Strengthening sense of place at multiple scales as a foundation for Earth Stewardship

Background/Question/Methods

Rapid increases in per capita consumption, and to a lesser extent population growth, have led to unsustainable trajectories in the relationship of people and the biosphere. This has caused rapid environmental change and a global decline in many of the ecosystem services on which society depends. This occurs as people seek to meet their desires and needs, not because they deliberately degrade their environment. To what extent might a stronger sense of place shift behavior toward a more sustainable trajectory? Human behavior reflects an interaction of goals based on personal desires and needs, social norms, and ideological worldviews, each of which can be influenced by sense of place. I suggest that improved understanding of the relationship of sense of place to each of these dimensions of human behavior is important in fostering Earth Stewardship.

Results/Conclusions

Ideology and worldview are strong predictors of peoples’ attitudes toward the environment at local-to-global scales. Many religious traditions espouse a stewardship relationship between people and the natural world and with other people. A mutually respectful collaboration between scientific and religious communities could address the stewardship goals that these communities share. Similarly, many cultural worldviews are strongly embedded in acceptable relationships between people and nature. Respect and support for these traditions recognizes the moral, cultural, and philosophical connections of people to nature and to the well-being of others. Social norms are influenced by worldviews but are strongly modified by social interactions, as people seek to increase their acceptance by the social group with which they most closely associate. How might social norms that motivate stewardship behavior be strengthened relative to those that create tradeoffs with environmental benefits? Collaborations with social psychologists and educators are essential in developing strategies that account for social norms. Individual behavior is shaped not only by worldviews and social norms but also by individual choices based on desires, needs, and opportunities. Economic valuation of ecosystem services and regulation of people’s use of the environment address some economic and political dimensions of individual choice. However, educational and outreach activities that reconnect people with nature and strengthen individual sense of place is an important additional motivation for stewardship behavior. Earth stewardship will require attention to these multiple dimensions of sense of place.