FW: Survey on censorship and academic and scientific freedom in biodiversity and conservation research
Elma Marais
Good day, SAWMA community!
Please find below an important global survey of researchers' experiences of scientific and academic freedom in biodiversity conservation research.
It has been reviewed, and approved, by Leeds University’s Research Ethics Committee (reference BESSFREC 3296)
Kind regards,
Elma
Elma Marais
Southern African Wildlife Management Association
PO Box 217
Bloubergstrand
7436
Ph: +27 713523226
Email: off...@sawma.co.za
Website: www.sawma.co.za
Dear colleagues
(please feel free to forward this on to others who may be interested)
The academic and scientific freedom to pursue research without undue constraints or censorship is a vital issue, yet researchers rarely discuss it openly, and there are few studies exploring it in the field of biodiversity and conservation research.To address this, we are conducting research to understand experiences of academic and scientific freedom amongst researchers in our field, including those working inside and outside of academic institutions, and those from all disciplinary backgrounds (natural science, social science, arts and humanities). In particular, we want to hear researchers’ experiences of instances where their academic and scientific freedoms have been constrained.
As such, we are encouraging colleagues to participate in our survey of experiences of constraints on academic and scientific freedom in biodiversity and conservation research, here:
Academic and Scientific Freedoms in Biodiversity and Conservation Research
We hope that this survey will give colleagues a fuller picture of the current state of academic and scientific freedom in our field.
Note that, given the sensitivities of this issue, we will not be collecting any personal data or identifiers as part of this research.
With best wishes
George Holmes, Xanthe Hudson, Lottie Knee.
George Holmes
Professor of Conservation and Society
Sustainability Research Institute
School of Earth and Environment
University of Leeds
(He/him)