Why Zoöp?
The Zoöp project underlines the necessity to move away from a human-centric worldview towards embracing a broader perspective that includes all life forms.
Ecological Regeneration
The climate crisis and the degradation of ecosystems are the effects of an economic system that is aimed at generating short-term financial profit for private owners. It understands other-than-human life as resources that can be put to use for this goal. This economic framework developed in tandem with modern culture and the predominant legal systems. They work from the same logic of distinction between the human world and ‘nature’; the world of other-than-human life. Humans call the shots, ‘nature’ is a collection of raw materials for human use, or at best a backdrop for human recreation. This has led to the current situation of rapid diminishing of the life sustaining capacity of our planet.
Recovering ecosystems – ecological regeneration – is essential to mitigate the climate catastrophe, and to allow the quality of life to flourish in the future. For this recovery to be possible, humans need to learn to work from an understanding of participation in ecosystems. Therefore, the interests of other-than-human life need to be more than a mostly poorly budgeted item on the agenda. They need to be actively represented in organisational decision-making and policy-making processes. The Zoöp project underlines the necessity to move away from a human-centric worldview towards embracing a broader perspective that includes all life forms. This transformation aims to forge a circular, regenerative, and non-depleting economy that thrives in a symbiotic relationship with the living world. We call this the Zoönomy.
Rights of Nature
The Zoöp model is inspired by Rights of Nature developments, in particular by the recognition of Te Urewera forest, Mount Taranaki and Whanganui River as legal entities and by the recognition of rights for Pachamama (mother nature) in the constitution of Ecuador. Many governments are slowly becoming aware of the above mentioned issues and challenges, and are looking for ways to formulate answers. Individuals also try to bring about changes in their own living environment and many organisations and companies too are becoming aware of their responsibility. However, all struggle with the question of how to actually give form to a practice that offers real alternatives. In short: what is lacking is a concrete action perspective. With the Zoöp model, we offer various parties practical, actionable tools and methodologies. Zoöp is a concrete, specific, realistic, measurable and achievable model to work towards ecological regeneration and the fostering of an economy that supports the planetary ecology.
