permaculture

[Paul Cereghino <paul.cereghino@comcast.net>]

> My question to the group is: Has anyone worked with developing effective
> organizational tools sets to move a specific bioregion in a sustainable
> direction? Has anyone had experience with actually defining the
> bioregional boundaries in a specific location?
In the Puget Sound, planning mandated under the Endangered Species Act 
has required multiple local jurisdictions to develop meta-governmental 
organizations to plan and implement species recovery planning.  While 
the ability of those plans to affect the underlying causes of salmon 
decline are easy to question, they are focused on major river 
watersheds, and could arguably be the nascent framework of bioregional 
governance.  Salmon recovery planers both issues of land use, habitat 
management, and water management.  Now there is some interest in Puget 
Sounds as a whole.  The issues that are causing the systematic 
deterioration of our estuary are better defined by groups of watersheds 
that drain to a shared basin of our inland sea.  In both cases a 
particular issue that has been able to create a tax-based revenue source 
creates a shared constituency.  I'd suggest that the basis for 
constituency matters more than the boundary -- the boundary can either 
serve or undermine the purpose.  The constituency urge is born of the 
'godhead' of the people, not a designer... just as a permaculture 
designer captures the structures and processes of places, but does not 
create them.

In terms of organizational tool sets, I think there is a boundary 
between constituency politics and advocacy politics... with advocacy you 
cause trouble, with constituencies you regain control over power.  The 
most powerful interest groups gain power by adopting a constituency... 
property rights groups speak for the defensive private homeowner.   Gun 
manufacturers speak for the fearful constitutional advocate. etc.  
Constituency self-determination is the noble and elusive goal.

When you say organizational tool sets do you mean tool sets for for 
people manipulating organizations, tool sets for people who are in 
organizations, or tool sets through which organizations consciously 
manipulate themselves, or tool set for people that want to create 
organizations?

Paul Cereghino