# Introduction 1. Introduction 27 1.1 The state of the planet 28 1.2 The polycrisis and collapse 31 1.3 A turning point for the Earth and the financial sector 33 1.4 Moving beyond closing the “nature finance gap” 35 -> 1. Introduction We are living in the midst of widespread and recognized destruction of the living world. The ecological crisis, the crisis faced by Indigenous nations, multiple geopolitical crises, the economic crisis, the refugee and migrant crisis, the energy crisis, the inequity crisis, and social crises are deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing. In face of this “polycrisis,” a key realization is now spreading: the global economy cannot survive the ecological and social destabilization on the horizon. This recognition among economic and financial policymakers, the financial sector, and real sector corporations marks a shift away from the false, myopic, and devastating view that the economy is separate from the biosphere. Developing modes of being aligned with Indigenous values in rallying communities to respond in service to life will be key in adapting humanity’s response to the polycrisis. As awareness and understanding grow, and regulatory pressure increases, actors from across the financial sector are beginning to direct financial capital towards supporting biocultural regeneration. While on the surface this might seem Biocultural regeneration – promising, there is significant risk that if these resources flow through the existing A holistic and interconnected financial architecture, they could lead to further commodification, privatization, approach to revitalizing and restoring ecosystems, financialization, and centralization of natural assets and wealth. The structural biodiversity, and cultural characteristics of the economy that are driving the crisis have remained largely practices in a given spatial unaddressed. Therefore, closing the “nature finance gap” alone is not sufficient. context. It recognizes the Where those resources are spent, how financing is structured, and who gets interdependence of nature to make those decisions is as important as the quantum of capital. In particular, and culture, emphasizing the how those resources support the transformation of systems, relationships, and importance of Indigenous and traditional knowledge worldviews will determine whether they are successful in addressing the ecological and practices in stewarding crisis and polycrisis that we collectively face. ecosystems. Broadly speaking, regeneration is the process of a system regaining its needed energies, resources,  1. Introduction  1. Introduction 1.1 The state of the planet We are living in the midst of widespread and recognized destruction of the living world. The scale and causes of this destruction are widely known and well-docu- mented: approximately 75 percent of the Earth’s ice-free land surface and 66 per- cent of its marine environment have been significantly altered as of 201912, and at least 20 percent of its land surface is now degraded13. The average global popula- tions of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians declined by 68 percent from 1970 to 2016, with South America seeing a 94 percent decline14. Nearly 1 million animal and plant species (of 8 million recorded species) are now threatened with extinction;15 extinction rates are tens to hundreds of times higher than they aver- aged over the past 10 million years.16 2023 was the warmest year in the 174-year observational record, with the global mean near-surface temperature reaching approximately 1.40 (± 0.12) °C above the 1850–1900 average17. A recent study found that the Atlantic meridional over- turning circulation (AMOC), or the Atlantic Ocean current, is showing early signs of collapse18. The global pollution crisis has escalated to unprecedented levels, as evidenced by the ubiquitous occurrence of microplastics. These microplastics have been detected in clouds, aquifers, bottled water19, and even in the human placen- ta,20 representing what has been called a “slow-motion oil spill” through all the waters on Earth.21 Additionally, research shows that per- and polyfluoroalkyl sub- stances (PFAS) or resistant “forever chemicals,” widely used in consumer products, are constantly cycling through the ground, air, and water and can now be found in even the most remote regions on Earth.22 14 of the 18 assessed categories of eco- system services have deteriorated since 197023 and 6 of 9 planetary boundaries have now been exceeded.24 Approximately 1.7 Earths would be required to maintain the world’s current living standards with current economic systems.25 Humanity’s demands far exceed the Earth’s ability to meet them, and this gap is widening. 12 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, 2019): Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services. 13 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCDD): Global Land Outlook 2nd Edition 14 World Wildlife Fund.: Living planet report 15 IPBES, 2019 16 Pimm et al.: The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection 17 World Meteorological Organization (WMO): 2023 Shatters Climate Records, With Major Impacts 18 Westen, Kliphuis, and Dijkstra: Physics-based early warning signal shows that AMOC is on tipping course 19 National Public Radio: Researchers find a massive number of plastic particles in bottled water 20 Ragusa et al.: Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta 21 Ocean Conservancy: Plastic Pollution is like a Slow-Motion Oil Spill 22 Stockholm University: It’s raining PFAS: even in Antarctica and on the Tibetan plateau rainwater is unsafe to drink. 23 IPBES, 2019 24 Richardson et al.: It’s raining PFAS: even in Antarctica and on the Tibetan plateau rainwater is unsafe to drink. 25 Global Footprint Network  Planetary boundaries – A scientific framework that presents a set of nine biophysical thresholds (shown below), “within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come.” Crossing boundaries increases the risk of generating large- scale abrupt or irreversible ecological changes.26 Figure 1. Planetary boundaries 2009 2015 2023 7 boundaries assessed, 7 boundaries assessed, 9 boundaries assessed, 3 crossed 4 crossed 6 crossed Building on the planetary boundaries framework, the Doughnut Model27 (see Figure 2.) by Kate Raworth argues that a safe and just operating space for humanity is not only constrained by ecological ceilings but also a social foundation that needs to be sufficiently strengthened to reach sustainable prosperity. The social foundation, according to Raworth, comprises 12 factors: Food Security, Health, Education, Income and Work, Peace and Justice, Political Voice, Social Equity, Gender Equality, Housing, Networks, Energy, and Water. The social factors are more difficult to measure quantitatively on a planetary scale. Hence, the Doughnut Model is often used for local or place-based rather than planetary analyses. Figure 2. The Doughnut Model 26 Stockholm Resilience Center: Planetary Boundaries 27 Doughnut Economics Action Lab: About Doughnut Economics The authors feel a profound sense of loss as we continue to witness the destruction Indigenous – Produced, of the interconnected web of irreplaceable, intelligent life that took billions of years growing, living, or occurring to evolve. We increasingly live in and visit places where what we each hold sacred natively or naturally in a particular region or seems to be disappearing. The authors believe that Indigenous peoples have a criti- environment.28 cal role to play in leading not only ecological regeneration, but also in cultural regen- eration – helping humanity to reconnect with our role as planetary stewards. Indigenous peoples – A term holding immense complexity that is best defined within specific context.29 However, “There are no unsacred places; for general interpretation there are only sacred places throughout this book, and desecrated places.” we suggest the term be understood as members “of a – Wendell Berry community retaining memories of life lived sustainably on a land-base, as part of that land- Indigenous peoples are stewarding an estimated 80 percent of the world’s base,”30 particularly peoples biodiversity on only 20 percent of the world’s land,34 and are often doing so without practicing non-colonial knowledge systems rooted in land tenure and under constant threat from extractive interests.35 They continue relationships of reciprocity with to face systemic racism, oppression, and economic inequity. And yet, they act as more-than-human life, and stewards of ecosystems that provide essential ecological services underpinning as a term of self-identification the foundations of the modern world (e.g. biodiversity conservation – including of used by those with “a special life-saving medicines, evapotranspiration, carbon storage, and broader climate relationship with their regulation).36 These services are being consumed by high-income individuals and traditional territory and an experience of subjugation people living in high-income countries at a significantly higher per capita rate than and discrimination under a peoples practicing traditional or Indigenous ways of life. dominant cultural model.”31 Access to resources, tools, and technologies by Indigenous peoples to support their Note: In some geographic well being (including formal education and modern healthcare) often comes with contexts, ‘First Nations’ is used pressure to enter into capitalist systems and compromise their ways of life.37 The as a more specific term.32 pressure of capitalism on Indigenous communities has often stoked violence. An estimated 1,910 environmental defenders have been killed since 2012 – many of More-than-human life – whom were Indigenous.38 Very few jurisdictions require companies that operate in A phrase that intentionally or near Indigenous territories (particularly in the Global South) to obtain free, prior, values all living beings and and informed consent for commercial activities affecting these peoples, or to apply elements of the natural the principles laid out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous world as interconnected and integral to life. This concept Peoples (UNDRIP) as part of their supply chain due diligence.39 emphasizes the agency, consciousness, and relational significance of non-human entities. 