Book chapter
‘Caring for nature’: Exploring the concepts of stewardship in European philosophies, spiritual traditions, and laws
Rights of Nature in Europe: Encounters and Visions, pp.45-62
Routledge
2024
Abstract
This collective chapter brings together scholars and activists from different disciplines to explore how the concept of stewardship of nature has developed in Europe. By focusing on the concept of stewardship, the goal is to explore the historical, philosophical, spiritual and metaphysical traditions that could support the idea of caring for nature from a non-anthropocentric perspective. To do so, the chapter critically analyses the anthropocentric and theological resonance of stewardship in European philosophies, as well as pagan and non-Christian traditions. It then examines European Indigenous (Sami) perspectives and approaches to the concept of stewardship and caring for nature, before observing how the principle of local stewardship is taking shape under some of the ongoing RoN initiatives across Europe. In doing so, the chapter highlights that a full implementation of the concept of stewardship in Europe requires questioning the materialist, rationalistic and deterministic presuppositions that still underpin much of positivist legal thought in Europe, a step which is crucial to support the emergence of the rights of nature across Europe.
In recent years, Europe has witnessed growing interest in RoN, with academic, legislative, and political initiatives gaining momentum. A significant development is the September 2022 passage of a law in the Spanish Parliament, granting legal personhood and rights to the Mar Menor, a saltwater lagoon severely affected by environmental degradation.
Given the diversity in interpretations and articulations of ‘Rights of Nature’, this edited volume argues that their arrival in Europe fosters different kinds of interactions across distinct areas of law, knowledge, practices, and societal domains. The book employs a multidisciplinary approach, exploring these interactions in law and policy, anthropology, Indigenous worldviews and jurisprudence, philosophy, spiritual traditions, critical theory, animal communication, psychology, and social work.
This book is tailored for scholars in law, political science, environmental studies, anthropology and cultural studies; as well as legal practitioners, NGOs, activists and policy-makers interested in ecology and environmental protection. [Book Synopsis]
Details
- Title
- ‘Caring for nature’: Exploring the concepts of stewardship in European philosophies, spiritual traditions, and laws
- Authors
- Jeremie Gilbert (Author) - University of RoehamptonCamilla Brattland (Author) - UiT The Arctic University of NorwaySophie De Maat (Author) - Wageningen University & ResearchMatthias Kramm (Author) - Wageningen University & ResearchAlessandro Pelizzon (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Contributors
- Jenny Garcia Ruales (Editor) - Philipps University of MarburgKatarina Hovden (Editor) - University of CopenhagenHelen Kopnina (Editor) - Northumbria UniversityColin D Robertson (Editor) - Law Society of ScotlandHendrik Schoukens (Editor) - Ghent University
- Publication details
- Rights of Nature in Europe: Encounters and Visions, pp.45-62
- Publisher
- Routledge
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781003318989-4; 10.4324/9781003318989
- ISBN
- 9781003318989
- Organisation Unit
- School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99992898702621
- Output Type
- Book chapter
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