Sustainable Cascadia
- 1. Sustainable Cascadia A bioregional initiative to achieve sustainability in one generation Sandra Sault Poulson November 2007
- 2. Sustainable Cascadia provides ongoing convening and collaborative tools for communities to learn and work together
- 3. What is Sustainable Casadia? Sustainable Cascadia is a west coast bioregional initiative to achieve sustainability in one generation. It’s a 5 year effort at large scale cooperation that accelerates progress and shows success is possible. Sustainable Cascadia builds participation and momentum over time through: Facilitation for Sustainable Community Development Within a Bioregional Framework WISERCascadia/Collaborative Technology Cascadia Convergence Events An Alliance of Organizational Partnerships
- 4. Systems Approach to Sustainability
- 5. The Bioregional Approach to Sustainability A community of communities that come together with common culture, geography, and economy – “sense of place”. An ecological fractal of the planet – a unique bioregion that has a “natural” affinity for such an endeavor. Engage as a community to think systemically and collaboratively about issues of scale: Eg. Water, Food, Transportation An alternative to governmental process where agreements are not enforceable.
- 6. Why a Bioregion Approach?
- 7. Areas similar in transport-trade, communication networks, natural resource reliance, cultures, recreational desires, natural ecosystems, governance, and concerns. “ Urban constellating" directs attention to the ever-shifting collection of biophysical and human systems that interact: e.g. landscape, infrastructure, development models and social agents/citizens. Helps decision-makers set goals that are within capacities of the natural systems AND are more likely to meet local social values Bioregionalism and Urban Constellations
- 8. Accelerate Community-by-Community Change Build an alliance of NGO’s and other institutional stakeholders What can and will we do together over the next 5 years to make the most positive difference for our future? Identify the biggest opportunities to leverage change, i.e. how do we draw mass public attention and resources in ways that make the biggest difference. Imperative to leverage the good work of the many organizations in our region
- 9. WISERCascadia WiserEarth . . . serves the people who are transforming the world. It is a community directory and networking forum that maps and connects non-governmental organizations and individuals addressing the central issues of our day; climate change, poverty, the environment, peace, water, hunger, social justice, conservation, human rights and more. Content is created and edited by people like you.
- 10. Cascadia Convergence 2007 Friday evening, October 26 David Suzuki: “Sustainability Within a Generation” Capital “S” Sustainability: What issues must be addressed? First things first Biggest Challenges Greatest Hopes Panel Discussion: “Reflections on a Path Forward” The 6-10 year imperative of climate change Advantages of a bioregional approach in Cascadia Introduction to Sustainable Cascadia A bioregional initiative to achieve sustainability in one generation Funding requisites
- 11. Cascadia Convergence 2007 Saturday, October 27 Reporting in from other GREEN OCTOBER and SUSTAINABLE SEPTEMBER Events…the Good News! Interra Launch, Sustainable Ballard, Beaming Bioneers, Preview of Mayors’ Climate Action Summit, others Convening Question: “ What is it we can and will do together over the next 6 years to make the most positive difference for our common future?” Groups Convened at Levels of Scale (Hopefuls!): Citizens: Climate Action Dialogue/Hosted by 2People Citizens: Awakening the Dreamer/Hosted by Pachamama Alliance Neighborhood/Local Community: SCALLOPS/Hosted by Sustainable Ballard Business Sector: Hosted by NBIS Cities: City of Seattle Climate Collaboration/Hosted by Siteline/Climate Solutions Bioregional: Alliance of Organizations/Hosted by Sustainable Cascadia Whole System Debrief What are the most critical next steps over the coming year? What will make the most difference over the next 6 years? How do we work together as a whole? What do we need to learn? Next Convening, Spring 2008 during Green Festival Follow-up: Dissemination of Findings
- 12. Constellating the Collective Bioregional Field – Forming an alliance of stewardship Creating a Collective Field At Cascadia Convergence 2007, a dialogue will be hosted to encourage the formation of a bioregional community to foster collaboration and action to achieve sustainability in one generation. Early contacts and needs/assets assessment of potential partners will take place over the summer of 2007 in preparation for a productive dialogue at the CC event. Multi-stakeholder views Shared understanding Strategic focus Partnerships for holding the initiative Key Questions: What information needs to be shared? For what purpose? What will be different? Diverge or converge? WHO? Ecotrust Suzuki Foundation Whidbey Institute Cascade Agenda WISER Earth CH2M Hill/Otak BGI UW RMI SB CEL Sustainable Seattle SBLF Others? What’s Next? Who Needs to be Involved? What work needs to be done? What conversations need to happen? What will be different Diverge of converge? Harvest