28 Merriam-Webster: Indigenous Biodiversity – Biodiversity 29 We encourage great care with this term and caution against simplistic categorizations that ignore historical contexts or biological diversity is the of interrelatedness between peoples, and between all peoples and the entire land-base of Earth. We encourage deep variety and variability of life listening and relationship-building with sources of Indigenous knowledge and dialogue in your contexts. on Earth. Biodiversity is a 30 This quotation is sourced from Tyson Yunkaporta’s book Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World, measure of variation at the which is an excellent resource for engaging with the depth and complexity of this term. 31 Wikipedia: Indigenous peoples genetic (genetic variability), 32 ‘First Nations’ is often used to identify Indigenous peoples of Canada (who are neither Inuit nor Métis) and to species (species diversity), identify people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British and ecosystem (ecosystem colonization. diversity) level.33 33 UNEP: What is biodiversity? 34 UN Convention of Biological Diversity: Indigenous Communities Protect 80% Of All Biodiversity 35 International Institute for Sustainable Development: Indigenous Peoples: Defending an Environment for All and "Who Owns the World's Land?" 36 FAO and FILAC: Forest governance by Indigenous and tribal peoples 37 Atossa Soltani of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance speaks about this in the following interview: Ma Earth. Biocultural Jaguar Credits. 38 In 2012 Global Witness started tracking this type of violence. 39 Mongabay: International hesitancy to adopt environmental regulations threatens Indigenous rights 1.2 The polycrisis and collapse The world right now is characterized by a number of deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing crises, which together are driving the unfolding phenomenon increasingly referred to as “the polycrisis”. Some of these are: — the ecological crisis, encompassing climate change, biodiversity collapse, soil degradation, the pollution crisis, and water and food scarcity; — the crisis faced by Indigenous nations as they continue to be subjected to harm and disempowerment perpetrated by settler colonialism and corporations; — multiple geopolitical crises, including ongoing genocide, famine, wars, energy security, and nuclear risk; — the economic crises of persistent poverty, extreme inequality, and ballooning sovereign debt — the refugee and migrant crisis; — the risk of exponential technological development, such as artificial intelligence, gene editing, synthetic biology, and novel chemical manufacturing creating unintended catastrophic consequences — social crises, including the anxiety, depression, and loneliness spreading predominantly in high income countries; and — health crises, including pandemics, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. The authors believe that these are signs that Gaia is not healthy. The Gaia hypothesis, first published by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in 1979, postulates that the Earth's surface is maintained in a habitable state by self-regulating feedback mechanisms involving organisms (including humans) tightly coupled with their environment. Through this lens, Gaia is understood as a single, global entity that keeps the conditions on the planet within boundaries that are favorable to life.40 The polycrisis can then be understood as self-regulatory feedback to humanity – Polycrisis – “A time of great the species currently most responsible for deteriorating conditions for life and also disagreement, confusion, or suffering that is caused capable of perceiving this feedback in its culture – that urgent change in human- by many different problems made systems is required. happening at the same time so that they together have a In recent years, warnings of systemic collapse of various forms (e.g. civilizational, very big effect,” (Cambridge economic, ecological, social, political) have been growing in number and urgency Dictionary, n.d.). Polycrisis is often used interchangeably from a diversity of scientists, complex systems modelers, historians, and social with “Metacrisis”, although philosophers.42 Acknowledging the wide range of definitions for collapse, predicted some assert that “meta-” offers timelines, and rigor of study, the authors take the general message as credible: a preferable distinction by a continuation of “business as usual” is very likely to soon trigger dramatic and denoting the interdependence (rather than mere multiplicity) of crises and the worldviews/ 40 The Gaia Hypothesis is based on several observations: values that may be generating – The atmosphere is in an extreme state of thermodynamic disequilibrium owing to the activities of life, yet aspects these crises.41 of its composition are remarkably stable. – Present conditions at the surface of the Earth are close to optimal for the dominant organisms. – Life has persisted for over 3.8 billion years despite increasing solar luminosity and variable exchange of matter with the inner Earth. – The Earth system has repeatedly recovered from massive perturbations. (Science Direct: Gaia Hypothesis - an overview) 41 Rowson, Jonathan: Prefixing the World 42 The 1972 Limits to Growth report by The Club of Rome is considered a major starting point of this vast conversation. The report discussed results from complex systems dynamics modeling of 12 scenarios that showed different possible patterns—and environmental outcomes—of world development over two centuries from 1900 to 2100, including a “business as usual” scenario leading to collapse in the first half of the 21st century. See Donella Meadows (2002): A Synopsis: Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update and The Club of Rome (2022): The