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Inadvertent advocacy.
1Habitat Program, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501, USA. wilhegfw@dfw.wa.gov
Summary
Conservation scientists can unintentionally advocate for policies by presenting ethical judgments as scientific findings. Awareness and education are crucial to prevent this professional negligence and maintain public trust in science.
Area of Science:
- Conservation Science
- Environmental Policy
- Scientific Ethics
Background:
- Policy advocacy is a recurring topic in conservation science debates.
- Discussions often center on intentional advocacy, overlooking unintentional forms.
- Inadvertent policy advocacy occurs when personal or ethical judgments are presented as scientific conclusions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and illustrate inadvertent policy advocacy in conservation science.
- To highlight the potential for scientists to unintentionally influence policy.
- To underscore the importance of distinguishing scientific and ethical judgments.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of scientific communication within conservation policy contexts.
- Examination of case studies, including species recovery plans and conservation status definitions.
- Conceptual framework defining two pathways to inadvertent advocacy.
Main Results:
- Scientists may express ethical judgments believing them to be scientific.
- Value judgments can be unintentionally communicated as objective science.
- Examples include species recovery criteria and conservation status definitions.
Conclusions:
- Inadvertent policy advocacy can erode trust and undermine rational discourse.
- Scientists must clearly delineate scientific findings from ethical or policy preferences.
- Education on the interaction of science and values is essential for conservation scientists.
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