Environmental stewardship in austere times: nurturing sustainable socio-ecological relations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Like many communities, the people who live alongside the Calder River and its catchment in Yorkshire, UK, are having to face the health and other consequences of climate change, and catastrophic flooding is becoming a frequent event. Through the concept of planetary health, it is claimed the protection of natural and human systems could be achieved, in part, through the stewardship of common pool resources by the communities that know and depend on them. This paper explores, ethnographically, the challenges of enacting stewardship in the context of austerity. It shows how the socially reproductive capacity required for stewardship is limited in the context of austerity, which impinges the wellbeing and agency of stewards and the sustainability of their stewardship work. Building on theories of care, it is suggested that by aligning stewardship work with the ethical principles of permaculture – care for the earth, care for people, and fair share – forms of agency and action capable of addressing the many challenges wrought by austerity and climate change could be enabled.