BIOREGIONS AS AN APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

Abstract

Territorial development and the principle of sustainability are inseparable concepts. The Sustainable Development Goals emphasize the role of policy decisions in fighting against inequality and problems in the world across various dimensions of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental. Given the fact that the current way of life of society is considered to be the main cause of environmental problems, because of which overall development is slowed down, it needs to be changed in order to ensure ecological sustainability. Modern societies should be directed towards sustainable development, environmentally friendly actions and green management should cover the entire set of interactions within the socio-ecological system across all segments in relation to environmental management and production and consumption of goods and services, including food. The solutions could be developing of concepts of bioregion or organic management region, which involve a holistic approach to identifying and analysing reality in these territories and defining the development paradigm. Bioregions are areas where farmers, producers, public authorities, non-governmental organizations, tourism operators and residents mutually agree to manage local resources based on an agroecological approach and organic farming principles. The creation of bioregions is aimed at sustainable development of territories, promotion of the local economy and development of domestically produced food and local food chains, while preserving the landscape, cultural heritage and gastronomic peculiarities characteristic of the territory at the level of local communities. Therefore, the present research aim is to investigate the theoretical aspects of sustainable territorial development and to identify the nature of the bioregion system.