Analysis of Bioregional Development Scenarios in Latvia

The concept of bioregions stands out among the various approaches to sustainable territorial development, as it prioritises the initiative of local communities in addressing sustainability issues. At the same time, the concept of bioregions is diverse in practice, focusing on organic farming, tourism, local culture and also nature protection. Therefore, a balanced approach to the development of bioregions, which considers the specific characteristics of a particular area and the needs of its local community, is important. The present research employed the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach to analyse economic, ecological and social value added as the main criteria, alongside their subordinate subcriteria. As a result, three scenarios were designed: the Broad Integration Scenario, the Conservative Scenario and the Culture and Tourism Scenario. The dominant strategy was found to be the Culture and Tourism scenario, focusing on tourism and local cultural values. This strategy can contribute to increasing the consumption of local products and services while preserving the cultural values and ensuring a balanced approach to sustainable development. At the same time, the Broad Integration Scenario revealed that a broad—and perhaps an aggressive—approach to sustainable development was highly controversial, as it had the greatest dispersion in priority vector values. Bioregionalism, however, is a little-supported approach that does not gain support from either sustainability or rapid growth advocates. The results reveal the importance of a long-term approach to sustainable development and, at the same time, implicitly point to the role of public attitudes, both in terms of supply (through local community initiatives in bioregionalisation) and demand, which could increase the consumption of bioregional products and services.