Environmental stewardship refers to the responsible use of, protection and enhancement of natural resources. It involves efforts by individuals, families and communities to protect, sustain or improve the health local natural resources. Local environmental stewardship is done through actions and behaviours like maintaining or planting community gardens, taking down the spread of invasive species, volunteering to clean up the public spaces, monitoring wildlife habitats, or participating in cleanup events for watersheds. It can also involve the community in planning actions and policies which affect the environment on the local or state level. The literature on stewardship in academia provides a range of insights into the factors that influence the results. These include frameworks for sustainable livelihoods, CBNRM, adaptive co-management and concepts of socio-ecological systems and ecological sustainability.
In general, stewardship initiatives are driven by the desire to accomplish environmental or social goals (e.g., increasing biodiversity, restoring degraded habitats conserving wildlife, or preserving fishing catch). The process of setting goals usually involves an assessment of the desired benefits, risks and costs of stewardship decisions. Economic motives can include the desire to avoid penalties or receive external rewards, like financial incentives and market premiums for goods that are environmentally https://mountaincountryfarm.com/what-is-environmental-stewardship/ sustainable or fines for violating regulated resource usage regulations (Wunder 2007).
A broader perspective of environmental stewardship also includes the concept of civic action which is a kind of environmental stewardship. It involves individuals or communities taking action to promote the environment through a series of practice, research, and reflection. This process helps them acquire knowledge, skills and beliefs that enable them to take part in environmental stewardship in their daily life (Stern 2000 offsite link).