Limits to Growth+50 for updated modeling and reflections. catastrophic changes in our social, economic, and ecological systems, and the arrival of the polycrisis may signify that this process has already begun. However, we believe it is ethically essential to frame any discussion of collapse within the understanding that this phenomenon has already been, and is currently being, experienced by many human and more-than-human communities as a result of More-than-human – A phrase dominant social and economic systems and the worldviews driving them. Some that intentionally values all of the ways collapse has already been experience include: genocide, forced living beings and elements of the natural world as migration, slavery, mass slaughter of animals like the buffalo, destruction of primary interconnected and integral to forest, river damming, decimation of insect populations, coral reef bleaching, life. This concept emphasizes political re-education, strategic cultural destruction, institutional racism, structural the agency, consciousness, disadvantage of certain populations (particularly Indigenous and Afro-descendent and relational significance of peoples), water and air pollution, and oil spills among others. non-human entities. Worldview – “A set of In this book we primarily focus on the ecological crisis and those aspects of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially the polycrisis most closely linked to it: importantly the continued crisis faced by true or entirely false) which Indigenous communities, who are the most important stewards of the world’s we hold (consciously or biodiversity and hold the knowledge needed to enable humanity to return to a 'right subconsciously, consistently or relationship' with the Earth.44 However, we do so with the understanding that these inconsistently) about the basic aspects of the polycrisis are not separable from others, and with the hope that the makeup of our world.”43 proposals we offer hold potential for supporting communities in simultaneously Right relationship/ right and synergistically addressing the set of challenges they face through pathways of relation –As an aspirational biocultural regeneration, whether within a context of collapse or not. quality or state of relationality that can only be encountered in a unique web of relations and biocultural understanding, it is not possible to offer a comprehensive and specific definition of this term. Generally, however, “right relationship” connotes a harmonious way of relating that is active, reciprocal, consensual, and sustainable (or regenerative) across dimensions of past, present, and future, with respect to humans, more-than-human- life, lands, and waters. The term is most often used to refer to Indigenous ways of relating. Therefore, we recommend learning about relationality directly from Indigenous sources and relationships, as translation across languages and worldviews risks eroding its essential meaning. 43 Definition by James Sire, referenced in D.C. Wahl: Design for human and planetary health: a transdisciplinary approach to sustainability. 44 See Wildcat and Voth: Indigenous relationality: definitions and methods and Armstrong et al.: Ethnoecological perspectives on environmental stewardship: Tenets and basis of reciprocity in Gitxsan and nłeʔkepmx (Nlaka'pamux) Territories for thorough explorations of relationality and reciprocity. 1.3 A turning point for the Earth and the financial sector “The world is a complex, interconnected, finite, ecological - social - psychological - economic system. We treat it as if it were not, as if it were divisible, separable, simple, and infinite. Our persistent, intractable global problems arise directly from this mismatch.” – Donella Meadows The scale, scope, and severity of the ecological crisis are so significant that it has proven overwhelming to every individual, institution, nation, or coalition of actors that has attempted to address it so far – no matter how bold their aspirations. Over the past 60 years,45 there have been numerous instances where optimism soared, influential individuals gathered with noble intentions, apparent progress was made – and yet the relentless extraction and destruction of the natural world persists. Recent years, however, have witnessed a consequential shift in the environmental movement. After decades during which policy and funding responsibility for land and water stewardship primarily fell upon the public and non-profit sectors (and Environment Ministries in particular), now economic and financial policymakers, the financial sector, and real sector corporations have become integral participants in Financial sector – The the discussion of how to avoid mass extinction. segment of the global economy composed of institutions and markets that facilitate the A key realization is now spreading: the global economy cannot survive the flow of funds between savers, ecological and social destabilization that is starting to be felt, as it is fundamentally borrowers, and speculators nested within and dependent on larger systems (see Figure 3.). A significant body of managing financial assets and research46 assessing the economic and financial risks associated with destruction liabilities. It differs from the of the biosphere makes the case that over the past century, rising incomes and real sector, which involves the consumption, as well as an