ABSTRACT
Although the practice of architectural conservation is replete with ethical issues, ethics in conservation, or conservation ethics, remains woefully under-developed. Conservation often implicates hard questions and judgment on which technique is more appropriate and which is less so. Conservation is also a social act, which can impact lives and the environment in ways that are both undesired and undesirable, leading to long-lasting and irreversible negative social consequences. Furthermore, how conservation issues are framed and evaluated presupposes the use of certain normative evaluations, which must be made more explicit or publicly justifiable in any responsible conservation practices. All these can be considered as ethical issues of conservation, which have become even more salient in Southeast Asia—a context that is also likely to confront more challenges in conservation in the coming years. In this chapter, the existing literature on conservation ethics will be examined to reveal important gaps, questions, and limitations. Importantly, this knowledge gap in conservation ethics are discussed through two case studies, Tan Si Chong Su (Ancestral Hall of the Tan Clan) and Golden Mile Complex in Singapore. Through the explication of these case studies, ways to further consolidate and advance on a more systematic framework of conservation ethics in the context of Southeast Asia are suggested.
