“Biomimicry” is derived from combining the Greek words “bios”, meaning life, with “mimesis”, which means imitation. The word is applied to the applications of models and processes from nature to industrial or agricultural designs to solve human problems. As coined by Janine Benyus in her ground-breaking 1997 book, “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature”, it is an approach that learns from nature, rather than just about nature.
Biomimicry is based on the principle that nature has learned what works, what is appropriate and what is sustainable. Through the process of evolution, organisms have learned to fly, occupy the entire globe, maintain appropriate living conditions, build amazingly complex structures, and solve many of life’s problems. Nature has developed bio-degradable materials like non-living but self-healing rhino horn, glues produced by mussels that work underwater, silks from spiders webs that are stronger than the toughest human products, termite mounds that are able to maintain a constant internal temperature despite external temperatures that go from 40° during the day to near freezing at night, and the feet of geckos that enable them to cling to a smooth ceiling.
Numerous applications of biomimicry are already influencing our every day life. The Wright Brothers, in designing the first powered aircraft, were inspired by the wings of birds. Solar panels that are used to power orbiting satellites are unfolded based on patterns learned from the unfolding of leaves from tiny buds, and low-energy modern buildings have been based on the model of a termite’s nest. Work on biomimicry is highlighting the role of a new generation of well-adapted technologies, based on nature’s design principles, for a sustainable future. But beyond looking at nature as simply a stimulus for new ideas, IUCN is seeking to take the idea a significant step toward what may be termed “ecomimicry”, designed to understand and conserve nature’s processes and ecosystem strategies as a whole.
Such approaches have been adopted by many in the private sector. For example, the World Federation of Engineering Organisations stated at the World summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002: “The concept of sustainability is best illustrated by natural ecosystems, which consist mainly of closed loops that change slowly. For example, in the food cycle of plants and animals, plants grow in the presence of sunlight, moisture and nutrients and are then consumed by insects and herbivores which, in turn, are eaten by successively larger animals. The resulting natural waste products replenish the nutrients, which allows plants to grow and the cycle to begin again. If humans are to achieve truly sustainable development, we will have to adopt patterns and reflect these processes. The role of engineers and scientists in sustainable development can be illustrated by a closed-loop human ecosystem that mimics natural systems.”
In the coming years, IUCN will be further developing its activities in biomimicry, applying the concept to designing a low-carbon economy, improving approaches to conservation, enhancing productivity, and further demonstrating the value of natural systems.
www.biomimicry.net
www.biomimicryinstitute.org
www.biomimicryguild.com
We seek collaboration with Members who are working in this field,
and welcome indications of interest!
