what's bioregional

7/31/2019 What's Bioregional

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What's A Bioregion?

The concept of a bioregion is an emerging idea. It is as new andelusive as the evolving theories of ecosystem and biosphere which

are also newly-emerging concepts of biological organization.Definitions of bioregion attempt to help define and determine the

location of an individual in the natural world of the biosphere, and tohelp each person develop a sense of place. Bioregions are thought ofas the natural countries of the planet in terms of ecology, economics,

and political decisions regarding resource management and planningissues. More and more people are beginning to consider the well-

being of the places where they live to be central to their own well-being.

According to bioregional proponents like Peter Berg and RayDasmann, early members of the Planet Drum Foundation, a bioregion

can be determined initially by use of climatology, physiography,animal and plant geography, natural history and other descriptive

natural sciences, but finally it must be defined and understood interms that refer to a terrain of consciousness as well as to ageographical terrain-to a place and ideas that have developed about

how to live in a long-term sustainable way in that place.

The term Bioregion has also been in the 90s by various CaliforniaState agencies to designate administrative areas based primarily onthe natural sciences and broad geographical considerations. The term

bioregion in this context was used in the Memorandum ofUnderstanding: Agreement on Biodiversity of the State of California.

The use of the concept of bioregion in this more restricted sense mayprove useful in learning more about natural systems from a scientific

point of view and dealing with resource management issues.

Below are some definition and an article on how to be a

Bioregionalist, presented here by the Research and ElectronicCommittee of the Bioregional Association of the North Americas

(BANA) (9/96) .


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Definitions

The following definition was adopted by The Bioregional Association

of North Americas (BANA) 7/96:

A bioregional individual or bioregional group works to:

1) Discover, understand, restore, and/or maintain the local naturalsystems;

2) Develop and/or practice sustainable ways to satisfy basic humanneeds;

3) Support the development of a new cultural identity based on thenature of one's place.

Below is a definition given by Peter Berg in the Symposium onBiodiversity of Northwestern California, October 28-30, 1991.

"A bioregion can be determined initially by the use of climatology,physiography, animal and plant geography, natural history and other

descriptive natural sciences. The final boundaries of a bioregion arebest described by the people who have lived within it, through

human recognition of the realities of living-in-place. All life on the

planet is interconnected in a few obvious ways, and in many morethat remain barely explored. But there is a distinct resonance among

living things and the factors which influence them that occursspecifically within each separate place on the planet. Discovering and

describing that resonance is a way to describe a bioregion."

How To Be a Bioregionalist?

Part One: An Overview by David Haenke

Bioregion: A life region. A geographical area whose rough boundaries

are determined by non-human, rather than human, forces. Bioregionsare distinguished from one another by characteristic flora, fauna,water, climate, rocks, soils, land forms, and the human settlements

and cultures to which these features give rise.


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Bioregionalism is a way of life that is both a viable path for the futureand an embodiment of the most ancient, time-tested knowledge of

our species.

Bioregionalism sees all things through ecology, the root laws andprinciples of life itself. It is a unique way of defining andunderstanding the place where we live, and of living there

sustainably and respectfully.

Bioregional principles and practices are "new" only for people raisedunder the influence of Western industrial-technological society. Its

essence has been reality and common sense for native people livingclose to the land for thousands of years. At the same time,

bioregional concepts are valid in terms of science, technology,economics, politics, and other fields of "civilized" human endeavor.Using ecology as the discriminator, bioregionalism takes the best and

most presently relevant of the old, and synthesizes it with the mostappropriate of the new.

Bioregionalism is the most thoroughly ecological of all TwentiethCentury movements. Its principles apply equally well to urban

and rural regions. Furthermore, they have the potential of uniting

people of diverse cultural and economic backgrounds.

The bioregional movement is evolving the theory and practice ofintegrated systems of ecologically-based economics, agriculture,

forestry, technology, law, governance, politics, education, health care,energy, and everything necessary for the human dimension of agiven bioregion to function sustainably.

All this is done within the context of maintaining, or restoring the

whole-life community (which includes all other species and ecologicalentities, such as trees, animals, plants, bodies of water, along with

humans) under ecological laws and principles. This inclusion of thenon human in the definition of community is vital. Indeed, one of thebasic tenets of bioregionalism is the notion of "eco-centrism", where

existence is seen from a life-centered perspective, rather than from a


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human-centered one.

