Epsilon Open Archive

Abstract

Codes and guidelines related to the rights of and respect for Indigenous and local communities and their knowledge have been developed during the last decades. A milestone is the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) where the parties have agreed “to respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and prac-tices of Indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles”. This study analyses core ethical principles in 13 codes and guidelines. Of 18 principles listed six were identified as core principles. A discussion on challenges and oppor-tunities in implementing these is made with the reference to the Swedish setting and to a Saami context. The codes are created with good intentions and contribute to raising general ethical awareness. However, in Sweden awareness of the relevant guidelines is low among researchers, in ethical committees of universities as well as in local communities. There is also a risk that the elements in the guidelines will be administrative items to tick off rather than favouring a good working relationship between the research team and the local community.