Ecological literacy from below: assessing the impacts of the permaculture movement

Background/Question/Methods

Transition to sustainable agriculture and land management is a complex multisectoral project.  For this reason ecologists, especially agroecologists, have often directed their attention outside of scientific institutions, to the contributions of traditional ecological knowledge systems and alternative agriculture movements. Permaculture is one such  movement, with a distinctive approach to sustainable design. Despite an international presence and high public profile, permaculture has remained relatively isolated from scientific research. 

Permaculture holds potential contributions to the transition to sustainability, but its value is constrained by its isolation from science, the lack of clarity around definitions and proposals, and a paucity of documentation. Questions addressed  by this project include:  (1) What are the proposals and practices coming from the movement, and how do they accord with contemporary ecological science? (2) Who is participating in the movement, and what are the impacts of participation? (3) How is permaculture influencing agroecosystem management in North America?

Proposals and practices are addressed through a novel systematic review of permaculture literature. Participation and impacts are addressed through a web survey open to all self-identified movement participants. The influence of permaculture on agroecosystem management is addressed through a web survey of permaculture-identified farms in the continental US and Canada.

Results/Conclusions

The systematic literature review demonstrates that many of the themes in the permaculture literature are consonant with those of other sustainable design disciplines, while distinctively emphasizing themes of interaction and configuration of land uses. Discussion of practice is frequently hampered by overreaching claims that understate complexity and risk for land managers. 

Despite the limitation of English-only availability, the participation/impacts  survey received 1055 responses from permaculturists in 42 countries. Analysis of responses indicates signficant and complex impacts on worldview, sustainability-oriented behaviors, and multiple dimensions of ecological literacy. The farm survey received 120 responses from permaculture-identified farms in the continental US and Canada. The results of the farm survey demonstrate the influence of permaculture on multiple aspects of agroecosytem management, including land use diversity and use of perennial systems. Statistical anlaysis of these results is ongoing.