Humans as Keystone Species
Discussion
Samuel Delesque:
"Underlying all these efforts is a philosophical and spiritual shift: a reconciliation between the dominant culture of the "West" (and its technological worldview) and the rest of Nature. For centuries, the West's narrative was one of human supremacy over nature – a hierarchy with Man on top, conquering the wild. That narrative is crumbling under the weight of ecological reality. In its place, we see a resurgence of an older understanding, long held by Indigenous peoples and echoed now by ecologists: Humans are not separate from nature; we are part of it, and indeed we can play a unique and positive role. In ecological terms, humans are a keystone species[19]. This is a liberating realization. It means that our involvement in ecosystems is not inherently negative or guilty – it can be profoundly generative. As one ethnobotanist eloquently put it, forager-horticulturalist societies "increased both biodiversity and the total biomass produced by land" through their interventions[42][7]. They were consciously enhancing the land's capacity, not just taking from it. This flips the script on what "development" means. Real development could mean enriching life (in both the biological and human sense) rather than just accumulating material wealth.
So what does it look like for modern, technology-equipped humans to become keystone species in a good way? It looks like reintroducing missing species (from beavers to bees) and tending their habitat. It looks like mimicking natural disturbances – e.g. controlled burns to prevent catastrophic fires and renew forests, akin to the "fire stick farming" of Indigenous Australians[8]. It looks like optimal foraging strategies that actually stimulate more growth: studies have shown, for example, that moderate harvesting of certain wild plants can increase their abundance by spreading seeds and reducing competition[43][44]. In our context, it looks like a community treating its landscape as a garden at ecosystem scale – not a garden of neat rows, but a wilder garden where humans catalyze successional processes, then step back. We sometimes describe the role of future inhabitants of OASA villages as akin to forest gardeners or ecological rangers. Their job is to observe and respond: if a pond is silting up, they might carve a new overflow channel and use the silt to create a wetland; if an area is lacking pollinators, they might rear native bumblebee colonies and release them; if a rare orchid appears, they'll mark the spot and make sure it's not trampled. Far from being idle in nature, they are deeply participatory, but always with the aim of tipping the balance toward more diversity, more resilience.
Crucially, this also entails a humbling of our species. To live in harmony, we must re-learn Respect, Reciprocity, and Relationship (the "Three Rs" often cited in Traditional Ecological Knowledge)[45][19]. Respect means recognizing other beings and elements – trees, rivers, mountains – as having their own integrity and worth, not merely as resources. Reciprocity means giving back to the land, not just taking: for instance, if you harvest timber, you plant and tend new trees; if you divert water, you ensure the source is recharged. Relationship means long-term commitment – seeing ourselves not as conquerors but as kin to the more-than-human world. At OASA gatherings, it's not unusual that our decision-making circles begin with a moment of gratitude to the local land spirits or an acknowledgment of the original Indigenous custodians of the territory. We incorporate practices like agroforestry and permaculture not only because they are effective, but because they cultivate a mindset of working with natural processes, not against them. The reconciliation we seek is as much internal (a shift in consciousness) as external (new policies or projects).
This reconciliation also invites Western science and Indigenous knowledge to dialog. We've had the honor of collaborating with local elders and knowledge-keepers when shaping our land plans. One elder from a First Nations community in Canada, who visited as part of a cultural exchange, told us: "The sooner we figure out what the land needs, the sooner we relieve our eco-anxiety, because we'll know what to do – and we'll know that Mother Earth can recover."[46][47] There is profound hope in that statement. Yes, there is fear and grief for what is being lost, but there is also empowerment in realizing that we can help Earth heal, and that she wants to heal. We just have to give her the chance, and be willing to participate humbly in the process.
In many ways, what we are attempting is to bridge the best of both worlds: the wisdom of ancient stewardship with the capabilities of modern society. Western civilization's strengths – technology, global coordination, scientific method – must be bent toward serving the Community of Life rather than subjugating it. Think of it as a grand reconciliation or even a marriage: Science brings detailed understanding; Tradition brings ethical framing and long-term memory. Together, they can midwife a new-old way of being human on Earth. This is the deeper significance of becoming keystone species again. It means we re-assume our responsible role in the web of life – a role that indigenous cultures never abandoned, but that industrial culture largely forgot. If we succeed, future generations might look back at this century not only as a time of crisis, but as the beginning of a Great Reconciliation – when humans came home to the Earth."
(https://oasa.earth/papers/from-commons-to-commodities-and-back-regenerative-commons-manifesto/)