Decolonising ecological research: A generative discussion between Global North geographers and Global South field ecologists

Abstract

AbstractIn this article we draw on recent debates in ecology and human geography on the project of decolonising academic practice. Our objective is to address two key questions via a generative discussion across disciplines: what can ecologists learn from ongoing debates in human geography? And how might those learnings translate back into geographical praxis? We make the central argument that vibrant debates in human geography can push ecologists to take more radical steps towards a decolonial vision that, in turn, can guide geographers to a more material decolonising praxis. We build this argument by working through various dis/connections—between ecology/human geography, theory/praxis, South/North—in the wider project of decolonising academia to provoke critical reflection around the themes of (i) language and publishing; (ii) collaboration and ‘inclusion’; and (iii) the geographies of ecological research.