Guillaume Latombe, Ugo Arbieu, Sven Bacher, Stefano Canessa, Franck Courchamp, Stefan Dullinger, Michael Glaser, Bernd Lenzner, Ivan Jarić, Anna Schertler, Franz Essl, John R.U. Wilson

Conservation policies often need to integrate scientific predictions with ethical considerations. However, different normative ethical systems at the root of conservation approaches often support different decisions, and the moral stances of stakeholders are influenced by diverse societal values and perceptions. This creates the potential for dilemmas and conflicts. Here we adapt the well-known trolley problem thought experiment to a conservation context; exploring variations in how the problem is framed enables us to highlight key concepts that need to be considered in decision-making (asymmetry in numbers, victims, and impacts; temporal and spatial asymmetry; uncertainty; causal relationships and stakeholder involvement). We argue that the trolley problem offers a simplified, yet flexible, framework to understand and predict the factors underlying differences in moral stances across diverse conservation issues, foster communication, and facilitate informed decision-making in conservation practice.