‘Caring for nature’ : Exploring the concepts of stewardship in European philosophies, spiritual traditions, and laws

• Main Authors: Gilbert, Jérémie, Brattland, Camilla, de Maat, Sophie, Kramm, Matthias, Pelizzon, Alessandro
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2024
• Subjects: Life Science; sami
• Online Access: https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/caring-for-nature-exploring-the-concepts-of-stewardship-in-europe; https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003318989-4

This collective chapter brings together scholars and activists from different disciplines to explore how the concept of stewardship of nature has developed in Europe. By focusing on the concept of stewardship, the goal is to explore the historical, philosophical, spiritual and metaphysical traditions that could support the idea of caring for nature from a non-anthropocentric perspective. To do so, the chapter critically analyses the anthropocentric and theological resonance of stewardship in European philosophies, as well as pagan and non-Christian traditions. It then examines European Indigenous (Sami) perspectives and approaches to the concept of stewardship and caring for nature, before observing how the principle of local stewardship is taking shape under some of the ongoing RoN initiatives across Europe. In doing so, the chapter highlights that a full implementation of the concept of stewardship in Europe requires questioning the materialist, rationalistic and deterministic presuppositions that still underpin much of positivist legal thought in Europe, a step which is crucial to support the emergence of the rights of nature across Europe.