The Ethical Matrix as a Tool for Decision-Making Process in Conservation

Abstract

Decision making-process in conservation can be very complex, having to deal with various value dimensions and potential conflicts. In fact, conflicts and competing interests between stakeholders are among the most quoted reasons for failure of projects. Ethical analysis can be helpful in this regard. In this paper we present a revision of the Ethical Matrix specifically tailored to decision-making processes in conservation. The Ethical Matrix is a conceptual tool devised to help decision-makers by supplying them with a framework of the ethically relevant aspects involved in decision-making process. It was originally developed for the ethical assessment of agri-food biotechnologies and later has been applied to other fields. The revised version we propose here has been designed for the ethical analysis of conservation priority-setting and impact. As conservation can raise many ethical relevant controversies, conceptual tools like the one presented here can be of help for conservationists, providing a map of the value demands involved. This map can be used to question the reasonableness of the value judgments, estimate the impact of different courses of actions, anticipate conflicts, and rank their severeness.

Ethical reasoning and participatory approach towards achieving regulatory processes for animal-visitor interactions (AVIs) in South Africa

“…The list included: a) animals involved in AVI; b) owners and managers; c) handlers; d) keepers and staff; e) veterinarians; f) government representatives; g) biodiversity; h) visitors participating in AVIs; i) animal rights groups. The EM was then sketched top-down by the members of the research group, using scientific and grey literature on the topic [ 4 , 12 – 14 , 16 – 18 , 21 – 29 ]. Subsequently, this first draft underwent a bottom-up process of refinement.…”

“…It is not a prescriptive tool [ 14 ] but helps decision-makers in reaching responsible and defensible decisions [ 13 ] by summarizing the moral interests involved, pointing out the eventual conflicts, and anticipating the positive and negative impacts on the stakeholders of the issue under investigation. It was introduced in the literature by Ben Mepham in the context of food ethics [ 15 ] and it has since been applied to several fields including forestry [ 16 ], fishery technology [ 17 , 18 ], radiation restoration strategies [ 19 , 20 ], conservation practices and policies [ 21 – 23 ], as well as in the assessment of human-animal interactions [ 4 , 24 , 25 ]. The opportunities provided by structuring a participatory process through EM are well known [ 26 , 27 ].…”

Ethical Analysis of the Application of Assisted Reproduction Technologies in Biodiversity Conservation and the Case of White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) Ovum Pick-Up Procedures

“…The EM specifically tailored for conservation ( 40 ) includes three categories of potential stakeholders: ecological entities, individual animals, and people. Table 2 recaps the general value demands generated by applying the ethical principles on these categories of stakeholders.…”

Value-conflicts in the conservation of a native species: a case study based on the endangered white-clawed crayfish in Europe

“…The fifth stakeholder-people-pertains to the human class, tied to the value dimension of human societies, comprising ethical, economic, cultural, recreational, aesthetic, etc., values. Given this variety in value dimensions, each of the general ethical principles has to be specified accordingly (Biasetti and de Mori 2021).…”