increasing population and life expectancy, have made production and exchange of tangible goods and services. humans a significant force in the dynamics of the Earth’s systems.48 The recognition among economic and financial policymakers, the financial sector, and real sector Real sector – the part of the corporations of the interlinkages between the economy and the Earth marks a shift global economy that produces away from the false, myopic, and ecologically devastating view (still foundational goods and services, rather in neoclassical economics) that the economy is separate from the biosphere. The than the part that consists research has paved the way for actors in the financial sector to reevaluate how the of financial institutions and services. sector can become a force for the regeneration of life. This signifies a transformative shift in the human-Earth relationship, one that is currently mediated by the economy Biosphere – The thin life- in a fundamental way – a change which the authors of this book believe opens a supporting stratum of Earth’s door for a radical reimagination of our financial system and economy so that they surface, extending from work with rather than against life. a few kilometers into the atmosphere to the deep- sea vents of the ocean. It is 45 That is, since Rachel Carson published her book, Silent Spring, in 1962, which exposed the devastating effects of composed of living organisms pesticide use and catalyzed a turning point in the environmental movement. and nonliving factors from 46 Some critical papers include: which the organisms derive Independent report commissioned by the UK government: The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review; energy and nutrients. The The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action: An Overview of Nature-Related Risks and Potential Policy Actions biosphere supports all life for Ministries of Finance: Bending The Curve of Nature Loss; Network for Greening the Financial System: Nature-related Financial Risks: a Conceptual Framework to guide Action on Earth, estimated at 3 to by Central Banks and Supervisors; 30 million species of plants, Network for Greening the Financial System: NGFS Recommendations toward the development of scenarios for animals, fungi, single-celled assessing nature-related economic and financial risks; prokaryotes such as bacteria, John Fullerton: Regenerative Capitalism. and single-celled eukaryotes 47 Britannica: Biosphere such as protozoans.47 48 So much so that scientists now argue that we have entered a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene (National Geographic Education). Figure 3. Nested systems view of local and global financial systems Caption: Financial systems are embedded in economies, which are embedded in human societies, which are embedded in the Earth system, which is embedded in the unfolding UNIVERSE universe. Regenerative financial systems must be designed with this full spectrum of nesting taken into consideration. Buckmister Fuller said, “always start with the universe.” EARTH BIOSPHERE SOCIETIES ECONOMIES FINANCE In December 2022, organizations representing more than 80 finance ministries and more than 100 central banks published a statement in the leadup to the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 in Montreal, indicating that their members should “work towards ensuring that economic activity and associated financial flows become increasingly aligned with a sustainable, nature-positive future.” The statement cited that, “because environmental degradation often follows a nonlinear pattern – compounding, reaching tipping points, and sometimes resulting in rapid ecological collapse – continual nature loss could have severe and sudden impacts on the economy, and hence on the financial system.”49 Some finance ministries even issued nature-focused strategic policy plans.50 Additionally, financial institutions and businesses have also improved their understanding of how destruction of the biosphere could directly affect their operations and profitability, even before Nature – Perhaps an undefinable term (e.g. where regulation.51 Moreover, there is increasing recognition that the structure of the does it end?) it is mostly used economy is driving the crisis.52 According to research produced by the Coalition in this book to refer to the of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, “Nature-related risks are not inevitable, organic world (plants, fungi, but can be reduced by altering the economy and the financial sector’s impact on animals (including humans), nature.” 53 ecosystems) as well as world features (hydrology, geology, climate) that western science does not generally consider 49 Coalition of Finance Ministries for Climate Action: Finance Ministries, Central Banks and Supervisors Recognize Nature-Related Risks and Commit to Deepening Their Understanding organic or alive, yet are being 50 Ministry of Finance Finland: Strategy on Climate and Nature increasingly recognized 51 World Bank: Mobilizing Private Finance for Nature; SwissRe: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Index. McKinsey: as interdependent with the Nature in the balance: What companies can do to restore natural capital; World Economic Forum: Nature-Positive organic world (see Gaia Industry Sector Transitions. PWC: Managing nature risks: From understanding to action. Hypothesis). Within