Stewardship Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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The dictionary of forestry (1998) defines stewardship as “the administration of land and associated resources in a manner that enables their passing on to future generations in a healthy condition.” A U.S. Forest Service dictionary on ecosystem management terms defines stewardship as “a land ethic for current and future generations that 1) encourages wise use and conservation of resources; 2) sustains and enhances productivity of resources; and 3) protects resources.” State and provincial agencies charged with natural resource management of public resources have similar definitions. What these definitions have in common, and how the term is typically used in the resource management arena in the United States, especially in contradistinction to terms such as “protection” or “preservation,” is that stewardship includes active manipulation or involvement of humans with the land or resource to be stewarded, with the presumption that natural resources are actively being used by society (for example for food, fiber, or scenery), but in such a way that these resources of importance are maintained indefinitely.

The goal of stewardship is the maintenance and provision of conditions and products that humans value or need in perpetuity-enforcing sustainability. Since agreement on what aspects of the environment are to be sustained is a human judgment, what constitutes stewardship (good or bad) is a value-based notion. Stewardship implies that humans are part of the natural world, and rather than a zero-sum relationship between humans and nature, implies a mutualism or positive relationship between humanity and the rest of nature. The term also implies that humans can improve the condition of natural systems beyond that attainable if nature is simply left alone, as is emphasized by terms such as preservation.

“Stewardship contracting” is an example of how the term is used by federal land management agencies in the United States, such as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Stewardship contracting is a government program that seeks to engage private and public entities and individuals in land restoration in concert with extracting economic resources such as timber.

As stated by the U.S. Forest Service, “stewardship contracting includes natural resource management practices seeking to promote a closer working relationship with local communities in a broad range of activities that improve land conditions.” The U.S. Forest Service sees the results of stewardship as contributing “to the development of sustainable rural communities, restore[ing] and maintain[ing] healthy forest ecosystems, and provide[ing] a continuing source of local income and employment.”

These policy applications of stewardship encompass the term’s emphasis on human use of resources, as well as human communities being a part of ecological systems. This incorporation of positive human use of the environment within the term stewardship has also favored its use by many nongovernmental organizations, such as local groups who seek to have more involvement in decisions regarding the management of resources in the localities where they reside. Examples include the Northeastern Nevada Stewardship Group in the western United States, which seeks to maintain the traditional ranching economy with flourishing wildlife and native plant populations; the Land Stewardship Project, a private organization in the Midwest promoting sustainable agriculture and communities; and the Forest Stewardship Council, an international organization promoting the sustainable use of forests for timber and paper products.

The overall goal of what might be called the stewardship movement as articulated by practitioners and scholars is to foster an ethic that involves local people and communities in the sustainable management of local landscapes, as well as for the economic and social benefit of the local communities. This approach emphasizes the use of local knowledge and local control of resource decisions, rather than exclusive centralized management by public agencies or private corporations.

The application of stewardship must recognize that natural and human systems change over time, such changes are often outside the means of our control or management (such as floods, climate change, geologic change, and wars), and that what humans want or value from the resources or environment being managed will change through history. Over time, a value provided by stewardship in one era (or culture) may no longer be desired, and another potential value not previously considered because it was not socially important, may become the primary goal of stewardship.

Stewardship implies active involvement of humans with the environment to provide goods and services that people want. How stewardship is applied will depend on the needs and values of the people in control of the resource. What is considered good stewardship in one place or era may not be in another.

Bibliography:

Mark Baker and Jonathan Kusel, Community Forestry in the United States: Learning from the Past, Crafting the Future (Island Press, 2003);
A Draft Glossary for Ecosystem Management (USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 1994);
John A. Helms, ed., The Dictionary of Forestry (The Society of American Foresters, 1998).