- 13. The Sustainability Problem Has Two Parts What’s Happening to the Planet What’s Happening to People We can’t solve the first problem until we solve the second. What is sustainability? “ Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” - World Commission on Environment and Development “ Sustainability is the application of the golden rule from generation to generation” - Sustainable Washington
- 14. Life Sustaining Natural Resources TIME Resource Productive Capacity Now 2050 Demand for Resources
- 15. What’s Happening to the Planet Global Emerging Systemic Risks Global Climate Change & Warming Biodiversity & Species Extinction Natural Disasters & Extreme Events Epidemics & Infectious Diseases Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Weapons Proliferation Wars and Terrorism Economic Systems Instability Food Sustainability & Security Water Sustainability & Security Health Care, especially for the Young and Old
- 16. Population 1950– Population 2.5 Billion 2000– Population 6.1 Billion 2050– Projected 9.3 Billion The world population increased 48% between 1975 and 2000 Population is expected to level off at 11 Billion by the end of the century
- 17. Energy 2.5 Billion people have no electricity Demand for oil may outstrip supply by 2010-2015 The US uses 25% of the world’s energy Coal and Oil are losing market share
- 18. Biodiversity 11,000 species are extinct or threatened One third of all coral reefs will be gone in 30 years 33 million acres of forest are cut each year By the end of the century half of all species may vanish
- 19. Water 2.5% of the world’s water is fresh water Two thirds of it is frozen in glaciers 1.1 Billion people lack clean water 2.4 Billion people lack sanitation By 2025 two thirds of the world may lack clean fresh water After 2010, key aquifers in China, India, West Asia and North Africa will begin to fail. Decreased public investment in crop breeding for rain fed agriculture will lead to further declines in productivity growth and yields will fall. Farmers will expand slash-and-burn agriculture and groundwater pumping. Deforestation, erosion, river and reservoir sedimentation, and encroachment on wetlands will increase.
- 20. Food Currently we use 20% more crops, animals and other biomatter than the planet can reproduce In other words, today we use 1.2 planet’s worth of resources to feed the current population 2 billion people go to sleep hungry every night 800 million are malnourished Food production will decline significantly by 2025. Grain output will be 10 percent less - the equivalent of annually losing the entire grain crop of India. Food prices will skyrocket. Poor consumers in developing countries will not be able to afford the high prices, and malnutrition and food insecurity will increase substantially.
- 21. Local Impacts Seattle Metropolitan Area Seattle’s population will add 600,000 people by 2020 Dramatic increase in development, waste, water, transportation, energy Built environment responsible for 50% of carbon emissions Lessening snow melt Future water supply from rainfall Puget Sound Storm water run-off has polluted over 30% of state waters Pathogens have closed over 30,000 acres of shellfish beds 1/3 of shorelines impair habitat due to development 40 animals on endangered species list Declining populations of rockfish, salmon, marine birds and orcas Salmon Already in decline, continuing negative impacts to habitat Chinook salmon are 10% of their historic estimate
- 22. Seeing the Problem ≠ Solving It 85% of People think it’s getting warmer 31% think humans are responsible 44% think it is already a serious problem 60% think something can be done 68% wants more done 19% agree with taxing people’s electricity usage 31% agree with taxing people’s gasoline usage 41% agree with tax breaks to build nuclear power plants 87% agree with tax breaks to develop alternative energy Time Magazine, April 3, 2006
- 23. Measurement ≠ Change Siteline’s Cascadia Scorecard 2006 Caption: Cascadia scores poorly on energy, wildlife, and sprawl. Tracks progress over 25 years Measures six indicators: health; economy; population; energy; sprawl; and wildlife. We are 45 years away from best-in-world performance across the 6 indicators That’s down from 52 years away in 1981
- 24. Effort ≠ Change 90,000 Non Governmental Organizations working on sustainability globally 500 Environmental NGO’S in the Pacific NW alone No central coordinating organization No central convening organization
- 25. What We Knew 14 years Ago "... A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it, is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.“ 'World Scientists' Warning to Humanity' issued in Nov 1992 by the Union of Concerned Scientists, and signed by 1680 senior scientists of 70 countries around the globe, 104 of them Nobel laureates . Our current efforts are necessary but insufficient.
