Environmental stewardship means the responsible use of, protection and enhancement of natural resources. It involves efforts by individuals as well as families and communities to preserve, sustain, or improve the health local natural resources. Local environmental stewardship may be done through actions and behaviours such as maintaining or planting community gardens, removing invading species, volunteering for clean up the public spaces, monitoring wildlife habitats or participating in cleanup events for the watershed. It may also require the community in the planning of decisions and policy issues which affect the environment at a local or state level. The scholarly literature on stewardship has provided a variety of theories about the fundamental factors that impact its outcomes. These include frameworks for sustainable livelihoods, CBNRM and adaptive co-management as well as concepts of a social-ecological system and ecological sustainability.
In general, stewardship actions are motivated by the desire to attain environmental or social goals (e.g. increasing biodiversity, restoring habitats that have been damaged, preserving wildlife or fishing catches). The process of setting goals usually involves an assessment of the desired benefits, risks and costs of stewardship activities. Economic motives may include the desire to avoid sanctions or receive external rewards, for example financial incentives and market premiums for goods that are environmentally sustainable or fines for violating regulated resource use regulations (Wunder 2007).
A wider view of environmental stewardship includes the concept of civic action that are a form of environmental stewardship. Individuals or communities can take action to improve environmental quality by following a pattern of reflection, practice and research. This process helps them develop knowledge, skills and beliefs that enable them to participate in environmental stewardship in their daily life (Stern 2000 offsite link).
