CODE OF CONDUCT

ForestPlots.net aims to promote sustainable and equitable collaborations among tropical forest researchers across the world. Our code of conduct therefore aims to ensure co-operation and trust among participants and support the long-term future of ForestPlots.net to ensure the full potential of this collaborative endeavour is released. To help achieve this all users are expected to contribute (see ‘Contribute’ below).

Collaborate

We ask that:

• All data users discuss with other current participants, such as the principal researcher, project grant holder and field lead, the research question they wish to address, and involve them in the analysis, writing, and co-authorship of results.
• All users of ForestPlots.net obtain the explicit consent of the relevant principal researcher, project grant holder and field lead before submitting any work for publication that uses data that are not publicly available: the transfer of any data between project participants does not imply the transfer of rights to publication of the data.
• Data curated by ForestPlots.net must not be redistributed and must not be shared with any third parties without the express permission of the ForestPlots.net Collaboration Committee and the data owners.
• Data quality control on measurements and nomenclature is strictly applied in the field, at the data entry stage, and at the final database checking stage, under the responsibility of the principal investigator(s) of each site.
• The lead author of any publication using ForestPlots.net data ensures that all co-author contributions are clearly defined: who was responsible for conceiving the idea, designing the study, collecting the field data, performing the analysis, contributing materials or analysis tools, analysing the data, and writing the paper.
• ForestPlots.net is fully cited (see ‘How to cite’) in all publications that use any data or information obtained through ForestPlots.net, including publically available data.

Contribute

• We ask that you collaboratively build our partners and ForestPlots.net into your funding proposals from the start.
• We request that leaders of multi-site research proposals and analyses invest in network development, by: (1) funding recensuses and new, high-quality plots and/or (2) contributing to the costs of database management and functionality, and whenever possible (3) uploading their own data to ForestPlots.net.
• We ask that institutional or commercial user requests for data curated within the ForestPlots platform contribute both towards the cost of maintaining the database resource and of forest measurement and technical training.
• Global North and other well-funded institutions are asked to contribute substantially, as those have greater access to research funding opportunities.

Make an impact

We all have a responsibility to promote equitable long-term collaborations, respond to the climate and biodiversity crisis and help ForestPlots.net to support forest conservation and management in the tropics. We therefore expect and encourage users to:

• Support analyses led by tropical scientists including under-represented groups.
• Mentor junior participants to develop Masters and PhD theses.
• Promote leadership by individuals and institutions in tropical forest countries.
• Invest in research institutions in tropical forest countries.
• Consider the need for international travel for conferences, fieldwork and policy engagement, by combining visits or extending stays, using online solutions and supporting in-country leadership.
• Ensure that ForestPlots.net research findings drive national and international policies to reduce deforestation and degradation and increase the value of biodiversity