being.
Spiritual enrichment makes it personal
Experiencing nature can alleviate feelings of anger, fear, and stress, fostering a sense of tranquility and happiness. Particularly, the sensation of awe experienced in nature can be transformative for our inner emotional well-being.
“We can quiet that nagging voice of the interfering neurotic simply by locating ourselves in contexts of more awe.”
Awe and exposure to nature do not just improve emotional states; they also contribute to physical health by lowering blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and stress hormone production. This in turn saves costs for illnesses and disease. Furthermore, in times of increased division and crisis, the need for awe and its unifying, healing power is more pressing than ever.
The emotional and health benefits from nature are therefore profound and worthy of equal recognition alongside material values. Most notably, the emotional dimension of ecological stewardship makes it a positive personal experience.
While we may indirectly reap material benefits, the emotional values can only stem from a direct and personal connection with the natural world, whether in a forest, park or through visual scenery.
The equal inclusion of the inner emotional dimension alongside the material, consequently fosters a genuine and positive motivation for promoting ecological abundance. Such ecological stewardship stands solid because intentions and actions are anchored within individuals and builds a Gaiacene future from the inside and out.
The power of small-scale
In addition to fostering ecological stewardship from the inside and out, socio-ecological agency is more likely to lead to true and lasting positive change when designed to serve the aspirations of local players.
This grassroots-up approach calls for a greater appreciation of the smaller scale. When small is the outcome of local advocacy, incentivized and rooted at the household or community level, it is more likely to generate significant and long-lasting impact in that local context.
Small-scale efforts of positive ecosystem stewardship may initially fall under the radar. However, together and, at a certain point, several smaller efforts can manage to transform an entire system into a significantly higher level of socio-ecological abundance. This hypothesis forms the very core of Gaiacene Labs mission and approach.
System change into increased abundance
According to Gaiacene Labs, socio-ecological systems exhibit the capacity for non-linear shifts into higher order when subjected to positive influences. This suggests that resilience theory presents an opportunity to be harnessed and can contribute to positive ecosystem change.
Resilience theory delves into the dynamics behind ecosystem changes resulting from exposure to external factors. Initially, an ecosystem absorbs new influences, but it eventually reaches a threshold at which significant change occurs. This point is referred to as the ecosystem's threshold.
“When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order”
This supports the argument for leveraging positive tipping points through multiple small-scale efforts of socio-ecological abundance that collectively contribute to upgrading an entire system into a new state characterized by increased ecological abundance.
As such, rooting from the ground up is not exclusive to large scale impact, in fact it is a prerequisite for bringing the vision of Gaiacene to life.