Environmental stewardship refers to the actions that are taken by a person or a collective to safeguard, restore, and/or sustainably use natural resources. The actions may be taken at a variety of scales (local to global) in both urban and rural contexts. Stewardship-supporting activities can include educational programs, social marketing campaigns, and payments for ecosystem services (PES) that aim to promote intrinsic Our site motivations by creating a connection with nature, or changing people’s ethics, values or beliefs. Alternatively, extrinsic rewards and sanctions, like financial incentives, market premiums fines, or even the removal of market access can be used to motivate the stewardship behavior.
The concept of environmental stewardship is often used to refer to conservation. However, it also encompasses a holistic understanding of human relations with the natural environment. It is based on the notion that all humans are connected with the natural environment and therefore must take care to treat it with respect. This kind of stewardship includes concepts such as sustainable livelihoods, adaptive management, and a social-ecological framework. These concepts can provide a holistic framework for thinking of the role of humans in managing natural resources.
The majority of abstracts related to stewardship are coded Action (76 percent) and this indicates that environmental stewardship plays a crucial role in reaching desired ecological and social outcomes. Of the remaining abstracts, the smallest proportion is coded under Outcome with only 1%, suggesting that interventions that target outcomes tend to be at broader eco-regional and/or national-international scales, and not on the individual level.