ABSTRACT
Biodiversity research is frequently positioned at the interface of multiple junctures, such as science and the private sector; biodiversity rich but technologically poor and biodiversity poor but technologically rich nations and regions; the urban and rural; and between the economically and politically powerful and the disenfranchised (Cunningham, 1996; Dove, 1996; Macilwain, 1998; ten Kate and Laird, 1999). The result is that complex ethical questions and challenges are made more complex by rapid technological change and globalization (Alexiades, in press). Because the ‘ethical envelope’ (O’Riordan, 1996) – the broad moral, philosophical and political context within which biodiversity research takes place – is multidimensional and dynamic, the obligations it raises for researchers are likewise complex and constantly changing (Janzen et al, 1993). Now, more than ever, researchers need to revise their assumptions and ethical standards, taking into account economic, social, cultural and political considerations which, until recently, did not enter the mainstream academic research equation.
