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Avoid the reproduction of coloniality in decolonial studies in ecology

Calls to decolonize disciplines and institutions circulate in the scientific community. In ecology, only the surface of the colonial structure has been scratched. We propose that two gaps must be filled to decolonize the ‘decolonial turn’ itself: recognition of decolonial theories produced in the Global South and a deeper historical and socioeconomic analysis of forms of production and validation of knowledge in ecology.

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Fig. 1: Guidance for decolonializing research in ecology.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior – Brazil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. M.N.C.H. received a PhD studentship from CAPES. C.R.F. was supported by CNPq (PQ 306812/2017-7).

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Correspondence to María N. Clerici Hirschfeld.

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Hirschfeld, M.N.C., Faria, L.R.R. & Fonseca, C.R. Avoid the reproduction of coloniality in decolonial studies in ecology. Nat Ecol Evol 7, 306–309 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01971-0

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