the context 52 Independent report commissioned by the UK government: The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review. of other knowledge systems, The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action: An Overview of Nature-Related Risks and Potential Policy Actions it includes categories such as for Ministries of Finance: Bending The Curve of Nature Loss John Fullerton: Regenerative Capitalism. Mother Earth and systems of 53 The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action: An Overview of Nature-Related Risks and Potential Policy Actions life, and it is often viewed as for Ministries of Finance: Bending The Curve of Nature Loss inextricably linked to humans, 54 IPBES: nature not as a separate entity.54 It is becoming clearer each day that the consequences of continuing on our current economic trajectory are not only unsustainable economically, but include significant existential risks. Humanity must swiftly and dramatically shift how it feeds, clothes, shelters, and transports itself. It must change how it builds its cities and manufactures its goods. It must repair the relationship between people and place. For these changes to be effective, they must be rooted in a worldview shift where we return to seeing and experiencing the Earth as a living, breathing, interconnected organism – of which humans evolved as an integral part – and not a resource to be extracted from.55 All life on Earth is connected, and so the only two paths forward are mutually assured destruction or mutually assured thriving.56 Today, we are equipped with an unprecedented array of capabilities and tools to support us in sensing, sensemaking, decentralized governance, coordination, planning, and envisioning. If properly deployed, the incredible technical capacities humanity has built can help us meet the complex challenges we are facing collectively. “Nature is a totally efficient, self-regenerating system. If we discover the laws that govern this system and live synergistically within them, sustainability will follow and humankind will be a success.” – R. Buckminster Fuller 1.4 Moving beyond closing the “nature finance gap” Stewardship – The responsible and ethical relating, tending, As awareness and understanding about the risks of destroying the biosphere and nurturing of land, resources, and ecosystems and the resulting regulatory pressure increases, actors from across the financial for the benefit of present and sector are beginning to direct financial capital towards supporting regeneration. future generations of human The Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Agreement both set goals to and more-than- human increase private investment in supporting the stewardship and restoration of communities. Stewardship ecosystems. Throughout the negotiations of these agreements, and now in the emphasizes a holistic implementation process, coalitions of organizations sprung up that are working to approach that prioritizes the well-being of the entire scale nature-related investment and ecological credit (eco-credit) markets focused ecological system over on biodiversity.57 Ambitious monetary targets have been set for investment and the individual ownership rights, growth of these markets. Investment funds focused on natural assets are increasing focusing on sustainability, in scale and number.58 Institutional investors and family offices are also discussing resilience, and regeneration of the allocation of a percentage of their portfolio to natural assets.59 As a result of natural capital. these shifts, a wave of capital is building, committed to “investing in nature.” Eco credits – attestations (i.e. validations) about ecological state which prove regeneration is occurring, has occurred, or will occur. It is our recommendation 55 “Human beings are not exempt from the iron law of species interdependency. We were not inserted as ready-made that eco-credits are based invasives into an Edenic world. Nor were we intended by providence to rule that world. The biosphere does not belong on community-developed to us; we belong to it.” (E.O. Wilson: Half Earth) and governed definitions of 56 Future of Good (YouTube): “Mutually assured thriving”: Indy Johar on the future of caring for one another #socialimpact 57 These include: the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI), the regeneration that are rooted Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets (ICVCM), the Taskforce on Nature Markets, and the Biodiversity Credit in local context and include Alliance. a composition of ecological 58 Carbon Pulse: Pollination plans blended regenerative agriculture fund worth billions factors (rather than a single, 59 See Nature2 – an emerging coalition of investors committing to allocate 2% of their managed assets to “nature- non-local parameter, such as positive investments.” carbon).60 60 Adapted from input from Regen Foundation. While on the surface it might seem promising that more financial resources Financialization – A trend in are allocated toward nature restoration, there is a significant risk that if these which financial instruments and markets exert resources flow through the existing financial architecture, they could lead to further disproportionate influence commodification, privatization, financialization, and centralization of natural assets over real economic activities and wealth.61 This could