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to maintain ecosystem services. Earth stewardship involves making this awareness
part of the fabric of our society.
Historical and contemporary examples from modern ecology and environmen-
talism suggest that a multicultural perspective that combines values and perspec-
tives both from the culture of science and the culture of ordinary citizens can be
more productive than an approach that seeks to apply scientifi c expertise without
regard to local culture and custom. Research in social science also underscores the
importance of studying human behavior, institutional structures, and the conditions
that lead to effective stewardship, rather than relying on over-simplifi ed logical
arguments, such as the “tragedy of the commons” argument popularized by Garrett
Hardin ( 1968 ). In this chapter I consider one example that illustrates the problem of
trying to impose the “tragedy of the commons” logic on resistant resource users,
before highlighting some of the interdisciplinary scholarship that has provided an
alternative approach to understanding problems of governing the commons. I end
by considering a couple of instances of citizen-led stewardship that has countered
modern forces of development in order to foster an ecological viewpoint that
conforms to human values and needs.
2.1
Two Cultures: Scientists and Watermen
Today, ecology affi rms that humans are intrinsic parts of ecosystems, and their
values and cultural beliefs, which motivate their actions, are aspects of these systems
(McDonnell and Pickett 1993 ). As Ricardo Rozzi ( 2013 ) has pointed out, preserving
human cultures is an important aspect of earth stewardship. This endeavor can be
seen as a problem of ethics that invites collaboration between ecologists and
philosophers. He cautions however that environmental ethics must depart from the
philosophical traditions that have separated humans from other animals, in order to
understand what connects humans, the environment, and the species that co-inhabit
the environment. With such understanding one can appreciate how the conservation
of cultural diversity - the diverse cultures that have evolved in close interaction with
other species and environments - must be part of the broader goal of working toward
sustainable practices. Rozzi refers to this viewpoint as “biocultural ethics” which
serves the goal of “biocultural conservation.” He views this approach as also capable
of addressing problems of social and environmental justice that are inextricably
linked to broader problems of environmental stewardship. The scientifi cally trained
ecologist who enters local communities with this goal in mind has to be capable of
discovering, internalizing, and perhaps even recovering the environmental perspec-
tives of local communities. That such discovery is a means of enlightenment for
ecologists has been emphasized in several essays in the volume Linking Ecology
and Ethics for a Changing World , for example Stuart Chapin's refl ections on his
interactions with native communities in Alaska (Chapin et al. 2013 ).
It has proved more diffi cult to accord non-indigenous local communities, even
those that have lived off the land for generations, the same attention and respect.
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