Land Stewardship

Investing in The Natural, Social and Economic Capital of Industrial Land

This booklet is a first step to show how the concept of land stewardship can be helpful in the creation of an approach to sustainably use and protect our soils. Nicole and Common Forum acknowledge the added value of the concept of land and soil stewardship and also agree that there are points of discussion e.g. legal matters. Both want to explore how this concept may lead to new insights in soil policy. This exercise could lead to a joint position paper on land stewardship. The cases provide a promising start.

This booklet aims to bring the circular economy within reach for land managers by introducing concepts of Land Stewardship. Visualizing the additional benefits in terms of natural and social capital is an important support during decision-making. As there is no acknowledged value scale for the valuation of natural and social capital of land, this booklet gives a brief explanation of the meaning of these dimensions for the value of land. Methodologies for expressing the economic value of land are only introduced as a reference.

Land Stewardship opens up a whole new ‘land’ of opportunities, examples of which are given in this booklet, thereby closing the circular loop.