Land stewardship has various connotations across the world but the common underlying theme is caring for a piece of land regardless of its ownership taking into consideration ecological, economic, social, and cultural dimensions.
Background and definition A closely connected term is land ethic coined by American environmentalist Aldo Leopold. While land ethic is considered a theoretical and philosophical framework that has its roots in the environmentalism of the United States, Land stewardship as a movement is slowly gaining traction in European countries, most notably in Spain where it even has legal recognition. According to Forest Europe, the concept of Land stewardship was introduced in 2003 by the Xarxa de Custòdia del Territori (Catalan Land Stewardship Network), an NGO actively working to promote land stewardship as a conservation strategy in Catalonia. The term has been defined by Xarxa de Custòdia del Territori as "…a conservation strategy that involves a wide range of civil society stakeholders. Nature, biodiversity, ecological integrity, cultural heritage and landscape values are maintained and restored through voluntary agreements between landowners/users and land stewardship organisations, General Administration, funding institutions and research centres, usually act as enabling agents". These voluntary agreements or contracts have been recognised by the Catalan Civil Code (2017).
Related concepts The concept of land stewardship is closely connected but not exactly the same as a Land trust or Environmental stewardship. While Land trusts can also be an arrangement between two individuals, land stewardship is explicitly undertaken in the interest of ecological, social and cultural values, and is therefore often a particular type of land trust. Furthermore, land stewardship is broader than environmental stewardship, as it connects land to community, and the importance of not only ecological sustainability, but also the sustainability of social and cultural practices, values and benefits.
Examples
Mas Blanco in Spain A very interesting case of the application of Land Stewardship can be found in the project carried out by the Spanish association Recartografías that takes place in Mas Blanco, located in the municipality of San Agustín (Teruel).
Overview Mas Blanco is one of the fifteen neighbourhoods belonging to the municipality of San Agustin which has approximately 119 inhabitants and is located in Teruel region of Gúdar-Javalambre. More correctly, Mas Blanco can be described as a mas or masada, terms that designate a type of rural construction and exploitation model. Mas Blanco is included within the so-called Celtiberian mountain range or "South Lapland", a territory that covers about 65.000 km2 and includes municipalities of ten Spanish provinces (Soria, Teruel, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Valencia, Castellón, Zaragoza, Burgos, Segovia and La Rioja) with a population density of approximately 7,34 inhab/km2. The origin of Mas Blanco can be dated back to the first half of the 19th century, when the arrival of some families from Gúdar mountain range took place. They were probably looking for more proper lands and less harsh climatic conditions. In the middle of the 20th century, shortly before the rural exodus began, in Mas Blanco almost a hundred people lived, constituting one of the most important neighbourhoods in the area. Mas Blanco's constructions were built up using local materials that the surrounding environment provides. It is interesting to point out that Mas Blanco has a curious rainwater collection system. The existence of underground cisterns located under the houses allows the storage of the water that fell on roofs of corrals and houses and that is conducted using something similar to gutters placed on the roofs. Mas Blanco's inhabitants devised this system due to the lack of sources or rivers in the vicinity. The main activities that the inhabitants carried out and that made up their livelihood were on the one hand, the cultivation of vine, various types of cereal, as well as sheep farming. On the other hand, most of the houses had pens with pigs, chickens and rabbits, which complemented their diet and allowed them to elaborate sausages and hams. It was common to exchange those products, together with wine, with visitors. They also often travelled to other population centers in order to exchange products. Those exchanges made it possible for Mas Blanco's neighbours to obtain rice, oil, fruits, vegetables but also clothes, medicines or tools. It is also important to add that life in Mas Blanco, as well as in many rural areas, was not idyllic due to the harsh life conditions. Inhabitants needed to perform intense work in order to maintain themselves, to which must be added the lack of basic services such as a doctor, a school or running water. Some examples are the fact that Mas Blanco's inhabitants had to go to the neighbouring mas called "El Pozo de la Muela", three kilometres away, in order to pick up water from the fountain using jugs, or to wash the clothes in the puddle there. Also, children had to travel several kilometers to go to the school, and in case of emergency it was needed to go on horseback to San Agustin (1 km away) to bring the doctor. However, the difficult conditions of life does not mean that those life models were less worthy.
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