Alain Deneault on the territoriality of the bioregion

On Thursday March 27, Alain Deneault gave a conference on the theme of the territoriality of the bioregion at UQAM’s Geography Department. The event attracted a number of people and a rich exchange took place between the audience and the author and philosophy professor from the Université de Moncton.

Bioregion and bioregionalism have recently resurfaced, and their various dimensions are being discussed within territorial collectives and in academic circles. These concepts seem interesting for understanding the multiple crises we are facing now and in the future. From a biogeographical as much as a political point of view, the bioregion is perhaps a new mode of engagement to help us navigate through this era of the “unheard of”. This is how Alain Deneault presents the bioregion in his latest book, « Faire que! L’engagement politique au temps de l’inouï ».

How do territories and bioregions diverge, what do they have in common, and what are the possible links between them? Do these concepts overlap, complement or oppose each other? How can this framework of action help us move away from the extractivist paradigm of territorial development? These were all questions discussed during the conference.

The conference was co-organized by Caroline Dufresne (member of the Canada Research Chair With Living Environments of the North), the Association Étudiante des Cycles Supérieurs en Géographie (AECSG), the Centre de recherche sur le développement territorial (CRDT), the Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales (CRISES) and UQAM’s Department of Geography.