Knowledge systems outside of those sanctioned by Western universities have often been marginalised or simply not engaged with in many science disciplines, but there are multiple examples where Western scientists have claimed discoveries for knowledge that resident experts already knew and shared. This demonstrates not a lack of knowledge itself but rather that, for many scientists raised in Western society, little education concerning histories of systemic oppression has been by design. Western scientific knowledge has also been used to justify social and environmental control, including dispossessing colonised people of their land and ways of life and discounting existing knowledge systems.
But how can those in the ecological discipline slowly begin to practise ecology in a more creative, reflective, equitable and inclusive way? According to a new paper published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution there are five interventions to build a more anti-oppressive and decolonial ecology:
- Decolonise your mind to include multiple ways of knowing and communicating science;
- Know your histories to acknowledge the role research has played in enabling colonial and ongoing violence against peoples and nature, and begin processes of restorative justice;
- Decolonise access by going beyond Open Access journals and data repositories to address issues of data sovereignty and the power dynamics of research ownership;