BUILDING AN ETHICAL INITIATIVE
Voices for BioJustice seeks to reflect in its work practices the values and principles it promotes through the work. It is not uncommon for groups working to achieve equity, sustainability, and justice in the wider world to operate internally in ways that do not manifest these goals. By consciously building ethical procedures and mindfulness into our practices, we hope to create change on multiple levels – in ethical research design, meaningful consultations and prior informed consent, the return of results and other benefits to communities, ethical image and filming practices, and in providing space within our team for review of these important issues, and development and improvement of our understanding and practices as we work together.
The Voices for BioJustice team views our, and any, ethics work as an on-going learning process, incorporating the inputs of our diverse collaborators in a reflexive and conscious manner. As part of this approach, the team follows the International Society of Ethnobiology Code of Ethics and Research Guidelines. Additionally, we support the International Society of Ethnobiology’s Policy on the Use of Images. Voices for BioJustice and People and Plants International have developed Video Ethics Guidelines that include the steps necessary to receive prior informed consent, acknowledgement of participants, and other aspects of ethical video production. We have also produced a collection of resources to provide guidance on ethical filmmaking. These were compiled through the contributions of a range of collaborators, but are a work in progress. We welcome comments, additions, and feedback. The shorter, introductory list of ethics resources Getting Started is intended as a first step for those looking for general guidance. A longer and more comprehensive Video Resource Packet follows, and will continue to build through crowd-sourced contributions from around the world. Please send your comments, additions, and thoughts to: info@peopleandplants.org
PHOTOGRAPHS USED ON THIS WEBSITE
We gratefully acknowledge the following photographers who allowed us to use their work on this website: Elbe Becker; Mathilde Brassine; Dave Cole; Paul Weinberg (Traces and Tracks: A Thirty Year Journey with the San).