"Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the world shut down. I saw researchers and conservationists panicking that they could not get to their field sites across the world; that their multiyear data sets would have a gaping hole;" https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-of-colonial-science/ via @sciam 1/n

"and, finally, that if they had ensured that they trained local partners on the ground to do the work, then their data collection would have continued. Did it really take a pandemic for us to realize this?" 2/n

so simple yet very difficult for a lot of researchers to do... instead, this is their rationale: let's go somewhere, "sample"a lot of natural resources in many different forms, then do this many years in a row, actually do this for decades 3/n

and then cry when we can't continue our research despite not really planning properly -for decades- because we never thought of including A SINGLE LOCAL person in our work 4/n

and by "sample" I really mean steal 5/n

Acknowledge "...that working anywhere other than our own home country is a privilege and not a right, and if we all looked to learn and share equally and were equally equipped to do research based on the needs on the ground, then we would be better off than we are right now." 6/n

An interesting way of thinking about inclusivity in science. I approve => "Being inclusive is important to me. When I die, I do not want the work to end, because that would be a waste of my life." 7/n

"The harsh truth is, if we aren’t being inclusive and equitable, we aren’t going to move the needle on the things that really matter, the things that are integral to our very existence, and we will continue to fail." 8/n

Excellent commentary, very very powerful words by @ashadevos "So, if we truly want to save our oceans, never forget: every coastline needs a local hero." 9/n