Environmental crises are too complex and urgent to be addressed by a narrow segment of humanity. Ecology and sustainability sciences therefore require institutions that identify, recruit, support, and retain talent by removing barriers across the scientific pathway. Drawing on contributions to this Special Issue, this editorial synthesizes evidence that barriers to inclusion operate across the full scientific pathway, from undergraduate training, fieldwork, mentoring, and publication to hiring, evaluation, policy participation, and conservation governance. These barriers are not isolated failures but linked institutional structures that do not always select the best talent. It also highlights practical routes toward better science, including stronger mentoring, safer and more accessible field experiences, better evaluation systems, meaningful community participation, and intentional outreach to ensure that qualified candidates are aware of opportunities. Inclusive science is therefore not peripheral to excellence; it is a condition for producing more creative, rigorous, and relevant ecology and sustainability research.
Martín A. Núñez (Thu,) studied this question.