Earth Care
Earth care refers to the collective responsibility of protecting, restoring, and sustaining the ecological systems that make life possible, including water systems, soils, forests, biodiversity, urban green spaces, and the many species that coexist with humans. In the context of climate change, ecosystem degradation, and rapid urbanization, these forms of care are becoming not only environmental concerns but also essential dimensions of public care systems. From the wellbeing of street animals to the resilience of urban ecosystems, earth care highlights the deep interdependence between social reproduction and ecological regeneration. Caring for people ultimately depends on caring for the ecological infrastructures that sustain life. Public responsibility therefore extends beyond mitigating environmental harm to actively protecting, restoring, and strengthening the human and more-than-human systems that make collective wellbeing possible.
CURRENT STATISTICS
1
Approximately 1 million animal and plant species worldwide are threatened with extinction. This loss reflects the rapid erosion of the ecological relationships and systems that sustain life.
35%
Since 1970, the world has lost roughly 35% of its wetlands. These ecosystems are critical infrastructures for water regulation, food security, biodiversity, and climate resilience.
2
Around 2 billion people globally lack reliable access to safe drinking water. This highlights how ecological care is deeply connected to public investment, infrastructure, and long-term planning.
CURRENT CARE POLICIES
Care Policy Recommendations Tool
At İhtimam, we curate emerging care policy recommendations and translate them into practical guidance for different stakeholders. Select a stakeholder group and thematic area to explore relevant policy recommendations, strategies, and actions from Türkiye and around the world.
THE FUTURE OF CARE
Care Radar
The Care Radar tracks emerging developments, weak signals, and evolving conversations across the care landscape. It is designed to help us understand how care is changing and to explore these shifts through an ethical and systems-oriented lens.
Earth Care Enters the Public Agenda
As climate change and ecosystem degradation intensify, environmental protection is increasingly being discussed not only as an environmental issue but also as a public care responsibility. This care-centered perspective is gradually gaining visibility in policy discussions.
Urban Ecological Care Infrastructure
Some municipalities are expanding initiatives such as green corridors, rainwater harvesting systems, cooling spaces, and community gardens. While these approaches offer promising models for climate resilience and wellbeing, their scale and long-term sustainability remain limited.
Animal Welfare as a Care Policy Issue
The feeding, sterilization, sheltering, and wellbeing of free-roaming animals are becoming more visible within local policy agendas. However, approaches and levels of support vary significantly across cities and regions.
Community-Based Earth Care Practices
Community gardens, seed-sharing networks, volunteer veterinary initiatives, and neighborhood greening projects are creating local capacities for ecological care. Many of these efforts, however, continue to depend heavily on volunteer labor and grassroots participation.
The Growth of Small-Scale Ecological Interventions
Green streets, neighborhood gardens, urban tree planting, and micro-shading projects are becoming increasingly common. While these interventions can generate meaningful local impacts, they are not always connected to broader ecological planning strategies.
The Recognition of Ecological Care Work
Activities such as soil stewardship, food growing, seed saving, habitat restoration, and water conservation are increasingly being understood as forms of care work. Despite their importance, this labor remains largely invisible within conventional economic measures.
The Recognition of Ecological Care Work
Activities such as soil stewardship, food production, seed saving, and water conservation are increasingly being recognized as forms of care work. These practices sustain the ecological systems that make life possible, yet their contributions are rarely reflected in economic measurements, public investment priorities, or traditional definitions of productive labor.
The Rise of Planetary Vulnerability Narratives
Following the pandemic and accelerating climate crises, the idea that humans exist independently from nature is being challenged more openly. Concepts of interdependence, ecological responsibility, and shared vulnerability are becoming more closely connected to care ethics and public discourse.
