ABSTRACT

Trying to ensure that we act appropriately and with a due awareness of moral obligations when we undertake research has increasingly been recognized as not only a proper and socially responsible way to behave, but also, quite pragmatically, as offering a better chance of success than acting as though morals and scientifi c research were two unrelated things. What we need to bear in mind is that, though as conservationists our goals are to understand the natural environment, its fl ora and fauna and general ecology and, where it is necessary and where we can, to propose action to conserve that environment, we will never be successful if we neglect the participation of people and societies within that ecology we are studying (in this respect see also Section 5.2). We must constantly be aware of the social, political and cultural context in which we are working. This is especially the case when we are outsiders coming in to assist at a local level; and we should remember that we can also be outsiders in our own societies where we speak the language and share the nationality of the communities among whom we are working. The record of intervention from outside over the last 150 years, even well-intentioned intervention, has not always been a happy one. In this respect, especially in the last two decades, we have made progress by refl ecting on and learning from the mistakes of our predecessors, but we must never drop our guard against what might be described as an assumption of arrogance. This section begins with some comments on colonial practice and the rest of the chapter then takes the reader through some of the recent debates about ethics; it goes on to discuss the range of responsibilities that researchers should bear in mind, and fi nally it suggests ways to address the ethical dimensions of research at the stages of preparation, fi eldwork and writing up and publishing.