stem from the often extractive current return requirements and policy, prioritizing short- of investors and the way that new asset classes become new forms of capital that term speculative gains for the reinforce existing power and wealth inequities (Pistor, 2020). Financial capital is thus financial sector over long-term far not being deployed in a way that addresses the structural characteristics of the productivity and health in the real sector. economy that are driving the ecological crisis. Natural assets – The stocks The authors believe that pushing more financial capital through the existing financial of natural resources and architecture could support the continuation of the paradigm at the heart of planetary ecosystems that provide destruction. This paradigm is characterized by the separation of humans from the essential services and rest of life on Earth; the treatment of the Earth as a resource to be extracted from; benefits to Gaia, society, local economies, and the the destruction of relational capital between all living beings, including through global economy. These deepening inequality; and ultimately the loss of function of ecosystems and of the assets include forests, intelligence inherent in those ecosystems. The cumulative effect would be that wetlands, fisheries, clean air this capital works against local and global regeneration goals,63 and may further and water, biodiversity, and destabilize social and ecological systems, and financial and economic systems. other elements of the natural This clearly runs counter to the objectives of well-intentioned actors who truly want environment that contribute to the well-being of life and to regenerate life on Earth. economic prosperity. Thus, closing the “nature finance gap” alone is not sufficient.64 Financial capital Wealth – True wealth is not for regeneration (see Figure 4.) is certainly lacking. And yet, where and how those merely money in the bank. It resources are spent and who gets to make those decisions is as important as must be defined and managed the amount. In particular, how financial resources support the transformation of in terms of the well-being of the whole, achieved through systems, relationships, and worldviews will determine whether they are successful the harmonization of multiple at addressing the ecological crisis and polycrisis which we collectively face. Finally, kinds of wealth or capital, there is the critique of money itself – a vast, essential topic which is not within the including social, cultural, living, scope of this book. As a simple introduction to this conversation however, we note and experiential. It must also that dominant fiat currencies are increasingly being recognized as inherently be defined by a broadly shared extractive in their design and issuance processes – particularly for countries in prosperity across all of these varied forms of capital. The the Global South.65 Accordingly, we suggest that a comprehensive effort to finance whole is only as strong as the planetary regeneration cannot succeed if wholly dependent upon dominant fiat weakest link.62 currencies. The potential to develop and deploy complementary and Nature-based Currencies is discussed in Section 6.2. 61 Carbon reductionism is one of the main issues with nature-related investing to date (‘Carbon colonialism’ in Africa meets resistance). The authors do not believe that carbon on its own is a good proxy for life or the things that matter to communities. Nature-related investments focused solely on maximizing carbon sequestration can bring about unintended ecological and social consequences. While we acknowledge that there are some carbon credit projects that have led to high integrity social and ecological outcomes, we believe there is a need for a broader basket of metrics to be used to ensure these outcomes are realized. Additionally, contemporary nature-related investment is driving a concentration of ownership and the financialization of agricultural land – creating far-reaching social and ecological consequences. "Who Owns the World's Land?", Land Report 100 62 Capital Institute: The Field Guide to a Regenerative Economy 63 Here we are referring to those laid out in the various agreements made under the Rio Conventions (Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)). 64 Much attention has been paid to the nature finance gap identified in the UNEP State of Finance for Nature report – an estimated $4.1 trillion between 2021-2050. 65 Dark Matter Labs: Towards multivalent currencies, bioregional monetary stewardship and a distributed global reserve currency. Part 1 (of 4): What are the issues that make money (and our dominant monetary systems) so problematic? Figure 4. From degenerative to regenerative design of an economy68 Complementary currencies – A form of currency or exchange medium that operates alongside the national currency system, providing a LESS means of transaction and value Energy / Materials Required exchange within a specific community or network. They are designed to complement rather than replace national G TIN currencies and “to facilitate RA sign NE De transactions that otherwise E GEl System wouldn’t occur, linking R ra tu Na otherwise unused resources to CONVENTIONAL GREEN SUSTAINABLE RESTORATIVE REGENERATIVE unmet needs, and encouraging diversity and interconnections that otherwise wouldn’t G TIN exist.”66 Complementary ERA