Bioregionalism

DEFINITION: Environmental movement that holds that local populations should be self-sustaining based on the resources of their surrounding bioregions and largely self-governing

Bioregionalists are concerned with reversing the alienation from the land that is evident in the modern global economy, with protecting the environment from unsustainable human exploitation, and with ensuring that natural resources remain abundant and diverse for future generations.

Bioregionalism rests on two basic existential principles: that humanity is but one component of the “web of life” (that is, the ecosystem) and that humans best pursue their own welfare by living in balance with the local environment. Bioregionalism began as a philosophical offshoot of the environmental movement during the 1970s. Among its early proponents were environmental activist Peter Berg, ecologist Raymond F. Dasmann, and poet Gary Snyder. They particularly worried that technology, consumerism, postmodern culture, and global economics were producing a rootless population estranged from a sense of home and community. Bioregionalism is one of the “relocalization” movements seeking to reverse this trend.

A bioregion is an area defined by natural rather than political boundaries. It most commonly comprises a particular watershed, the plants, animals, climate, hydrology, and ecology of which give it a distinctive character. In 1978, Berg and Dasmann argued that people must concentrate on “living-in-place,” which entails satisfying the necessities of life and enjoying life’s pleasures as they are available in a particular area, as well as ensuring their long-term availability. The approach is pragmatic: It assumes that people who live long in one place come to know it thoroughly, come to care about it, and want to take care of it.

Bioregionalism is an eclectic movement. It fosters an awareness of local economic and cultural assets by applying lessons from physical geography, ecology, ecosystem management, sustainable agriculture, economics, literature, and political theory. For example, the bioregionalist approach to architecture involves the use of local materials and labor, as well as designs that reflect both regional traditions and the surrounding landscape while satisfying the requirements of present-day life. Bioregionalist political theory stresses participatory democracy and the resolution of social problems through the efforts of voluntary, nonprofit groups. Bioregionalist economics focuses on locally produced goods and services, replacing imports, and recycling.

Bioregionalism is neither essentially hostile to technology nor divorced from global civilization. It acknowledges that bioregions are parts of larger economic, political, and cultural contexts but emphasizes local resources, both physical and intellectual. Moreover, bioregionalism is not doctrinaire. A variety of philosophical approaches and different kinds of activism—not all of them congruent—participate in or derive from bioregionalism. Among the organizations and movements it has fostered are grassroots environmental efforts to preserve natural features (such as Oregon’s Friends of Trees), watershed conservancy, the “locavore” effort (a movement devoted to the promotion of eating only locally produced food), coordinated resource management plans, farmers’ markets, Green political parties (in North American and Europe), community-based alternative energy projects, community-supported agriculture (CSA), and educational and research institutions, such as the Bioregional Congress.

Critics contend that bioregionalism is utopian and impractical, at least for large populations. Nonetheless, the movement attracted increasing interest during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries among persons interested in establishing self-sufficient economies, in preserving wildlife, and in safeguarding air and water against pollution.

Sustainability has become an increasingly important topic in the twenty-first century. Advocates for bioregionalism have presented the concept in these terms, emphasizing the long-term benefits of these practices.

Bibliography

"Bioregionalism Is a Vision of a Future That Works for People and for the Earth." Cascadia Department of Bioregion, cascadiabioregion.org/what-is-bioregionalism. Accessed 8 Sept. 2025.

Bove, Tristan. "Bioregionalism: A Model for a Self-Sufficient and Democratic Economy ." Earth.org, 16 Mar. 2021, earth.org/bioregionalism. Accessed 8 Sept. 2025.

Burkart, Karl. "What Is a Bioregion? " One Earth, 26 July 2024, www.oneearth.org/what-is-a-bioregion. Accessed 8 Sept. 2025.

McGinnis, Michael Vincent. Bioregionalism. Routledge, 1999.

Sale, Kirkpatrick. Dwellers in the Land: The Bioregional Vision. U of Georgia P, 2000.

Thayer, Robert L., Jr. LifePlace: Bioregional Thought and Practice. U of California P, 2003.

Wearne, Samuel, et al. "A Learning Journey into Contemporary Bioregionalism." People and Nature, vol. 5, no. 6, 2023, pp. 2124-40, doi:10.1002/pan3.10548. Accessed 8 Sept. 2025.