Diversity and Inclusion in Conservation: A Proposal for a Marine Diversity Network
Low diversity among scientists and practitioners is rampant in conservation. Currently, conservation professionals do not reflect the same diversity of perspectives and experiences of the world as the communities who bear the largest burden for implementing—or adverse consequences for failing to imp...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2017-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2017.00234/full |
| _version_ | 1818289331937214464 |
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| author | Nicola S. Smith Isabelle M. Côté Lourdes Martinez-Estevez Edward J. Hind-Ozan Angela L. Quiros Nathan Johnson Stephanie J. Green Leslie Cornick David Shiffman Luis Malpica-Cruz Luis Malpica-Cruz Allison Gleason Besch Nikita Shiel-Rolle |
| author_facet | Nicola S. Smith Isabelle M. Côté Lourdes Martinez-Estevez Edward J. Hind-Ozan Angela L. Quiros Nathan Johnson Stephanie J. Green Leslie Cornick David Shiffman Luis Malpica-Cruz Luis Malpica-Cruz Allison Gleason Besch Nikita Shiel-Rolle |
| author_sort | Nicola S. Smith |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Low diversity among scientists and practitioners is rampant in conservation. Currently, conservation professionals do not reflect the same diversity of perspectives and experiences of the world as the communities who bear the largest burden for implementing—or adverse consequences for failing to implement—conservation action. Acknowledging and describing the problem is important. But policies and programmes must also be put in place to correct it. Here, we highlight some measurable benefits of workforce diversity, and give an overview of some of the barriers to inclusion in marine conservation that help perpetuate low workforce diversity. Importantly, we underscore actions that both individuals and groups can take to alleviate such barriers. In particular, we describe the establishment of an online Marine Diversity Network, which conference participants proposed during a focus group meeting at the 4th International Marine Conservation Congress. The network will serve to bring together people from across the globe, from a variety of backgrounds, and from all career stages, to share knowledge, experiences and ideas, to provide and receive mentorship in marine conservation, and to forge new collaborations. Removing barriers to diverse participation requires coordinated, mindful actions by individuals and organizations. We hope that the proposed network and other actions presented in this paper find widespread support, and that they might serve both as inspiration and guide to other groups concerned with increasing diversity and inclusivity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T02:10:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c6facc4f4fa4c39b3dcab95a14a0939 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T02:10:35Z |
| publishDate | 2017-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c6facc4f4fa4c39b3dcab95a14a09392022-12-22T00:03:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452017-08-01410.3389/fmars.2017.00234264525Diversity and Inclusion in Conservation: A Proposal for a Marine Diversity NetworkNicola S. Smith0Isabelle M. Côté1Lourdes Martinez-Estevez2Edward J. Hind-Ozan3Angela L. Quiros4Nathan Johnson5Stephanie J. Green6Leslie Cornick7David Shiffman8Luis Malpica-Cruz9Luis Malpica-Cruz10Allison Gleason Besch11Nikita Shiel-Rolle12Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityBurnaby, BC, CanadaEarth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityBurnaby, BC, CanadaCoastal Conservation Action Laboratory, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz, CA, United StatesSustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff UniversityWales, United KingdomCoastal Conservation Action Laboratory, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz, CA, United StatesSpeak Up For BlueGalveston, TX, United StatesCenter for Ocean Solutions, Stanford UniversityMonterey, CA, United StatesDepartment of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Alaska Pacific UniversityAnchorage, AK, United StatesEarth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityBurnaby, BC, CanadaEarth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityBurnaby, BC, CanadaECOCIMATIAC, Ensenada, MexicoNicholas School of the Environment, Duke UniversityDurham, NC, United StatesYoung Marine ExplorersNassau, BahamasLow diversity among scientists and practitioners is rampant in conservation. Currently, conservation professionals do not reflect the same diversity of perspectives and experiences of the world as the communities who bear the largest burden for implementing—or adverse consequences for failing to implement—conservation action. Acknowledging and describing the problem is important. But policies and programmes must also be put in place to correct it. Here, we highlight some measurable benefits of workforce diversity, and give an overview of some of the barriers to inclusion in marine conservation that help perpetuate low workforce diversity. Importantly, we underscore actions that both individuals and groups can take to alleviate such barriers. In particular, we describe the establishment of an online Marine Diversity Network, which conference participants proposed during a focus group meeting at the 4th International Marine Conservation Congress. The network will serve to bring together people from across the globe, from a variety of backgrounds, and from all career stages, to share knowledge, experiences and ideas, to provide and receive mentorship in marine conservation, and to forge new collaborations. Removing barriers to diverse participation requires coordinated, mindful actions by individuals and organizations. We hope that the proposed network and other actions presented in this paper find widespread support, and that they might serve both as inspiration and guide to other groups concerned with increasing diversity and inclusivity.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2017.00234/fullbarriers to inclusiondiversity in sciencemarine conservationonline communitiesonline network |
| spellingShingle | Nicola S. Smith Isabelle M. Côté Lourdes Martinez-Estevez Edward J. Hind-Ozan Angela L. Quiros Nathan Johnson Stephanie J. Green Leslie Cornick David Shiffman Luis Malpica-Cruz Luis Malpica-Cruz Allison Gleason Besch Nikita Shiel-Rolle Diversity and Inclusion in Conservation: A Proposal for a Marine Diversity Network Frontiers in Marine Science barriers to inclusion diversity in science marine conservation online communities online network |
| title | Diversity and Inclusion in Conservation: A Proposal for a Marine Diversity Network |
| title_full | Diversity and Inclusion in Conservation: A Proposal for a Marine Diversity Network |
| title_fullStr | Diversity and Inclusion in Conservation: A Proposal for a Marine Diversity Network |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diversity and Inclusion in Conservation: A Proposal for a Marine Diversity Network |
| title_short | Diversity and Inclusion in Conservation: A Proposal for a Marine Diversity Network |
| title_sort | diversity and inclusion in conservation a proposal for a marine diversity network |
| topic | barriers to inclusion diversity in science marine conservation online communities online network |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2017.00234/full |
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