Subject: Re: [permaculture] Invasive species reconsidered
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:18:19 -0800
Jono,
I very much appreciate your thoughtful article on this subject.
> Undoubtedly, we are responsible for the cataclysmic changes we’ve wrought,
> and we can’t place the blame anywhere else
This statement stands out to me. I think we often minimize the movement of
humans throughout the world and our effects on community dynamics and
ecosystems as an integral part of the 'invasive species' perspective.
For example, how long have humans been on North America? Caucasians?
consider the juxtaposed images of suburban sprawl, monoculture farmscapes
and monoculture 'invasive species' landscapes. We often speak of invasive
species, but what about invasive industry?
from a cause and effect perspective, could the true cause of 'invasion' be
our relationship with the ecology we participate in and our current systems
of management.
I have found the Holistic Management approach of focusing on ecosystem
processes as indicators of landscape health is very beneficial for my
perception of how we choose to treat invasive weeds in managed landscapes.
By considering the system as a whole, we can assess to what degree an
invasive species affects our ability to achieve our desired management goals
rather than putting emphasis on 'eradication' and 'wars on weeds'.
This 'war' based mentality fuels the profits of the 'war-profiteers' who
manufacture herbicides, as well as reinforcing an oppositional relationship
between us as humans and the 'rest of the world'.
I appreciate the attitudes of cooperation and positivity that are fostered
in this forum, and hope they can spread as we find more effective ways of
articulating these paradigms and applying them in our careers and life
paths.
best to all,
Neil
On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 7:32 PM, Jono Neiger <neiger@csld.edu> wrote: