Ethics of remote access and technology in conservation

 By Richard B. Primack 

 

“What is called charity is no charity but the interference of a third person.”  Henry David Thoreau in his Journal. 

 

Does remote access and use of technology in conservation- related programs and research provide the intended benefit to groups that have been marginalized in the sciences?  

 

Images of conservation activities. 

In a recent paper, we describe a typology of justice-oriented principles that can be used to examine social justice in three conservation areas: (1) remote access to US national park educational programs and data; (2) digitization of natural history specimens and their use in conservation research; and (3) remote engagement in conservation-oriented citizen science.  

 

 

Typology and examples of social justice-oriented principles applicable in conservation.

 

We found that remote access increased participation, but access and benefits were not equally distributed and unanticipated consequences have not been adequately addressed.

Thriving Earth Exchange is program that helps scientists and communities ensure that conservation projects benefit all participants.

The framework that we present could be used to assess the social justice dimensions of many conservation programs, institutions, practices, and policies, and related fields of ecology, evolution, and environmental sciences.   

 

Here is the article: 

Miller-Rushing et al. 2022. Conservation ethics in the time of the pandemic: Does increasing remote access advance social justice? Biological Conservation 276: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109788