- 26. Reason for Hope Seattle Mayor Nickels’ Kyoto Initiative Jane Goodall’s Essay The Human Brain The Determination of Young People The Indomitable Human Spirit The Resilience of Nature YES Magazine’s circulation has doubled in the last 2 years Organic food – double digit market growth annually, now an $11 Billion market Hybrid car market growth - 1300% between 2002 and 2008
- 27. Alternative Energy … wind power is showing similar growth patterns
- 28. The Sustainability Journey and Crossing the Threshold “ The key challenge we face is that we do not have the individual or collective capacity to cross the threshold from the past to the future.” - Dr. Otto Scharmer
- 29. The Human Side of Change Davis and Dean Adopting New Behaviors - w here We Get Stuck Routine Change Event Time is variable Decline Let go Creativity/Confusion Ah Ha! Renewal New Routine Productivity Time
- 30. Theory of Change Margaret Wheatley Notice what you care about Get started Learn as you go Stay together
- 31. Theory of Change Craig Fleck
- 32. Sustainable Cascadia A Whole Scale Collective Action-Learning Journey Creating a Collective Field to Host Collaboration Summer 2007 2. Bioregional Alliance Event “ Cascadia Convergence 1/Seattle - Oct. 2007 3. Creating the Future we See CC 2/Portland May or Oct 2008 4. Agreeing on a Change Strategy CC3/SanFran – Spring or Fall 2009 5. Connecting Around Specific Actions CC4/Vancouver - 2010 6. Reality Checking Cascadia Convergence 2011 – where? Cascadia Convergence 2012 Celebration Road Map for the Future Seattle Center 50 th Anniversary 7. Trajectory Established, Continuance and Celebration
- 33. Sustainable Cascadia A Whole Scale Collective Action-Learning Journey Dannenmiller-Tyson Associates Creating a Collective Field to Host Collaboration Summer 2007 Multi-stakeholder views Shared understanding Strategic focus Partnerships for holding the initiative Key Questions: What information needs to be shared? For what purpose? What will be different? 2. Bioregional Microcosm Event “ Cascadia Convergence 1/Seattle - Oct. 2007 Convening Stakeholders Create a common language/ framework Exchange information How does this impact us? Where are we right now? What are the possibilities for action over the next year? 3. Creating the Future we See Imagine Cascadia Ecotrust Bioregional Visioning Sustainability Manifesto Creating a shared vision for 2030 CC 2/Portland May or Oct 2008 4. Agreeing on a Change Strategy Bigger picture goals Where we are where we need to be Possibilities for action CC3/SanFran – Spring or Fall 2009 5. Connecting Around Specific Actions Who? What? By When? CC4/Vancouver - 2010 6. Reality Checking What did we say we’d do? What did we actually do? What did we learn? What’s new? What’s key to moving forward? What can we share with others? Cascadia Convergence 2011 – where? Cascadia Convergence 2012 Celebration Road Map for the Future Seattle Center 50 th Anniversary 7. Trajectory Established, Continuance and Celebration
- 34. A Scaleable, Whole Systems Approach to Learning Communities Passionate Individuals Local Communities and Organizations Civic Bioregional A place to start: Individual Level : a community to steward individual initiative Community Level : a community to steward alignment, cooperation and learning across initiatives City Level : a community to steward a civic discipline in sustainability Bioregional Level : a meta community to transfer knowledge and nurture community development bioregionally/globally Leading a social movement: Cultivating our world as a learning system
- 35. Sustainable Cascadia Addresses These Challenges Personal Level Societal Level Not enough happening in any sector of society Lack of agreement about specific plans and a unified course of action Lack of resource mobilization and alignment across organizations and sectors Solution Makes sustainability issues and needs more visible and newsworthy Expands a sense of civic responsibility and awareness leading to stronger action at all levels of government Creates market demand by making sustainability products and services more visible and attractive
- 36. Sustainable Cascadia Addresses These Challenges Personal Level Personal Level No knowledge of what’s happening to the Planet Have knowledge, but are immobilized by the size of the challenge Have a positive vision, but don’t know or can’t take the steps Solution Provide positive vision of the future to pull people forward, e.g. ecovillage demonstration Provide success stories to affirm change is possible
- 37. Sustainable Cascadia Addresses These Challenges Personal Level Personal Level No knowledge of what’s happening to the Planet Have knowledge, but are immobilized by the size of the challenge Have a positive vision, but don’t know or can’t take the steps Solution Develop a strong sense of community to provide personal and group support in making changes Support personal practices by connecting people with resources: American Lung Assn. Home Health Assessment Recycling program support and materials at low cost Transportation alternatives and resources Carbon Free Diet
- 38. Sustainable Cascadia Addresses These Challenges Societal Level Personal Level No knowledge of what’s happening to the Planet Have knowledge, but are immobilized by the size of the challenge Have a positive vision, but don’t know or can’t take the steps Solution Creates database of education resources and practical solutions Provides education to an expanding attendee base over time Mobilize educational programs in organized ways, e.g. Low Carbon Diet program in schools
- 39. Sustainable Cascadia Addresses These Challenges Societal Level Societal Level Not enough happening in any sector of society Lack of agreement about specific plans and a unified course of action Lack of resource mobilization and alignment across organizations and sectors Solution Overcomes barriers to collaboration caused by distance and lack of communication. Creates an action agenda by convening diverse constituents who collectively define priorities. Provides forums to align diverse efforts to priorities and identify the most important collaborative opportunities.
