Nature as partner: An invitation to innovate beyond the Anthropocene

To co-create a world in harmony — one that reflects our collective aspirations — we can look to nature for answers on how to innovate ethically and responsibly. In facing the challenges of the Anthropocene, transforming the way humanity perceives nature may be the only way to truly respond to the emergencies of this new reality.

For centuries, we have adopted an extractive and utilitarian view of the Earth. Nature was reduced to a resource — something separate from us, ready to be exploited, dominated, and measured. This perspective laid the foundation for the development model that brought us here: a planet in collapse, fragmented societies, entire ecosystems vanishing before our eyes.

But what if we changed the paradigm?

What if we recognized that nature is not a backdrop, a stockpile, or an asset — but rather the majority partner in life — of all forms of life? And what if, instead of exploiting it, we began to listen to it? To collaborate with it?

This shift in perspective may seem subtle, but it’s profound. It means trading the logic of domination for one of reciprocity. It means understanding that true innovation — the kind that transforms, heals, and sustains — has already been happening for billions of years through the ecological intelligence of rivers, forests, microorganisms, and underground fungal networks.

By seeing nature as a partner and mentor, we open space for innovations rooted in symbiosis, balance, and regeneration. This is what the field of biomimicry proposes: to observe natural processes in order to create more efficient and sustainable human solutions. The structure of beehives, the ventilation systems of termite mounds, and the way algae produce energy are just a few examples already inspiring cutting-edge technologies.

But beyond Western science, there is knowledge that has never ceased to treat nature as a peer: the worldviews of Indigenous and traditional communities. For millennia, Indigenous peoples in Brazil and around the world have known that the forest thinks, feels, and communicates. That caring for the land is also caring for the community. Integrating ancestral wisdom with technological innovation is a powerful path toward creating new pacts of existence.

We are entering an era that demands more than sustainable solutions. After all, what are we sustaining, when many systems are already exhausted? It’s time to talk about regeneration — to rebuild the bonds between humans and nature. To take responsibility, yes, but also to cultivate a new kind of sensitivity.

In this new era, companies, governments, and communities must ask: what is our role in the regeneration of the planet? Are we ready to recognize Earth as a rights-bearing subject, a strategic partner, a source of wisdom?

Treating nature as a majority partner means sharing power, resources, and decision-making. It means rethinking production models, value chains, and financial systems. It also means including those historically excluded from these conversations: Indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, women, and marginalized youth.

Co-creating a world in harmony requires us to listen to these voices — and to recognize that no technology, no matter how advanced, can replace what we’ve lost by severing our relationship with the planet.

There is still time to return. To learn. To regenerate. And perhaps the first step is this: to see nature not as something apart from us, but as part of us. Not as a resource — but as an ally.