ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates how the sexual stewardship model is embedded in discourses and programs focused on population, environment, and development projects. The concept of sexual stewardship begins with the idea of the environmental steward: deriving from the Judeo-Christian concept of a moral obligation to serve as good stewards of God's creation; it refers to one who carefully manages natural or environmental resources held in common. Sexual stewardship asserts that when population and environment are linked through neo-Malthusian arguments, it is not only the natural resources of land, water, and air, but also women's sexuality and its associated effects – fertility and reproduction – which must be responsibly managed for the common good. The chapter explains the discourses increasingly used by non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-based global population advocates who promote support for international family planning policy. NGOs engaged in population, environment, and development work are linked through formal and informal professional networks and the donors who support them.
