First and foremost, a researcher has a responsibility to sound, objective, and logic-based methodologies and analyses. This step is essential but can be difficult in practice; humans are limited in ability and possess many subjective biases.
I believe, especially concerning a project such as this one, there is a responsibility to use this data ethically and for the betterment of the relevant communities. After I return from Colombia, I will have the responsibility of communicating my research to my university community back at Rice. While narrativizing my experience lends to telling people about my summer, I should try and subdue biases when discussing empirical data and outcomes. I, of course, also must keep private any information that is sensitive as regards my project. Lastly, I may have responsibilities beyond just those once I return to Rice. I have no idea whether or not I will be able to help with the project more once I am back home. Hopefully the end of the summer won't end my involvement in biodiversity conservation in Colombia.
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At Rice I am enrolled in a course designed to start us Loewenstern Fellows critically thinking about our civic research this upcoming summer. I am thankful for how I am being prompted to examine my upcoming experience from countless angles. Today i have been tasked with selecting 3 main ethical principles I think will be key considerations with my project.
1. Environmental sustainability -- Considering my project is about conserving local biodiversity and developing local economies, sustainability will be a key consideration. Protecting natural resources for their own sake has many merits (concrete, abstract, direct, and indirect ones). Furthermore, using resources in a sustainable manner ensures that they will be present in the future, allowing for human benefit in years to come. 2. Outsiders' awareness -- Universidad El Bosque has maintained relationships with communities in the Los Llanos region for years now, due to, I imagine, a willingness to be understanding of the local status quo and an awareness that hailing from Bogota makes them outsiders. This makes one more willing to learn and amend one's own ideas with the local community members. All of this is even more crucial for me to remember as I am a complete outsider to Colombia as a whole. 3. Transparency -- In my opinion, environmental advocacy in particular is often subject to criticism of overly bureaucratic and clandestine processes. This may be especially true if ecological data is not translated into information meaningful to non-scientific citizens. Transparency is a goal I think most environmental groups should strive for. |
Ben JohnsonI am a junior at Rice University majoring in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and minoring in Environmental Studies Archives
June 2017
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