Biomimicry: Think like 3.8 Billion Years of Evolution
(A shift from accidental resonance to a conscious harmonisation with the ‘Living Planet’)
Prashant Dawan
Abstract
The systems that exist in living nature have evolved over a period of 3.8 billion years under operating conditions, limits and boundaries that apply to all that exists on our planet including the human species. If we look at nature’s systems , for example an ancient forest, we find there is zero waste, zero pollution and nothing akin to a crisis of ‘unemployment’ in the billions of plant and animal species. Evidence from living nature suggests that systems in nature are among the most time tested solutions that we can learn from and have a lot of offer in terms of ideas that can change our world for the better. But how do we translate the systems and processes that work so well in living nature into usable solutions for our problems? Can, and should, everything in nature be mimicked? And that is where biomimicry comes into the picture.
The talk & presentation looks at ‘Biomimicry’ - a multidisciplinary, systems based approach that looks at nature, not just as a source of raw materials, but as a source of ideas and solutions, and takes up a few questions:
What can we learn from nature about procuring material / services?
What can we learn from nature about sustainable design?
What can we learn from nature about creating (or transforming) organisations/networks (institutions / corporations /etc..)such that they do not become ‘self-serving’ and are always aligned to the health and betterment of the larger system that they were designed to ‘serve’?
The talk ends with summarising the inspirations from nature to the above questions and how by emulating these we can start moving towards a better future and live well on planet earth, within our given resources!
Think like 3.8 billion years of evolution & create beautiful, beneficial and blissful materialism!
Bio: Prashant Dhawan is the Co-founder of the Biomimicry India Network. He holds a degree in MS
(Master of Science) in Biomimicry from the Arizona State University, U.S.A and Biomimicry Professional Certification from Biomimicry 3.8, USA. He also holds a degree in Architecture from SPA Delhi, and an MBA from ISB Hyderabad.
Prashant has conducted Biomimicry workshops and talks in various forums and educational institutes which include IIT Gandhinagar, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University (CEPT University in Ahmadabad), NIT (Trichy), NID (Bangalore, Vijayawada & Kurukshetra), NIFT (Hyderabad & Delhi), Ahmedabad University, RVCA, BMSCE, BMSIT and Shristi school of Art, Design and Technology (Bangalore) amongst others. He has also conducted Biomimicry workshops for corporates and these include a full day workshop for senior executives of Mahindra & Mahindra (Mumbai) and Axis Bank.
Prashant prefers to call himself an amateur researcher of issues related to sustainable happiness.