Compassionate Conservation Ethics and Biodiversity Management
Summary
Compassionate conservation merges ethical concern for individual sentient beings with the goals of biodiversity protection. It challenges traditional modes of wildlife management that prioritise species, populations or ecosystems often through lethal control, advocating instead for strategies that respect animal welfare, acknowledge moral standing and seek to minimise harm. Grounded in a deontological framework of “first, do no harm” and an expanded moral community, this approach emphasises non-lethal interventions, conflict prevention, habitat restoration and stakeholder partnerships. By integrating ecological science with welfare science and ethical reflection, compassionate conservation offers a pluralistic path for managing invasive species, rewilding initiatives and human–wildlife coexistence. Its global relevance lies in informing policy debates, refining impact assessments and shaping guidelines for humane practice across terrestrial, freshwater and marine systems.
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Compassionate Conservation Ethics and Biodiversity Management publication trend
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Technical terms
Sentience: Capacity of an organism to experience sensations and emotions.
Deontological ethics: Moral framework that emphasises duties and rights over purely outcome-based reasoning.
Ecocentrism: Ethical stance recognising intrinsic value in ecosystems and natural entities beyond their utility to humans.
Individual welfare: Well-being and interests of single organisms as distinct from population or species-level considerations.
Pluralistic approach: Integration of multiple scientific disciplines, cultural perspectives and ethical theories in conservation decision-making.
References
- Why humans kill animals and why we cannot avoid it. The Science of The Total Environment (2023).
- Embedding animals within a definition of sustainability. Sustainability Science (2023).
- Toward a pluralistic conservation science. Conservation Letters (2023).
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