Bioregionalism in a UK context : the interrelationship between people, place and non-human nature

• Main Author: Hamilton, Kyraleigh
• Other Authors: Dwyer, Janet ; Selman, Paul ; Dooley, Pauline
• Published: University of Gloucestershire 2007
• Subjects: 333.73; S900 Conservation of natural resources including land conservation
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.490249

Bioregionalism advocates the use of `natural' units rather than administrative units for the delivery of landscape management, planning and decision making. Over the past decade` bioregional' frameworks have been developed as a means of delivering landscape policy in an integrated manner, across the wider countryside in the United Kingdom. Important within bioregionalism is the hybrid relationship between people, place and non-human nature. This thesis acknowledges this relationship and investigates the concept of a sense of place in a UK bioregional context. Two types of bioregions were used as the basis for this study: Natural Areas and river catchments. Using evidence from document analysis, interviews and focus groups, I examined the way in which participants related to the bioregion in which they live. The evidence analysed suggests that a sense of place is more than just a concept and occurs at a range of different spatial scales. This sense of place is complex and integral to the relationship between people and non-human nature, with non-human nature being an important factor in how people relate to place. I concluded that although bioregional frameworks are a relatively recent development within the UK, participants could relate to these units and had a sense of attachment or sense of place in relation to these frameworks. A sense of place was important to the participants within this research and there is the potential to utilise this in relation to working at a wider and more integrated level with the planning, management and conservation of the UK landscape.