Introduction: Linking Ecology and Ethics for an Interregional and Intercultural Earth Stewardship - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 5

intercultural and interdisciplinary processes generate forms of co-management of
ecosystems, which contribute to planetary stewardship.
Our ultimate goal is to contribute to dynamic, intercultural, and interregional
approaches to planetary stewardship initiatives. We have organized the topic into
three parts. Part I presents contrasting forms of understanding and co-inhabiting
the biosphere, forms that often remain outside of academia and prevailing
government discourses. Part II examines the Earth Stewardship Initiative, relating
it to transdisciplinary work conducted at ILTER sites and networks around the
globe. Part III introduces environmental citizenship and participatory approaches,
policy and conservation actions, religious belief systems and alliances, and exem-
plary lives of people who have made, and are making, a difference for practicing
Earth stewardship. These approaches and initiatives place the value of life, human
and other-than-human, above the value of capital, and have the capacity to imple-
ment Earth stewardship practices driven by that reoriented value hierarchy.

1.1 Part I: A Biocultural Approach to Earth Stewardship

Earth stewardship is a biocultural practice because it operates at the interface of
biophysical and cultural domains. Different forms of stewardship have evolved
from ancient, collective practices in Global Western, Southern, and Eastern societ-
ies. Ricardo Rozzi indicates that preserving the diversity of ways of understanding
the natural world and of co-inhabiting with it is an essential aspect of the steward-
ship of both local places and the entire Earth. Part I examines multiple current forms
of ecological knowledge and practices in various regions of the world—such as
crab- and oyster-harvesting communities living on the Chesapeake Bay, the ancient
agricultural tradition of satoyama that today molds the life of remnant rural com-
munities in Japan, and lifeways of the Aymara and Quechua people in the high
Andean Plateau that relate to the Earth as a living being and regard themselves as
integrally connected to the forces of nature. In these living ecological worldviews
and practices we can fi nd vital elements to enrich our understanding of Earth stew-
ardship today.
Focusing on local ecological knowledge in North America, Sharon Kingsland
calls attention to the complex history of integrating ecological sciences and ver-
nacular conservation practices. Based on a case study in Chesapeake Bay (eastern
United States), Kingsland criticizes the split between two cultures: that of scientists
and that of “watermen” whose livelihoods rely on harvesting of shellfi sh. The fi rst
culture is based on faith in theoretical models and logical arguments, while the sec-
ond on knowledge grounded in everyday experience. The historical analysis of this
case illustrates how this split was overcome through collaborative work that led to
the establishment of co-management practices involving watermen, scientists, and
policy makers. Kingsland remarks that scientists are now being challenged to over-
come disciplinary constraints in order to be able to produce innovative responses to
address the environmental, economic, and social challenges of the twenty-fi rst century.