Is poor mental health an unrecognised occupational health and safety hazard for conservation biologists and ecologists? Reported incidences, likely causes and possible solutions

Workers in many professions suffer from poor mental health as a result of their employment. Although bibliographic search generated little published evidence for among conservation biologists and ecologists, the phenomenon has been reported researchers working on coral reefs, climate change, wildfires threatened species. Factors responsible include (1) epistemic attributes associated with biologists’ ecologists’ deep knowledge base; (2) non-epistemic values view natural world; (3) complex suite factors relating to wider social, political economic milieu which they practise trade. Because it relates directly employment, ecologists must be differentiated phenomena ‘environmental grief’ ‘solastalgia’ community. A number solutions problem have suggested, including appreciating successes that achieved, recognising importance collegiality comradeship, acknowledging role grieving rituals, active intervention via therapeutic counselling, reducing incidence censorship repression scientists’ research, adoption Stoic world. I propose different approach: should reposition personal experiences within an historical perspective sees them part long tradition struggle protect environment. An apt rallying cry help manage is Pablo Casals’ ‘The situation hopeless. We take next step’.