Guidelines of Professional Ethics
SEB CODE OF ETHICS (Updated June 16, 2015)
The Society for Ethnobotany (SEB) has formally adopted the International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE) Code of Ethics. It was voted on and adopted July 2, 2013 at the business meeting of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnobotany in Plymouth, England following a newsletter appeal, a conference workshop, presentations and discussions. The ISE, including some SEB members, have been working on this code for over 15 years. The code focuses on relationship building and includes free, prior informed consent and benefit sharing. It was recognized that this is an ongoing process with potential for continual revision. This Code of Ethics applies to all members of SEB in all professional activities regardless of the country of origin of the member or research location.
SEB/ISE CODE OF ETHICS LINK
Online: http://ethnobiology.net/code-of-ethics/
Please cite as follows:
International Society of Ethnobiology (2006). International Society of Ethnobiology Code of Ethics (with 2008 additions). http://ethnobiology.net/code-of-ethics/
HISTORICAL USE OF ETHICS BY SEB
Prior to the adoption of the ISE Code of Ethics in 2013 SEB utilized a Guidelines of Professional Ethics prepared and presented in 1993, published in the Journal in 1994 (Vol.7, p. 4) and adopted in 1995. This had many of the same guidelines as the AAA (American Association of Anthropology) and included statements on the members’ responsibility to the public, to those studied, to host governments and host institutions, to the profession and to those who support their research. It also included principles related to publishing in the journal (including informed consent). Many of these same principles are included in the new SEB Code of Ethics that follows the ISE Code of Ethics and the principles of the Nagoya Protocol with its focus on access and benefit sharing.
SEB TOOLKIT
Selected resources to facilitate the understanding and compliance to the SEB Code of Ethics include:
The Nagoya Protocol and its Access and Benefit Sharing Clearing House:
https://absch.cbd.int/
An informative group on access and benefit sharing:
http://www.abs-initiative.info/about-us/
Perspectives on biopiracy, farmer’s rights and treaties:
http://www.planttreaty.org/content/farmers-rights-submissions
ISE Toolkit is a work in progress, however access their library resources via this link:
http://ethicstoolkit.net/bibliography/
AAA ethics resources:
http://www.aaanet.org/cmtes/ethics/Ethics-Resources.cfm
The Northeast Ethics Education Partnership (NEEP) at Brown University includes training materials:
http://www.brown.edu/research/research-ethics/northeast-ethics-education-partnership/training-materials/training-materials
Agreement format examples: CINE/WHO, 2003.
https://www.mcgill.ca/cine/files/cine/partreresearch_english.pdf
or http://www.who.int/ethics/indigenous_peoples/en/index14.html
Kew and the Nagoya protocol statement:
http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/research-data/science-directory/projects/developing-agreements-international
Books that include agreement formats and informed consent: Anderson et. al., 2011. Ethnobiology. Alexiades, 1996. Selected Guidelines for Ethnobotanical Research: A Field Manual.
SUBMIT A COMMENT ON THE CODE OF ETHICS
The Society for Ethnobotany Ethics Committee welcomes your comments and suggestions on the current Code of Ethics. Your input is valuable for future revisions! The following link will allow you to send an email to the Chair of the Committee. Please include your name and full contact information, and briefly identify the viewpoint or subfield from which you are making comments.
CONTACT THE ETHICS COMMITTEE
We welcome your comments, feedback, and suggestions for other links and bibliographic references. Please link us to your Ethics page! Contact: ethics_chair@ethnobotany.org