Starting the Conversation about Neo-Colonialism - Lessons Learned from the European Geosciences Union

The widespread practice of “helicopter science” is a modern-day manifestation of (neo-) colonialism. It includes practices, in which researchers conduct field studies in another country or within their own country. Researchers enter local or Indigenous spaces without involving communities, knowledge holders and local researchers, while assuming the right to collect data, regardless of ownership or occupancy of the land. Also subsequent analysis and publication of data is often done without involvement of the local researchers. The European Geosciences Union EGU is the leading organization for Earth, planetary and space science research in Europe. EGU’s vision is to share, publish, promote and collaborate on the latest geoscience research. This commitment extends to raising awareness of potentially exploitative practices of ‘helicopter research’ and ‘scientific neocolonialism’. Over the past three years, members of the EGU and the EGU EDI Committee have started to bring attention to such imbalances in global research by a series of activities across its organization. They include discussions at the annual EGU General Assembly with panelists from both exploitative and exploited countries, as well as a successful short course that served as a platform to share experiences identifying neocolonial practices. In April 2023, EGU released a position statement on neocolonialism and ethical research https://www.egu.eu/news/960/egu-statement-on-neocolonialism-on-earth-day/. In addition, EGU’s publications committee is working on measures to encourage inclusiveness of authors in presentations and publications to give due credit for all contributions, and also developing a course on science ethics and (neo-) colonialism. More awareness building and policy changes will be needed, for example in a review of curriculum and field work guidelines, as well as conversations with funding agencies and their requirements about how field work is conducted, how local collaborators can be compensated, and how authentic and potentially lengthy relationship building with collaborators impacts publication output and is limited by short term funding cycles. In this presentation, we will share EGU’s experiences with these activities so far to raise awareness about neo-colonial practices. We will discuss potential future efforts by scientific organizations, publishers, and funding agencies to achieve a more equitable, diverse and inclusive geoscience environment.