Soil and Land Stewardship: An Action Perspective for More Soil Care and Protection

Abstract

Soil and land deliver essential services to humankind and our ecosystems. However, they are under increasing pressure and have become vulnerable resources. The principle of “Soil and Land Stewardship” could be a good instrument to increase soil and land awareness. The goal of this contribution is to give a general introduction to the Soil and Land Stewardship concept. We start with our interpretation of the Soil and Land Stewardship concept. We examine the legal points and the more controversial points of departure regarding Soil and Land Stewardship (e.g. soil as a “common good”, ecosystems services and granting rights to nature). We also pay attention to the most important constraints to implementing this concept. This is necessary to work out practical, workable (legal) translations of Soil and Land Stewardship. The contribution ends with some suggestions for next steps that we think would be very valuable in further implementing the Soil and Land Stewardship principle.