Ecomimicry in Indigenous resource management: optimizing ecosystem services to achieve resource abundance, with examples from Hawaiʻi

Abstract

Here, we expand on the term "ecomimicry" to be an umbrella concept for an approach to adaptive ecosystem-based management of social-ecological systems that simultaneously optimizes multiple ecosystem services for the benefit of people and place. In this context, we define ecomimicry as a strategy for developing and managing cultural landscapes, built upon a deep understanding of the structure and function of ecosystems, that harnesses ecosystem processes for the purpose of balancing and sustaining key ecosystem services, rather than maximizing one service (e.g., food production) to the detriment of others. Ecomimicry arises through novel, place-based innovations or is adopted from elsewhere and adapted to local conditions. Similarly, precontact Hawaiian socialecological systems integrated a variety of ecomimicry schema to engender a complex system of adaptive resource management that enhanced biocultural diversity and supported resilient food systems, ultimately sustaining a thriving human population. In addition to presenting a synopsis of how ecomimicry was employed in the design and management of Hawaiian social-ecological systems, we identify and characterize specific ecomimicry applications. Within this context, we explore a revival of ecomimicry for biological conservation, biocultural restoration, resilience, and food security. We conclude with a discussion of how revitalizing such an approach in the restoration of social-ecological systems may address issues of conservation and sustainability in the Anthropocene.

Collaborative research to inform adaptive comanagement: a framework for the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve

“…Rather than abandon the ecosystem services framework, we advocate for a more holistic and relational definition of ecosystem services that acknowledges reciprocal human-nature relationships and encompasses the full range of existential benefits, such as cultural, psychological, physiological, spiritual, aesthetic, recreational, socioeconomic, and natural aspects (Pascual et al 2017). Adopting a holistic approach aligns with other comprehensive views that describe the reciprocal relationships between people and ecosystems, as embraced by various cultures, IPLCs in particular (Comberti et al 2015, Winter 2020a, and with scholarship advocating for a more dynamic view of ecosystem services in multiple decision-making policy arenas (cf. Chan et al 2016, Pascua et al 2017, Díaz et al 2019).…”

“…These works highlight foundational elements of Hawaiian IRM, such as the inseparable connection between people and place, the connection between the mountains and the sea, the importance of stratified land divisions that facilitate decentralized resource management, and the roles that sacred designations of places and species played in ensuring a sustainable abundance of resources. Hawaiian IRM (hereafter, Hawaiian resource management) adaptively managed the population dynamics and connectivity of key resource species at the habitat level (Winter et al 2018b), and employed various forms of ecomimicry (sensu Winter et al 2020a) such as habitat engineering in agroecology systems, which mimics natural disturbance regimes to increase the productivity within landscapes, to attain the state of ʻāina momona. The Hawaiian civilization that persisted under this system was one of the resource-bound, island societies documented to live sustainably for centuries while maintaining a large human population (Kittinger et al 2011, Bahr et al 2015, Winter et al 2018a, even in the face of geometric population growth (Dye and Komori 1992).…”

“…Indigenous peoples have histories spanning millennia across a vast majority of Earth and have managed landscapes that allowed human societies and nature to thrive together (Denevan 1992, Zimmerer 2006, Robbins et al 2015, Garnett et al 2018. Though our current geological age, the Anthropocene, is defined as beginning when the collective activities of humans influenced earth systems (Crutzen 2006, Lewis andMaslin 2015), and the global market economy is the primary contributor to anthropogenic climate change (IPCC 2018), it is critical to acknowledge that not all human activity negatively affects biodiversity and ecosystem function; Indigenous peoples being the prime example of that alternative notion (Berkes 2018, Winter et al 2020a. Many Indigenous resource management (IRM) strategies and practices are intended to enhance ecosystem processes (e.g., productivity) and services, including biodiversity and species abundance, as a means to increase system resilience ( Berkes 2018, Winter et al 2020a.…”

“…Though our current geological age, the Anthropocene, is defined as beginning when the collective activities of humans influenced earth systems (Crutzen 2006, Lewis andMaslin 2015), and the global market economy is the primary contributor to anthropogenic climate change (IPCC 2018), it is critical to acknowledge that not all human activity negatively affects biodiversity and ecosystem function; Indigenous peoples being the prime example of that alternative notion (Berkes 2018, Winter et al 2020a. Many Indigenous resource management (IRM) strategies and practices are intended to enhance ecosystem processes (e.g., productivity) and services, including biodiversity and species abundance, as a means to increase system resilience ( Berkes 2018, Winter et al 2020a. Therefore, Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) that perpetuate these practices provide valuable examples for examination (Ban et al 2018, Eckert et al 2018, Howitt 2018.…”

“…Over the past forty years, considerable effort has been undertaken to restore the health and function of Hawaiian social-ecological systems (IUCN 2016, Chang et al 2019a, Winter et al 2020a). These efforts have been undertaken by local communities reclaiming agency over Indigenous legacy lands and reestablishing their connections to the land in the face of urbanization (McGregor-Alegado 1980, Goodyear-Kaʻōpua et al 2014, Kubota 2018.…”