Challenges facing cross-disciplinary collaboration in conservation ethics

The enterprise of conservation is inherently ethical, requiring conservationists to navigate morally challenging problems. Working together, conservationists and ethicists have developed the field of conservation ethics. Yet, due to the deeply interdisciplinary nature of the field, conservation ethics faces a unique set of challenges. We first comment on the harm caused by reciprocal ignorance between some practicing conservationists and ethicists. We then explore the difficulties of creating a widely applied ethic, examining conversations surrounding the recently emerged virtue ethic, Compassionate Conservation. By bringing attention to these challenges, and highlighting medical bioethics as a touchstone of productive applied ethical theory, we can help the field avoid unproductive pitfalls, as well as facilitate positive and productive communication and collaboration between the various members of the different disciplines involved.

Automated summary

Conservation ethics, as an interdisciplinary field, faces challenges such as reciprocal ignorance between conservationists and ethicists, as well as the difficulty of creating widely applicable ethical principles. By highlighting medical bioethics as a productive example of applied ethical theory, the field can avoid unproductive pitfalls and promote positive collaboration between different disciplines.