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Co-creation for ecosystem restoration – a reflection from Mosquitia

Published: 31 May 2023
Portrait of a man. Photo.

Arriving on the Misquito coast in eastern Honduras provides a sobering reminder of the tremendous challenge of healing ecosystems that lie ahead of us. The once forest-covered area has largely lost its trees, and the continuous fires ensure they won’t return anytime soon. As a result, the ecosystem in parts of La Mosquitia is moving from forest to grassland.

Blog post written by Max Whitman.

 

In WP3 and through the think/do-tank, we have, and continue to, explore how co-creation can support an ecologically sensitive restoration and also promote equitable development for the Miskito people who inhabit the area and recently got their land titles back.

In this blog post, I reflect on key lessons from this process and highlight the necessity of moving away from mechanistic mindsets to support the openness and flexibility required to navigate the inherent complexities of restoration efforts. Control is not an appropriate response to complexity. Instead, I argue we need an investment in relationships, accepting change as an organic process that we can influence by cultivating connections that support the emergence of appropriate responses.

While parts of the co-creation process and work in La Mosquitia naturally take on a technical nature, it is the work that builds relationships where there previously were none that has stayed with me as essential and often overlooked.

Read the full blog post in Swedish.

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