Boyce Paul, Bhattacharyya Jonaki, Linklater Wayne
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Conserv Biol. 2022 Apr;36(2):e13840. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13840. Epub 2021 Oct 8.
Conservation issues are often complicated by sociopolitical controversies that reflect competing philosophies and values regarding natural systems, animals, and people. Effective conservation outcomes require managers to engage myriad influences (social, cultural, political, and economic, as well as ecological). The contribution of conservation scientists who generate the information on which solutions rely is constrained if they are unable to acknowledge how personal values and disciplinary paradigms influence their research and conclusions. Conservation challenges involving controversial species provide an opportunity to reflect on the paradigms and value systems that underpin the discipline and practice of conservation science. Recent analyses highlight the ongoing reliance on normative values in conservation. We frame our discussion around controversies over feral horses (Equus ferus caballus) in the Canadian West and New Zealand and suggest that a lack of transparency and reflexivity regarding normative values continues to prevent conservation practitioners from finding resilient conservation solutions. We suggest that growing scrutiny and backlash to many normative conservation objectives necessitates formal reflexivity methods in conservation biology research, similar to those required of researchers in social science disciplines. Moreover, given that much conservation research and action continues to prioritize Western normative values regarding nature and conservation, we suggest that adopting reflexive methods more broadly is an important step toward more socially just research and practice. Formalizing such methods and requiring reflexivity in research will not only encourage reflection on how personal and disciplinary value systems influence conservation work but could more effectively engage people with diverse perspectives and values in conservation and encourage more novel and resilient conservation outcomes, particularly when dealing with controversial species.
保护问题常常因社会政治争议而变得复杂，这些争议反映了在自然系统、动物和人类方面相互竞争的理念和价值观。有效的保护成果要求管理者应对众多影响因素（社会、文化、政治、经济以及生态因素）。如果保护科学家无法认识到个人价值观和学科范式如何影响他们的研究和结论，那么他们所提供的作为解决方案依据的信息的作用就会受到限制。涉及有争议物种的保护挑战为反思支撑保护科学学科与实践的范式和价值体系提供了契机。最近的分析强调了保护工作中对规范价值观的持续依赖。我们围绕加拿大西部和新西兰关于野马（Equus ferus caballus）的争议展开讨论，并指出在规范价值观方面缺乏透明度和反思性，这继续阻碍着保护从业者找到具有适应性的保护解决方案。我们认为，对许多规范性保护目标的审查日益严格以及强烈反对，使得保护生物学研究需要采用类似于社会科学学科研究人员所要求的正式反思方法。此外，鉴于许多保护研究和行动继续将西方关于自然和保护的规范价值观置于优先地位，我们建议更广泛地采用反思方法是朝着更具社会公正性的研究和实践迈出的重要一步。将这些方法形式化并要求研究具有反思性，不仅会促使人们思考个人和学科价值体系如何影响保护工作，还能更有效地让具有不同观点和价值观的人参与到保护工作中来，并鼓励产生更新颖、更具适应性的保护成果，尤其是在处理有争议物种时。
