Resilience and Resistance: Why the World Needs Biocultural Diversity

Volume 6, Issue 2, Winter 2017 in the northern hemisphere

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In this issue of Langscape Magazine, we set out to explore why we need biocultural diversity as a source of ecological and social resilience and resistance.

With ever-growing and accelerating signs of social turmoil and ecological disruption worldwide, it’s more important than ever to hear ideas and stories that speak to the value of that diversity for the future of our species and all other species on earth. We all need new narratives that will unseat the long-dominant one of profit-driven economic growth, technology-driven “progress,” market-driven consumerism, and relentless accumulation of material goods — all at the expense of the flourishing of life in its myriad forms and of our ability to experience the true wealth of “livingness” and the comfort of emotional and spiritual well-being.

Here, we bring together voices from all corners of the world that, collectively, weave strands of the new narrative we so urgently need. As if by the hand of a master weaver, many different threads unite here into a colorful tapestry that reveals the value of language and oral traditions, the importance of traditional knowledge and sense of place, and the need to (re)connect to biocultural heritage, other people, and the land to heal ourselves, each other, and the earth. Read articles below.