Dr.habil. Luis Inostroza

I’ve recently been reading several posts and articles about the current crises in scientific publishing, specifically about writing and publishing papers. Many current concerns stem from the use of AI, and others from the so-called draconian publish-or-perish system. A profound sense of discomfort exists in academia, especially among young scholars, a feeling that I’ve experienced and share. I agree with many of those criticisms, and I also believe we are in crisis. However, we need nuance and a bit of recentering in how we understand scientific publishing to keep the broader picture in mind. In these challenging times, it’s easy …

Dear ESP community, The Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) 2026 Prague European conference finished last week. What a week! You had the pleasure and experience of enjoying a vibrant community full of energy and enthusiasm, with a lot of youth (not me, certainly :D), networking, and fun. As a conference reflection, I would like to simply share my two thoughts with you, without any further intention*. This is my small retribution to a person, Dolf, and a community that gave me so much over the past years. I wouldn’t be the scholar I am without the ESP. The ESP started as …

I’m a passionate scientist. Science is a way for me to show love and care for the things that matter to me. A way to express my love for nature, the one I learned to love and respect in my homeland. Therefore, I care about my research. Deeply, truly. I do not pursue success itself, as normally considered by societal standards; luckily, I don’t need it. Anyway, I consider myself successful, even if that seems odd for many colleagues who look suspiciously at my “numbers”, or recruitment commissions that had rejected more than 100 of my job and research applications[1]. …

As I’m getting older, I’m also becoming more prone to emotional crashes. During this week, I was often forced to hide my emotions behind a smile, a joke or a simple silence while dealing with feelings of immense gratitude or sadness. Life has been so generous to me, the eternal latecomer, giving me the opportunity to meet interact with, and learn from intellectual giants and beautiful persons. Yesterday (Thursday 21.11.2024) I witnessed Dolf de Groot’s farewell ceremony during the closing plenary of the 5th Ecosystem Services Partnership European Conference. Two times I was forced by strong emotions, to escape out …

Recently, I had the beautiful opportunity to attend the IALE World Congress 2023 in Nairobi—an exhilarating week filled with stimulating exchanges of ideas, networking, and boundless learning. Engaging with remarkable colleagues, we delved into our shared passions, with nature conservation at the very heart of our discussions. Among the many ponderings that continuously captivate my mind is the perplexing misperception of our human nature. How we misconceive human nature often leads to misguided interpretations of concepts like ecosystem services. I must admit, the notion that humans can transcend their very humanity when it comes to our relationship with other species …

The common language used in non-scientific environments tends to be largely vague, at times inconsistent, elusive and recursive. What one person is saying or writing can hold almost uncountable different interpretations. Rather than being a defect, such ambiguity and imprecision underpin the success of language as a communication instrument. These features indeed enrich communication, foster imagination and lubricate social interaction. Language is a fundamental component of human life, making us what we are as animals. Science has a fundamental and undeniable dependence on language. However, scientific language is not perse neutral, objective and free of the aforementioned shortcomings. On the …