The Cascadia Department of Bioregion was excited to present with the People’s Voice on Climate as a part of a 90 minute presentation, panel and question & answer session on April 26th, 2022 as part of the 2022 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference. The Panel Session: Climate Assemblies: Lessons learned and results from around the world and Washington state was part of the opening sessions, which brought more than 2500 policy leaders, advocates, academics and scientists from around the Salish Sea for a week of discussions geared around better stewarding our ecoregion and bioregion.
Biodiversity Knows No Borders - By Brandon Letsinger, Cascadia Department of Bioregion
The panel was started with three presentations, Laura Berry, executive director of the PVOC presented on direct democracy and the growth of people’s assemblies around the world, followed by Ed Chadd, who talked about the Washington State Climate Assembly, the first in the United States, followed by our presentation, Biodiversity Knows No Borders - Why bioregional organizing is important for climate change. The three presentations were followed by a 45 minute long open discussion where we addressed several different topics.
If you are interested in exploring Climate Assemblies, or helping organize a bioregional climate assembly - fill out the PVOC form here:
https://www.peoplesvoiceonclimate.org/ssec
Discussion Topics
What topics might a bioregional People’s Assembly address?
What geographic scale would be appropriate for these topics?
Who should be involved in organizing a bioregional Assembly?
Who would receive the Assembly’s recommendations?
Why is a grassroots approach like an Assembly important?
What role might an Assembly play in furthering governance?
Panel Resources
Panel Discussion Overview - Moderated by John Cambalik, People’s Voice on Climate
Presentation 1 - “Deliberative Democracy and the Transboundary Climate Crisis” - Laura Berry, People’s Voice on Climate
Presentation 2 - “Organizing the Washington State Climate Assembly” - Ed Chadd, People’s Voice on Climate & Mike Chang, Cascadia Consulting Group
Presentation 3 - “Biodiversity Knows No Borders: A Bioregional Approach to Climate Change” - Brandon Letsinger, Cascadia Department of Bioregion
