Equity trade-offs in conservation decision making

Law, Elizabeth A.; Bennett, Nathan J.; Ives, Christopher D.; Friedman, Rachel; Davis, Katrina J.; Archibald, Carla; Wilson, Kerrie A.

Abstract

Conservation decisions increasingly involve multiple environmental and social objectives, which result in complex decision contexts with high potential for trade-offs. Improving social equity is one such objective that is often considered an enabler of successful outcomes and a virtuous ideal in itself. Despite its idealized importance in conservation policy, social equity is often highly simplified or ill-defined and is applied uncritically. What constitutes equitable outcomes and processes is highly normative and subject to ethical deliberation. Different ethical frameworks may lead to different conceptions of equity through alternative perspectives of what is good or right. This can lead to different and potentially conflicting equity objectives in practice. We promote a more transparent, nuanced, and pluralistic conceptualization of equity in conservation decision making that particularly recognizes where multidimensional equity objectives may conflict. To help identify and mitigate ethical conflicts and avoid cases of good intentions producing bad outcomes, we encourage a more analytical incorporation of equity into conservation decision making particularly during mechanistic integration of equity objectives. We recommend that in conservation planning motivations and objectives for equity be made explicit within the problem context, methods used to incorporate equity objectives be applied with respect to stated objectives, and, should objectives dictate, evaluation of equity outcomes and adaptation of strategies be employed during policy implementation.

Citation

Law, E. A., Bennett, N. J., Ives, C. D., Friedman, R., Davis, K. J., Archibald, C., & Wilson, K. A. (2018). Equity trade-offs in conservation decision making. Conservation Biology, 32(2), 294-303. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13008

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 28, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Sep 1, 2017
• Publication Date: Apr 30, 2018
• Deposit Date: Oct 2, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 2, 2018
• Journal: Conservation Biology
• Print ISSN: 0888-8892
• Electronic ISSN: 1523-1739
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 294-303
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13008
• Keywords: Environmental management, ethical pluralism, conservation planning, conservation policy, prioritization, trade-offs.
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/880080
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cobi.13008
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Law, E. A., Bennett, N. J., Ives, C. D., Friedman, R., Davis, K. J., Archibald, C. and Wilson, K. A., Equity trade-offs in conservation decision making, Conservation Biology, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13008. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.