Bioregionalism is an active alliance with the Earth, in virtually everydimension of our individual and collective existence. It is the eventual

confluence of all the sanity that is left on the planet.

Part Two: Practical Suggestions by Beatrice Briggs

You may be a Bioregionalist and not even know it. Here are some

tell-tale signs that identify members of this growing tribe, and somesuggestions for getting started down the bioregional path.

1. Revise your address. Bioregionalist tend to answer the question,

"Where do you live?" in terms of the boundaries of the localecosystem, rather than those of the nation-state. For example, myown bioregional "address" is located in the shadow of Blue Mounds

(elevation 1,716 feet , called "wee-hau-kaja," or "high place with awonderful view," by the Winnebago) in an unglaciated area, formerlyoak savanna, tallgrass prairie and wetlands, now primarily

agricultural, under increasing pressure by housing developers, onRyan Creek, tributary of Elver's Creek, tributary of

the Wisconsin River, tributary of the Mississippi. A lot more

information than if I had simply recited my postal address!

2. Track the energy flows. Water and food and fuel are essential forhuman life. Find out where your drinking water comes from and

where local waste water goes. Become knowledgeable aboutwatershed issues. (Hint: A watershed is an area drained by a body ofwater, such as a lake or a river. Everyone lives in one.) Know how far

your food traveled to get to your plate and the conditions underwhich it was grown. Make an effort to eat locally grown, seasonal,

and organic produce. Where I live, that means strawberries in June,not January, and no lettuce in the heat of July and August. Reduce.

Reuse. Recycle. Kick the petroleum habit. Go solar. Support (ordevelop) the local economy, rather than the trans-national one.

3. Become passionate about maps and mapping. The minute youstart looking for maps of your bioregion, you will discover the


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do, take a camera, notebook and/or sketch book to record yourimpressions and experiences. This documentation will help you

remember what you saw and will enable you to more easily shareyour discoveries with others.

7. Tell a story. Sing a song. Learn the natural and human history ofyour area and try to tell it in a way that captures the attention of

both children and adults. Learn-or invent-a song about your bioregion.Sing it at feasts, festivals, and while washing the dishes.

8. Throw a party. Celebrate the distinctive characteristics of your

bioregion with rituals and celebrations. Bring people together tohonor the full moon, solstice, equinox, first snowfall, melting of the

ice at winter's end, harvest, beginning of the rainy season, time ofthe annual grass fires, or whatever makes sense in ecosystem terms.Keep it simple. Involve both the artists and the scientists.. Share food.

Dance with the spirits of the land.

9. Get a project. Find some aspect of the bioregion which needs help:

a polluted waterway, endangered species, deterioratingneighborhood, city council, school, park, wild place, and get involved.

Form a team of folks who share your concern. Make decisions by

consensus. Put out a newsletter. Rock the boat. Have fun!

10. Grow roots. Building strong local communities requires peoplewho sink deep roots into the soil. Deal with the neighbors, elected

officials, and ecosystems at hand, rather than constantly seekingutopia elsewhere. When you live where you want to be buried, youknow you are home.

David Haenke is one of the founders of the bioregional movement onTurtle Island (an ancient name for the North American Continent),

and is director of the Ecological Society Project of the TidesFoundation. He lives in the Ozarks, where he is currently managing a

sustainable forestry project in the Bryant Creek Watershed.. He canbe reached at Box 3, Brixy, MO 65618, USA. Tel: 417.679.473. e-mail:dhaenke@igc,apc.org.
mailto:dhaenke@igc,apc.orgmailto:dhaenke@igc,apc.orgmailto:dhaenke@igc,apc.org


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Beatrice Briggs is one of the founders of the Wild Onion Alliance andhas helped to organize several Great Lakes Bioregional Congresses.

She currently serves as coordinator of the Turtle Island Office, inwhich capacity she has been very involved in preparations for the

upcoming bioregional gathering in Mexico. She can be reached at4035 Ryan Road, Blue Mounds, WI 53517, USA. tel: 608.767.3931;fax 608.767.3932; [email protected].
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

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