ABSTRACT
The publication of biodiversity research results is an important factor that shapes the flow of knowledge and information between and within different groups, including local communities, academia, industry, the media and the general public. Embedded in a complex web of local and global social relations, such flows raise issues relating to proprietary rights and to power relations between different groups. In this chapter we identify some of these issues and discuss conflicts of interest that emerge as researchers simultaneously seek to fulfil professional obligations while developing socially responsible research partnerships. While we place more emphasis on questions relating to cultural knowledge, many of the processes and questions that we examine also pertain to other types of environmental knowledge.
