A
life region. A geographical
area described in terms of its
unique combination of flora,
fauna, geology, climate and
water features—the whole
of which distinguishes it from
other bioregions. Thus, natural
forms and living communities,
including human, become the
descriptive features of each
bioregion—instead of the
politically drawn lines used
to define county, state and
nation. Watersheds, being an
important physical feature of
bioregions, are often used to
define their boundaries.
"Bioregions
are geographic areas having
common characteristicsof soil,
watershed, climate, native
plants and animals that exist
within the whole planetary
biosphere as unique and contributive
parts.
A
bioregion refers both to geographical
terrain and a terrain of consciousness
- to a place and the ideas
that have develped about how
too live in that place.
A
bioregion can be determined
initially by use of climatology,
physiography, animal and plant
geography, natural history
and other descriptive resonance
among living things and the
factors that influence them
which occurs specifically
within each separate part
of the planet.
Discovering
and describing that resonance
is a way to describe a bioregion."
Peter
Berg & Raymond Dasmann,
Reinhabiting a Separate
Country
Planet Drum Foundation,
1978
What
is Bioregionalism?
Bioregionalism
is a comprehensive "new"
way of defining and understanding
the place where we live, and
living in that place sustainably
and respectfully. What bioregionalism
represents, identification with
place and its history and culture,
and living within the laws of
nature, is new only for people
who come out of the Western
industrial-technological heritage.
The essence of bioregionalism
has been reality and common
sense for native people living
close to the land for thousands
of years, and remains so for
human beings today. At the same
time, bioregional concepts are
rigorously defensible in terms
of science, technology, economics,
politics, and other fields of
"civilized" human
endeavor. Bioregionalists are
lifelong students of how to
live in balance with our eco-communities.
We recognize that we are part
of the web of the life, and
that all justice, freedom and
peace must be grounded in this
recognition.
Bioregionalism re-connects us
into the living biosphere through
the Places where we live. Bioregionalism
acknowledges that we not only
live in cities, towns, villages
and countrysides; we also live
in watersheds (map
above), ecoystems, and ecoregions.
The awareness of those connections
to the planet is vital to our
own health and the health of
the planet. By discovering our
connections to the planet, we
find a context for our lives
to grow in. This context allows
us to find ways to live sustainably
in our settlements while at
the same time provides us ways
to nurture and restore the more-than-human
community that surrounds us
and which we are dependent on
in so many ways.
The
following statement was adopted
by the Continental Bioregional
Congress (then called the North
American Bioregional Congress)
at its first gathering in 1984,
and it has been affirmed by many
organizations and congresses since
that time:
Welcome
Home
A growing number
of people are recognizing that
in order to secure
the clean air, water and food
that we need to healthfully
survive, we have to become guardians
of the places where we live.
People sense the loss in not
knowing our neighbors and natural
surroundings, and are discovering
that the best way to take care
of ourselves and to get to know
our neighbors, is to protect
and restore our region.
Bioregionalism recognizes, nurtures,
sustains and celebrates our
local connections with:
Land
Plants and Animals
Water: Springs,
Rivers, Lakes, Groundwater
& Oceans
Air
Community:
Native Traditions, Indigenous
Systems of Production &
Trade
It is taking the time to learn
the possibilities of place.
It is a mindfulness of local
environment, history, and community
aspirations that leads to a
sustainable future. It relies
on safe and renewable sources
of food and energy. It ensures
employment by supplying a rich
diversity of services within
the community, by recycling
our resources, and by exchanging
prudent surpluses with other
regions. Bioregionalism is working
to satisfy basic needs locally,
such as education, health care
and self-governance. The bioregional
perspective recreates a widely-shared
sense of regional identity founded
upon a renewed critical awareness
of and respect for the integrity
of our ecological communities.
People
are joining with neighbors to
discuss ways we can work together
to:
Learn what our special
local resources are
Plan how to best protect
and use those natural and
cultural resources
Exchange our time and
energy to best meet our daily
and long-term needs
Enrich our children's
local and planetary knowledge.
Security
begins by acting responsibly
at home.
Welcome home!
The
Fundamental Role of the Bioregional
Movement
The
Bioregional Movement acts as
a catalyst for social and political
change in government toward
decentralization of power to
smaller units of population
and land for the purpose of:
keeping wealth at home in local
communities, preserving and
enriching the natural systems
of water, air and land, and
practicing ways of living that
foster sustainable energy use
in human endeavors. Change includes
redefining the laws governing
corporations to ensure they
serve societal and planetary
interests for health and sustainability.
The Bioregional Movement should
pioneer new modes of relatedness
to the mystery and wonder of
the natural world.
The
above was abstracted (and paraphrased)
from a view of one bioregionalist,
Gene Marshall—full text
can be found on the Bioregional
Listserve (July 2005
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