Environmental stewardship is the responsible use, protection and enhancement of natural resources. It involves the efforts of individuals, families and communities to protect, sustain or improve the health local natural resources. Local environmental stewardship may be achieved through actions and practices such as maintaining or planting community gardens, taking down unwanted species, volunteering to clean up a public space, monitoring wildlife habitats, or participating in cleanup events for watersheds. It could also involve the community in the planning of the policies and decisions that impact the environment at the state or local level. The academic literature on stewardship offers a wide range of insights into the factors that affect the results. These include frameworks for sustainable livelihoods, CBNRM, adaptive co-management and concepts of a ecological and socio-ecological system as well as ecological sustainability.
Most often, stewardship is motivated by the desire to accomplish www.mountaincountryfarm.com/what-is-environmental-stewardship environmental or social goals (e.g. increasing biodiversity, restoring habitats which have been degraded, conserving species of wildlife, or fishing catches). In the process of setting goals, it is commonplace to look at the benefits, costs, and risks of stewardship activities. Economic motives may include the desire to receive external rewards or avoid penalties including financial incentives for stewardship actions which reduce environmental impacts, market premiums for products that are sustainable and environmentally friendly, and fines for violations of regulated resource uses (Wunder 2007).).
A broader perspective on environmental stewardship focuses on the concept of civic involvement, which is a form of environmental stewardship. Individuals or communities can act to improve environmental quality through a process of reflection, practice, and research. This cycle helps them develop the skills, knowledge and beliefs that allow them to take part in environmental protection as a an integral part of their lives (Stern 2000 link offsite).
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