Recherche fondamentale et pratiques de conservation : un dialogue indispensable

It is fashionable, nowadays, to talk about conservation biology, whoever you are, researcher or manager of a protected area. Everybody knows that conservation is a true science, with its specialized journals, its scientific societies and its textbooks. However, the coupling of words “conservation biology” holds two ambiguities : (1 ) it focusses on science, but a science of action — a “crisis discipline” as written by Michael Soulé ; (2) conservation biology is not just biology. Taking into account these two ambiguities leads to a true revolution in the usual thinking about science. In the field of conservation, such an upheaval asks for a dialogue between scientists and wildlife managers for both parts : research obtains more relevance and conservation more efficiency.Barbault R. Recherche fondamentale et pratiques de conservation : un dialogue indispensable . In: Revue d'Écologie. Supplément n°7, 2000. pp. 11-17