Mabele, Mathew BukhiKiwango, Wilhelm AndrewMwanyoka, Iddi2024-09-092024-09-092023Mabele, M. B., Kiwango, W. A., & Mwanyoka, I. (2023). Disrupting the epistemic empire is necessary for a decolonial ecology. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7(8), 1163-1163.URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02105-whttps://repository.udom.ac.tz/handle/20.500.12661/4940Abstract. Full text available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02105-wGuedes et al.1 argue that eponyms in biological nomenclature represent epistemic injustices that perpetuate the negative legacies of imperialism and colonialism in the fields of taxonomy, ecology and conservation science. We believe that their argument and proposal underscore the ongoing discussion on the need to decolonize ecology and conservation science, as Western science and expertise continue to be privileged over others2,3,4,5. This privilege is built on an epistemological and ontological failure to recognize “the different ways through which diverse people across the human globe make sense and provide meaning to their existence”6. Guedes and colleagues’ argument suggests that eponyms are part of the epistemic empire, which is bound to be biased against non-Western knowledge systems.enEponymsBiological nomenclatureEpistemic injusticesImperialismColonialismTaxonomyEcologyConservation scienceDecolonizationWestern scienceEpistemological privilegeOntological privilegeNon-Western knowledge systemsEpistemic empire.Article10.1038/s41559-023-02105-w