ABSTRACT
Ecological law offers a new framework for critiquing existing law and governance, and creating new, Earth-centered approaches to addressing the systemic causes of the current ecological crisis. This chapter provides an overview of one practical approach to engaging communities in discussions about ecological law and governance, so that a broad movement of people can understand and advocate for a transition to ecological law. The chapter outlines a civil society program called “Greenprints,” created in Australia. The name “Greenprints” came from the observation that although we have “blueprints” to guide careful construction of engineering and building projects, we do not yet have “greenprints” that help guide industrialized societies to build regenerative economies and communities, within healthy ecological limits. The Greenprints program addresses this gap by providing a practical methodology—literally a step-by-step guide—to help communities understand ecological limits and planetary boundaries; understand the unique ecology and healthy limits of their local bioregion and community ecosystems; analyze past, present and possible future human economic activity within their bioregion (including land use, consumption, production, carbon and other emissions and so on); and develop bioregion-specific strategies for transitioning to new, regenerative economic systems that are supported by ecological law and ecological governance.
