Latombe Guillaume, Arbieu Ugo, Bacher Sven, Canessa Stefano, Courchamp Franck, Dullinger Stefan, Essl Franz, Glaser Michael, Jarić Ivan, Lenzner Bernd, Schertler Anna, Wilson John R U
Institute of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Société Evolution, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Bioscience. 2025 Jun 17;75(9):722-736. doi: 10.1093/biosci/biaf052. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Conservation policies often need to integrate scientific predictions with ethical considerations. However, different normative ethical systems at the root of conservation approaches often support different decisions, and the moral stances of stakeholders are influenced by diverse societal values and perceptions. This creates the potential for dilemmas and conflicts. In the present article, we adapt the well-known trolley problem thought experiment to a conservation context. Exploring variations in how the problem is framed enables us to highlight key concepts that need to be considered in decision-making (uncertainty; asymmetry in numbers, victims, and impacts; temporal and spatial asymmetry; causal relationships and stakeholder involvement). We argue that the trolley problem offers a simplified but flexible framework to understand and predict the factors underlying differences in moral stances across diverse conservation issues, foster communication, and facilitate informed decision-making in conservation practice.
保护政策通常需要将科学预测与伦理考量相结合。然而，保护方法背后不同的规范性伦理体系往往支持不同的决策，而且利益相关者的道德立场受到多种社会价值观和观念的影响。这就产生了困境和冲突的可能性。在本文中，我们将著名的电车难题思想实验应用于保护情境。探究该问题不同的框架变化能让我们突出决策时需要考虑的关键概念（不确定性；数量、受害者及影响方面的不对称性；时间和空间上的不对称性；因果关系以及利益相关者的参与）。我们认为，电车难题提供了一个简化但灵活的框架，用于理解和预测不同保护问题中道德立场差异背后的因素，促进交流，并推动保护实践中的明智决策。
