Bioregions are natural social units determined by ecology rather than economics, and that can be largely self-sufficient in terms of basic resources such as water, food, products and services. Bioregionalism has at its heart two of the central principles of green economics: balance and cycles. Ecology demands that we recognize our part in a complex web of natural systems and this should reflect the places we choose to live and how and where we choose to access our resources. This is what we mean by living in balance with nature. Respecting the natural cycles of life is often referred to as ‘closing the loop’, so that within our bioregional economy we are responsible for all our waste and we have a neutral impact on the natural cycles that maintain the earth in balance, primarily the carbon cycle.
Your bioregion is effectively your backyard. It is the part of the planet you are responsible for. Bioregionalism means living a rooted life, being aware of where your resources come from and where your wastes go. It is the opposite of a life lived in the limited knowledge that food comes from Tesco, leaving everything to the global corporations who are only too willing to take on this responsibility in return for their profits. Unlike political boundaries, bioregional boundaries are flexible, but should be guided by the principle of subsidiarity in the case of any individual resource or service. Within the bioregional approach beginning with the local is a principle that trumps principles such as price or choice. Within our bioregional economy we are responsible for all our waste and we have a neutral impact on the natural cycles that maintain the earth in balance, primarily the carbon cycle. From a bioregional perspective the ideal way to organise your economy is by borrowing for your needs from the local environment.
The slogan for the bioregional movement might be ‘unity in diversity’ so in a sense it is impossible to define in a general sense. How the economy develops will be unique to each ecosystem and determined by the inclinations and culture of the people who inhabit it. However, it is possible to give some general pointers, and in this section I do this for four of the important consumption sectors: energy, clothing, shelter and food. As is natural in this approach to economics, most of my suggestions relate to the two bioregions I know well: West Wales and Stroud. Stroud's bioregion is being built up through the Transition Town Stroud process.
These theoretical statements are all very well but might leave us asking, ‘But what would it feel like to live in a bioregional economy?’ Because the history of the UK since Medieval times has been a process of continual dislocation of people from their land, such an economic life feels distant and can be hard to imagine. We are left to create a vision of how our bioregion might be and experiment with it. We will certainly find more identity and spiritual meaning in our economic life, whether through paid work or sharing in production and consumption in the various co-operatives that provide us with goods and services. We will have deeper relationships through these economic connections, helping build a stronger community. It will be a convivial economy with ceilidhs and massages replacing computer games and TV. The rest I will have to, literally, leave to your imagination!