Introduction: Linking Ecology and Ethics for an Interregional and Intercultural Earth Stewardship - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 10

and Elli Groner describe an LTER site on the border between Jordan and Israel that
provides a venue for developing trust and collaborations in a politically contentious
region of the world. They describe discussions about what kind of knowledge is
important to local stakeholders. In some cases, experts can clarify which manage-
ment actions should receive highest priority and which require either more research
to fi ll knowledge gaps or greater dialogue to overcome gaps in values between
locals and scientists. For example, the aesthetic value of landscapes often is more
relevant to citizens and decision makers than to scientists. Orenstein and Groner
propose a social-based research approach to ecosystem services within the LTSER
platform that provides a framework for integrating the values and opinions of local
communities into the local research and policy agenda. This social-based approach
to ecosystem services assessment—which has proven to be a catalyst for construc-
tive, community-level engagement—could be further applied within the Earth
Stewardship initiative. Olga Barbosa and Paula Villagra highlight the relevance of
combining bottom-up with top-down approaches. Capacity-building in local com-
munities is as important as building relationships with regional and national govern-
ment institutions and private business organizations.
In summary, Part II explores the integration of historical and cultural analyses,
philosophical methodologies, and long-term socio-ecological research platforms,
with practices that are essential for creating a stronger stewardship commitment that
is conceptually grounded in diverse realities, and is relevant to addressing the practi-
cal issues faced by today's global and local societies. Effective approaches depend
deeply on cultural context, requiring interdisciplinary exploration, study, partner-
ship, and infrastructural implementation throughout the world.

1.3 Part III: Integrating Ecology and Ethics as a Foundation

for Earth Stewardship Action

This fi nal part introduces concepts, ongoing initiatives, and future perspectives for
stewardship actions. Earth stewardship, as much citizenship, entails rights and
responsibilities. Eugene Hargrove introduces the concept of Earth citizenship as a
metaphor for an ecological governance of the planet as its capacity to support human
life is pushed to the limits. Following Mark Sagoff, he contrasts the notions of citi-
zen and consumer. Furthermore, Hargrove argues that stewardship has a religious
connotation, whereas citizenship is religiously neutral, and therefore can be widely
accepted across the many cultures of the world. Peter Taylor emphasizes the impor-
tance of engagement and participation of people, cultivating collaborators, transver-
sality, and fostering curiosity for dynamic environmental planning and management.
Engagement and participation of people also is central to the approach to protected
areas taken by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN). Ernesto
Enkerlin and collaborators introduce the “Promise of Sydney,” the focus of the 2014
World Parks Congress in Australia, to emphasize that protected areas can be an
effective strategy to put Earth stewardship into action. They argue that protected