Environmental stewardship is a term that describes an individual’s or community’s actions to safeguard or restore sustainable use of natural resources. The actions may be taken at a range of scales (local to global) in both urban and rural settings. Stewardship-supporting activities can include educational programs, social marketing campaigns, and payments for ecosystem services (PES) that aim to promote intrinsic motivations by creating a connection with nature, or changing people’s ethics, values or beliefs. External rewards or sanctions such as financial incentives may also be used to inspire stewardship behavior.

The term “environmental stewardship” is often used to refer to conservation. However it also encompasses a holistic understanding of how humans interact with the natural environment. It is based on the assumption that all human beings are interconnected with the natural environment and therefore must take care of it. This type of stewardship embraces concepts such as social-ecological systems, sustainable livelihoods and adaptive co-management. These concepts can provide a more comprehensive perspective on the role of humans in managing natural resources.

The majority of abstracts pertaining to stewardship are coded under Action (76 percent) which suggests that environmental stewardship is a major role in achieving desired social and ecological 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.

https://mountaincountryfarm.com/what-is-environmental-stewardship/