Including stewardship in ecosystem health assessment

To adapt to the ecological crises and social inequities of the Anthropocene, a new conservation paradigm is emerging that embraces people in nature and the positive roles people play in ecosystem health through land stewardship. We discuss the emergence of this new model and explore the methods needed to research and coordinate stewardship as part of conservation landscape planning through a practical case study. Updating conservation frameworks to include the positive impacts people have on ecosystems, we argue, is a powerful leverage point for catalysing more effective and equitable nature conservation and other large-scale societal transformations necessary for just sustainability. Human and natural systems are inextricably intertwined, co-evolving systems. The study presents a new conservation framework incorporating the different roles people can play in ecosystem health, through land stewardship.

Automated summary

To address the ecological crises and social inequities of the Anthropocene, a new conservation paradigm is rising that recognizes the importance of humans in nature and their positive impact on ecosystem health through land stewardship. This study explores the emergence of this new model and discusses the methods needed for researching and coordinating stewardship as part of conservation landscape planning. Updating conservation frameworks to include the positive roles people play in ecosystem health can catalyze more effective and equitable nature conservation and other societal transformations for just sustainability.