- 40. Sustainable Cascadia Addresses These Challenges Societal Level Societal Level Not enough happening in any sector of society Lack of agreement about specific plans and a unified course of action Lack of resource mobilization and alignment across organizations and sectors Solution Creates on-line infrastructure to share knowledge, best practices and tools, e.g. Sustainability Commons and wiki sites. Build relationships across sectors to address key changes that need to be made together. Emphasizes participation from the business sector in moving towards sustainability
- 41. Summary Reframes a daunting challenge into an exciting opportunity Provides education and concrete experiences to the public of what can be done and how to take immediate action Provides a forum for sharing what’s working in other places and stealing shamelessly Provides a forum for identifying critical priorities that the masses can organize around Provides a system of sharing that helps the many players to identify collaborators and make plans to augment each others efforts.
- 42. An Ongoing Action Agenda 5 Years of Annual Planning Sustainability Commons WISERCascadia Cascadia Convergence Desired Future Arts/Culture Eco-village Green Festival Collaborative Conference Dynamic Marketplace Urban Summit Implement Action Agenda Strategic Agenda: Collaborative Work Sessions Emergent Agenda: Collaborative Technology Supports Self-Organization Planning/Prework Framing: Bioregional Annual Theme: Year 1: Climate Change Year 2: TBD
- 43. Community of Practice Elements in Leadership Context Taken from: ODN Conference Presentation: Communities of Practice, Promoting Sustainability in Organizations and Society, William Snyder and Amy Keill Domain Community Practice What are the strategic domains? How to scope them? What is the ecology of activities? What are the elements of collective knowledge? Where should sponsorship come from? Level of involvement? Who are the members ? Quality of their relationships? Professional support? Organizational and technical infrastructure? Sponsorship Support Coordinator What activities to organize? How to help community thrive?
- 44. Community of Practice development— where work over time can help Transform Stewardship Maturing Coalescing Potential Loose network of people with similar issues and needs Members come together and launch a community It forms an identity, takes charge of its practice, and grows The community is established and acts as the steward of its domain The community has outlived its usefulness and people move on Discover extant connections—and imagine new ones that could exist Create value for internal members—and for external sponsors and stakeholders Focus on topics and projects for current members— and expand to include new people, ideas, and challenges Take ownership for a practice—and demonstrate openness to others’ ideas and methodologies Let go as the issues are resolved or change—and live on: merge efforts, define a legacy, and keep in touch Stages of development Development tensions “ We let these groups evolve.” Legend: Jagged line shows typical levels of activity over time Source: Wenger, et al., Cultivating Communities of Practice
- 45. Sustainable Cascadia supports an alliance of communities working over time… Projects Visits Conversation space Informal interactions Teleconferences Face-to-face meetings & workshops Website Face-to-face time provides access to practitioners, builds trust, and fosters sense of joint enterprise—important foundation for ecology of learning activities Teleconferences provide for low-cost, interactive problem solving, idea generation, and executive education On-site visits provide opportunities to learn in context and develop closer relationships Projects build new knowledge and produce new insights, tools, and documents; also build relationships and sense of joint enterprise Virtual space for efficient information sharing, unobtrusive Q&A, and peripheral learning Website contains course material, directory with bios, links to resources, case studies, tools and frameworks, lessons learned, etc. One-to-one interactions by phone and email help build relationships while getting help and sharing ideas Taken from: ODN Conference Presentation: Communities of Practice, Promoting Sustainability in Organizations and Society, William Snyder and Amy Keill