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Integrate geographic scales in equity, diversity and inclusion

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 6, pages 4–5 (2022)Cite this article

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To the Editor — Many opinion pieces about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) have been published during the past few years1,2. These contributions have highlighted barriers that some groups of our society must meet to succeed in academia and have immensely improved our understanding of how to approach EDI and improve the academic environment. However, most of these perspectives are from the Global North, particularly from the USA, targeting issues that are local and thus unintentionally sustaining a view that is not inclusive of the global diversity of scientists.

As researchers in ecology and evolution, we are intimately familiar with the increase of biological diversity with area. For example, there are around 900 species of birds in North America, but 10,000 worldwide. We recognize that biodiversity is global and that trying to understand and protect it by focusing on a single area is inadequate. The same principles should also apply to EDI: the concepts should primarily be based on the global scale then adapted to the local scale.

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Fig. 1: Integrating geographic scale to highlight the difference between local and global diversity issues.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for valuable discussions with L. K. M’Gonigle, M. Guzman, D. Sodhi and the EDI discussion group at the University of British Columbia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Rassim Khelifa

  2. Laboratory of Biology, Water and Environment, Faculty SNV-STU, University of 8 May 1945 Guelma, Guelma, Algeria

    Rassim Khelifa & Hayat Mahdjoub

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

    Rassim Khelifa

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  1. Rassim Khelifa
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  2. Hayat Mahdjoub
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Correspondence to Rassim Khelifa.

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Khelifa, R., Mahdjoub, H. Integrate geographic scales in equity, diversity and inclusion. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 4–5 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01609-7

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