n EN Desig currencies can take various DEeOGNanistiO forms including local M currencies, time-based currencies, rewards programs, or digital/blockchain-based MORE tokens. Energy / Materials Required Nature-based Currencies – A type of complementary currency that bases its value on the health and vitality of the local ecosystems – the ecological wealth – in a given bioregion. While most currencies in circulation today are no longer linked to physical assets, such as gold, communities deploying these new currencies can use natural capital as a reserve asset to mint the financial capital needed to protect ecosystems and support the livelihoods of their local stewards.67 66 Bernard Lietar: Scientific Evidence of Why Complementary Currencies are Necessary to Financial Stability 67 Inspired by Open Earth Foundation: Nature Based Currencies. 68 Adapted from Bill Reed, Regenesis.  2. The Case for Bioregional Financing Facilities  2. The Case Bioregion – A region defined by unique physical characteristics (climate, topography), for Bioregional ecological characteristics (such as soil, flora, fauna, and fungi), cultural characteristics (such as language, art, Financing and identity), and their interconnections. There are many differing definitions of the scale and boundaries of Facilities bioregions,73 and this book celebrates this diversity as a critical insight about the lack of any firm boundaries in ecosystems and the need to work with neighbors in bioregional organizing. 2.1 Bioregionalism harnesses the intelligence of place Bioregionalism – A socio- In an attempt to slow and reverse the ecological crisis, and in the absence of political and ecological sufficient or expedient action by global actors, nation state governments, or the philosophy that argues for private sector, communities around the world have started to organize living the organization of human societies based on natural economies, ecological management, and governance systems at the bioregional ecological or biocultural scale.69 Daniel Christian Wahl has powerfully articulated the potential for regions, or "bioregions." bioregional-scale regeneration to support planetary health.70 Bioregions are defined Bioregionalism advocates by ecological, geographical, and/or cultural boundaries (“hard lines, soft lines, and for the alignment of human lines”)71 as opposed to more arbitrary, jurisdictional ones.72 The bioregional economic activity, ecological movement has experienced a powerful resurgence since the late 2010s, with the management, and governance with the natural systems development of various organizing entities across the world. These include: and cultures of the region. Bioregions can be seen as — Individual bioregions, including Regenerate Cascadia, Ecotrust, and the natural units of place- Salmon Nation Trust in the Pacific Northwest, North America; Collaborative based regeneration, enabling for Bioregional Action Learning and Transformation, Casco Bay, Maine, US; the interweaving of life’s Regenerate Barichara, Colombia; Tayside Bioregion and the Bioregional flows across species, the physical territory, and the Learning Centre in South Devon, UK cultural meanings of place. — Regional networks, including Bioregional Weaving Labs in Europe, Costa Rica Bioregionalism suggests Regenerativa, Colombia Regenerativa, and Regen Places Network in Australia that the invisible and and New Zealand visible regenerative efforts — Global networks, including the Design School for Regenerating Earth, occurring across multiple Regenerative Communities Network, Commonland, and Ecosystem Restoration scales (individual, family, neighborhood, community, Communities. organization, ecoregion, global) can be anchored and "The naming of something that is already going on is the organized in large, bioculturally power of bioregionalism." coherent landscapes that federate through affinity, -Judith Plant solidarity, and reciprocity to 69 Indigenous groups have organized themselves around bioculturally significant territories for at least 50,000 years fulfill planetary potential.74 (including San peoples in Africa and Australian Aboriginals). The modern bioregional movement can be traced to the Bioregionalism is deeply rooted work of Patrick Geddes (regional survey and Outlook Tower in Edinburgh, 1892) through Lewis Mumford, Leopold in a worldview of fundamental Kohr, Fritz Schumacher, and Ray Dasmann to the practical work of Peter Berg and the Planet Drum Foundation in global entanglement and San Francisco (1973-present). The bioregional movement has found expression in regional assemblies, continental does not seek to establish congresses, mapping and planning methodologies, political theory, and many other domains. 70 See Wahl (2016) and Bioregional Regeneration for Planetary Health. the division, separation or 71 Credit to Brandon Letsinger, Regenerate Cascadia. isolation often inherent to 72 We acknowledge that all boundaries are arbitrary, that in reality there are ecotones between ecosystems, but believe other relocalization efforts, for that boundaries informed by ecological and cultural characteristics can be useful in supporting effective organizing, example, those promoted by governance, and resource allocation that can drive regeneration. nationalists. 73 One Earth: What is a bioregion? 74 This is articulated in the vision, mission, and goals of the Regenerative Communities Network.