The Cape Town Statement on Geoethics

Abstract

Recently the interest by geoscientists in (geo) This result was confirmed by the high quality of content and the large participation of scientists in the six technical sessions and a panel session on geoethics organized by IA PG at the 35th IGC -International Geological Congress, held in 2016 in Cape Town (South A frica). Largely successful due to the cooperative work of different geoscience organizations (IUGS-TGGP -Task Group on Global Geoscience Professionalism; GSL -Geological Society of London; EFG -European Federation of Geologists; EGS -EuroGeoSurveys; A GI -A merican Geosciences Institute; A GU -A merican Geophysical Union, and A A W G -A frican A ssociation of W omen in Geosciences

Interconnected geoscience for international development

“…A range of organisations including universities, learned societies, professional bodies, and chartership programmes can be further-developed to encourage an ethos similar to the interconnected model, (Gill and Bullough, 2017). Di Capua et al, (2017) produced a statement of 'Geoethics' with ten fundamental values, including those addressing knowledge sharing at all levels, working in a spirit of cooperation and reciprocity, and respecting the sustainable development of communities, all of which are within the heart of the interconnected geoscience concept. Steffen et al (2018) advocate for an approach that links climate sci- Figure 1.…”

The Need for Geoethics Awareness from a Canadian Perspective

“…The Capetown Statement by the International Association for the Promotion of Geoethics (IAPG) defines geoethics as follows [4]: "Geoethics consists of research and reflection on the values which underpin appropriate behaviors and practices, wherever human activities interact with the earth system. Geoethics deals with the ethical, social and cultural implications of geosciences knowledge, education, research, practice and communication, and with the social role and responsibility of geoscientists in conducting their activities.…”

“…These have developed a Code of Ethics for professional practice, and require an ethics exam for full admittance into the respective association [1]. Efforts are also under way to consider an internationally accepted code of practice [2,3], including the Capetown Statement [4] which is widely endorsed. Some even suggest geoscientists swear an oath similar to the Hippocratic Oath for physicians [4,5], to express their moral obligations towards society and the planet; and have provided a proposal for such an oath [4,6].…”

“…Efforts are also under way to consider an internationally accepted code of practice [2,3], including the Capetown Statement [4] which is widely endorsed. Some even suggest geoscientists swear an oath similar to the Hippocratic Oath for physicians [4,5], to express their moral obligations towards society and the planet; and have provided a proposal for such an oath [4,6]. Others challenge the global geoscience community to stress the importance of developing ethical bases for geoscientists-particularly in light of the growing impact of natural hazards on increased populations and urban centres, our natural resources, and issues such as climate change [7], and contend that geoscientists "should be at the service of the common good" [8].…”

Ethical but Upsetting Geoscience Research: A Case Study

“…In the case of potentially upsetting research, it might be tempting either to not inform people and stakeholders about potentially upsetting aspects, to downplay the importance of these aspects, or perhaps even to provide false information. But only in very rare cases would either of the first two options be morally permissible, and the third one certainly is not (see Charlton 2009;Di Capua et al 2017). To begin with, truth is an intrinsic value that is of primary importance within science.…”