Paper short abstract:

Modern administrative units or districts have boundaries based on considerations other than ecological. Historical data shows that prior to districts the spatial units were ecologically homogenous. The modern and historical spatial units can be integrated to yield superior development.

Paper long abstract:

Colonial rule in India overlaid a system of administrative units over the landscape known as districts. These were based on logistical convenience and revenue yield. Prior to the districts the sub-continental geography was based on spatial entities distinct from each other by way of varying natural conditions, the boundaries between them occurring where the natural conditions of one entity gave way to another. These were etched over centuries of observation in the human mindscape.

These entities had long standing names. Their native natural characteristics [climate, soil, vegetation, topography, geology, fauna, water, etc.] would give rise to cultural expressions typical of that area, in the form of language, architecture, dress, cuisine, music and arts, festivals, deities, etc.

Research showed that the geography of languages mostly coincides with the boundaries of the natural spatial units. Cultural clues, primary and secondary research can combine to create a map of the pre-district spatial entities distinguished by their differing natural characteristics.

The modern district system is an overlayer above the underlying bioregional units. While the districts cannot be done away with, being over 200 years old, it may be possible to align the district[s] with the natural spatial units of yore. The objective would be to attain the ecological regeneration and sustainable development of bioregions by administering them through the instrument of their constituent modern districts i.e. the old bioregion could be aligned with the overlayer of their constituent modern districts and thereby aligning modern development with the imperatives of landscape ecology.