Question of Scale in Bioregionalism

Discussion

The Question of Scale in Bioregionalism

Benjamin Life:

"Critics of bioregionalism often raise the question of scale. How can watershed-based organizing address global challenges like climate change or ocean acidification? How do bioregional networks coordinate beyond their boundaries? What happens when bioregional interests conflict? These questions reveal both limitations and possibilities within the bioregional framework.

The honest answer acknowledges that bioregional organizing alone cannot address planetary-scale challenges. No amount of local watershed restoration will stop Antarctic ice sheet collapse. No network of community forests can offset industrial emissions. Bioregionalism is necessary but insufficient—one strategy within broader transformation. It provides resilience and adaptation capacity for communities facing collapse, not prevention of collapse itself.

Yet bioregional networks demonstrate emergent properties at scale. When thousands of communities restore watersheds, cumulative impact becomes significant. When bioregions share knowledge and coordinate strategies, regional transformation becomes possible. The mycelial network metaphor proves apt—individual hyphae seem insignificant, but the network they create transfers nutrients across entire forests.

Inter-bioregional coordination remains underdeveloped but increasingly necessary. Climate refugees will move between bioregions. Watersheds cross multiple communities. Atmospheric rivers connect distant landscapes. These material relationships require coordination mechanisms that respect bioregional autonomy while enabling collective action. The cosmolocal framework provides one model, but others must emerge through practice."

(https://omniharmonic.substack.com/p/collapse-parallel-societies-and-the)