Ethics requirements for environmental research

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research into the best forms of conservation management or climate intervention is critically important, but carries its own risks of impacts. Unless research requires a legal permit, evaluation of whether the benefits of such research outweigh risks is left to research ethics processes. We ask whether the ethics processes governing outdoor research in Australia ensure that potential environmental impacts are addressed adequately. We examine how environmental considerations are incorporated into Australia’s research ethics governance framework 25 years after the Australian Science, Technology and Engineering Council issued national guidelines for the ethical conduct of environmental research. These guidelines have not been incorporated into national research ethics frameworks or institutional processes. Current ethics codes apply only partially to environmental research and no research institution has developed its own processes or body for considering the environmental impacts of research. The national guidelines are partially reflected in protected area permitting requirements, but these lack explicit mechanisms for ethical deliberation. We conclude that the national guidelines remain relevant today. We stop short of recommending new formal ethics requirements, but encourage researchers and research institutions to consider how the deliberative procedures and substantive principles reflected in the ASTEC Guidelines might be relevant to their work.