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Home / GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, Volume 33, Number 1

Open Access Novel organisms and the ethics of conservation: Divergent views on gene drives reflect divergent ideas about humans and nature

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Author: Eser, Utaorcid icon

Source: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, Volume 33, Number 1, 2024, pp. 170-174(5)

Publisher: oekom verlag

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14512/gaia.33.1.10

This article is Open Access under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY licence.

What concepts of nature, humans, and their relationships underpin the debate about gene drives for conservation? To provide some answers to this question, the eradication of invasive rodents on islands is used as an example. While current debates mostly weigh the potential benefits for conservation against the potential ecological risks, it is worthwhile to move beyond such a risk-benefit perspective. Ethical issues that are more specific to conservation are: the significance of “natural”, the normative goals of conservation, and the ideal of living in harmony with nature.

Keywords: conservation; environmental ethics; gene drives; invasive species; philosophy of nature; responsibility

Document Type: Discussion

Publication date: May 1, 2024

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  • GAIA is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to inter- and transdisciplinary research on and for sustainability transformations.

    Environmental problems cannot be solved by one academic discipline. The complex natures of these problems require cooperation across disciplinary boundaries. Since 1991, GAIA has offered a well-balanced and practice-oriented forum for transdisciplinary research. GAIA offers first-hand information on state of the art environmental research and on current solutions to environmental problems. Well-known editors, advisors, and authors work to ensure the high quality of the contributions found in GAIA and a unique transdisciplinary dialogue – in a comprehensible style.

    GAIA is an ISI-journal, listed in the Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Science Citation Index and in Current Contents/Social and Behavioral Sciences.

    All contributions undergo a double-blind peer review.

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