Lutra 55(1)_Van Den Berge_Editorial_2012

Do right and fear no one

For some years now, the European Community has faced very serious financial and economic problems. In this context, there is a drive to cut back on what is seen as unnecessary expenditure. Nature conservation and scientific research on conservation biology do not figure highly in the priority lists of many policy makers and have been greatly affected by these cutbacks. More than before, publicly funded research has to provide clear evidence of its probable (economic) benefits to humans and society, or show that it can deliver straightforward answers to questions about the effectiveness of European regulations and policy measures. At the same time, scientific research programmes are also being forced to fit in with increasingly rigid time-management, and provide ever-more detailed budget estimates. In contrast to these actual trends in how research is organised and funded, much biological investigation depends greatly on....