Failure is the Greatest Teacher

Embracing the Positives of Failure in Primate Conservation

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11279825
AutoresAmanda D Webber (0000-0001-5443-4427, University of the West of England, autor de correspondencia), Sam Cotton (0000-0002-5769-7983, Bristol Zoological Society), Gráinne McCabe (0000-0002-6235-0212, Bristol Zoological Society), Gráinne M McCabe
Año2022
Volumen43
Número6
Páginas1095-1109
Fecha de publicación2022-12-01
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Primatology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0164-0291 • E-ISSN: 1573-8604
EditorialSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10764-022-00296-w
OpenAlexW4280570334
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas33

“Failure” is recognised as being vital for success in many fields but is seldom embraced in primate conservation or conservation more generally. In this paper, we use examples from the literature, particularly around reintroduction, to reflect on failure and consider the contribution it can make to primate conservation success. Barriers to acknowledging failure are highlighted and include concerns regarding reputational damage that impact on communication with funders, publishing, and discussing our projects more widely. We also discuss the need for a broader and adaptive approach to include multiple steps of experimentation, reflection, and subsequent learning. This process, which necessarily includes failures and the results of unintended consequences, will require primatologists to use a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and reflective approach to effectively address factors that contribute to failure, including those external to the traditional focus of primatologists. The paper concludes with specific recommendations for progressing in this area, including (i) Funding—funders to incorporate greater flexibility in response to project change and to specifically ask grantees to consider risk, failure, and lessons learnt, and funders and grantees to improve dialogue; (ii) Publishing—journals to have a section that considers failure and lessons learnt and, along with societies, to further engage with researchers from the Global South about the best ways to support with publishing; and (iii) Communication—primate conservationists to lead by example and reflect/discuss failure openly and to create spaces that encourage sharing of these topics. Whilst not exhaustive, we hope that these recommendations will contribute to developing a culture of constructive discussion around failure in primate conservation

Animal ecology · Biology · Constructive · Engineering ethics · Environmental ethics · Management · Political science · Public relations · Publishing · Amphibian and Reptile Biology · Computer Science · Domain Adaptation and Few-Shot Learning · Engineering · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Ecology

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