The involvement of naturalists: Introduction to the Special Feature "Applying ecology"

This article firstly introduces the Special Feature "Applying Ecology", addressing the use of ecological information for dealing with conservation and environmental problems in Chile. This is part of a series of special features in Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, intended for exploring the contribution of naturalists in making sound decisions in social-environmental planning. However, the low involvement of Chilean biologists has become a factor potentially affecting the quality of environmental decisions and policies, and increasing the chance of unwanted results, which raises some open questions about ethics. In such a context, the second part of the article analyzes the issue of involvement from different perspectives, considering its causes and consequences at individual and collective levels.