Chapter 8. Environmental Stewardship
8.1 Definitions and Environmental Stewardship Ideas
One of the main reasons people travel is to visit areas that are unspoiled, natural, beautiful, or unique in terms of their local environment. Unfortunately, through our actions either as tourism businesses or as visitors, we risk damaging the natural environments we depend on (Hardin, 1968; Williams & Ponsford, 2008). Establishing management practices in tourism that limit harm and damage to the environment is a key priority for most tourism destinations. For this reason, environmental stewardship in tourism is of paramount importance.
Environmental stewardship can be defined as “the responsible use (including conservation) of natural resources in a way that takes full and balanced account of the interests of society, future generations, and other species, as well as of private needs, and accepts significant answerability to society” (Worrell & Appleby, 2000, p. 263). Further to this, indigenous peoples within Canada see people and communities as integral pieces to the land management and caretaking process. As noted by the Assembly of First Nations (2020):
Indigenous peoples are caretakers of Mother Earth and realize and respect her gifts of water, air and fire. First Nations peoples’ have a special relationship with the earth and all living things in it. This relationship is based on a profound spiritual connection to Mother Earth that guided indigenous peoples to practice reverence, humility and reciprocity. It is also based on the subsistence needs and values extending back thousands of years. Hunting, gathering, and fishing to secure food includes harvesting food for self, family, the elderly, widows, the community, and for ceremonial purposes. Everything is taken and used with the understanding that we take only what we need, and we must use great care and be aware of how we take and how much of it so that future generations will not be put in peril.
This chapter explores the concept of environmental stewardship, the impacts of tourism on the natural environment (and vice versa), and ways we can minimize these impacts.
Generally speaking, environmental education, research, stewardship and practice have been informed by the traditions of western, Euro-centric culture. It is critical to note that Indigenous peoples throughout the world, including the various Indigenous Nations throughout the land now known as British Columbia have always been the original stewards of their Territories and lands.
Stewardship is often defined as having the duty of and then actively participating in the careful management of resources. Resource stewardship concepts have roots in a diversity of early practices, often founded on intimate connections between humans, their unique cultural practices and nature (McMillen et. al., 2020). Indigenous knowledge and practices of stewardship concepts were pushed aside for decades as European and white settlers in Canada removed Indigen