Talk:Ian Swingland

Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons/Noticeboard#Ian_Swingland

I've raised Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons/Noticeboard#Ian_Swingland William M. Connolley (talk) 14:41, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

Paradise Papers

I saw on article on his inclusion in the Paradise Papers. Should this be included in the article? FloridaArmy (talk) 16:52, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

I can't see anything from an RS about this, so no, unless you can find one William M. Connolley (talk) 17:48, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

See https://shepwayvox.org/2017/12/10/kent-names-in-the-paradise-papers/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.216.95.90 (talk) 14:04, 18 January 2018 (UTC)

Request for Article Improvements — Ian Swingland

I’m Ian Swingland, the subject of this article.

I would like to request some factual corrections and updates to ensure the article presents a fair and accurate picture of my life and work. I’ve created a Wikipedia account for transparency and to follow proper COI (Conflict of Interest) guidelines.

Over the past five decades, I’ve contributed extensively to global conservation — founding DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology), advising governments and international organisations, and working with conservation bodies and Indigenous communities worldwide.

I am not requesting the removal of any facts, including the legal matter, but I do believe the current version lacks balance. I respectfully ask for:

An updated lead section that reflects the full scope of my academic and conservation work

A more neutral, policy-compliant tone in the Legal section

Reinstatement of key sections on my education, career, and awards

A new, relevant photo with appropriate licensing

A full proposed revision and citations can be provided for review. Thank you for considering this request in the interest of accuracy and balance.

~~~~ Ironside1946 (talk) 20:43, 25 June 2025 (UTC)

Hi. Thanks for asking about this here. Wikipedia:Simple conflict of interest edit request will explain how to request edits on this talk page so that other editors are alerted and can review your changes. Please include citations for any information you want to add. Tacyarg (talk) 22:10, 25 June 2025 (UTC)

Hello Tacyarg,

Thanks for the reply and for pointing me toward the COI guidance — much appreciated.

I’ll follow the proper process and submit suggested edits via the Talk page using the template. My aim is simply to bring more balance to the article, which currently focuses disproportionately on the conviction while giving limited attention to my wider academic work and professional contributions.

I’ll prepare a request later today.

Best regards,

Ian Swingland Ironside1946 (talk) 10:27, 26 June 2025 (UTC)

Request for article updates (COI disclosure)

Hello, I am Ian Swingland, the subject of this article.

I would like to request some factual corrections and updates to ensure the article presents a fair and accurate picture of my life and work. I’ve created a Wikipedia account for transparency and to follow proper COI (Conflict of Interest) guidelines.

Over the past five decades, I’ve contributed extensively to global conservation — founding DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology), advising governments and international organisations, and working with conservation bodies and Indigenous communities worldwide.

I am not requesting the removal of any facts, including the legal matter, but I do believe the current version lacks balance. I respectfully ask for:

• An updated lead section that reflects the full scope of my academic and conservation work • A more neutral, policy-compliant tone in the Legal section • Reinstatement of key sections on my education, career, and awards • A new, relevant photo with appropriate licensing

A full proposed revision is included below. Thank you for considering this request in the interest of accuracy and balance.

Early life and education

Ian Richard Swingland was born on 2 November 1946 in Barnet, England, the only child of Flora Mary (née Fernie), a former SOE officer turned senior lecturer, and Hugh Maurice Webb Swingland, an electrical engineer and Royal Navy minesweeper veteran. He attended Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School in London before earning a BSc in Zoology and Social Anthropology at Queen Mary College, University of London, during which he published his first scientific paper in *Nature* in 1969 as an undergraduate. He completed a PhD in Ecology at the University of Edinburgh on a Department for International Development scholarship, with a thesis on corvid communal roosting, before undertaking fieldwork as a research and management biologist in Kafue National Park, Zambia.

Career

In 1974, Swingland was invited by the Royal Society to join Oxford University’s Zoology Department for five years to work on the giant tortoises of Aldabra Atoll, in the western Indian Ocean. He has been, or is, a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, University of Florence, University of Auckland, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Beijing Forestry University, and has worked as a research mathematician for Royal Dutch Shell in Sittingbourne, Kent.

In 1979, he was appointed to the University of Kent to create their Natural Science Continuing Education programme and, ten years later, founded DICE (the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology), a multidisciplinary research and conservation training institute. The name was chosen in recognition of Swingland’s friend, Gerald Durrell, and his commitment to conservation. Swingland retired from the university in 1999 but serves as Professor Emeritus.

He founded the Herpetological Conservation Trust in 1989 (now renamed the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust), an international NGO, and in 1992 launched the international journal Biodiversity and Conservation, the first multidisciplinary journal in biodiversity management and sustainable development.

He co-founded a number of companies that apply business and market approaches to conservation, biodiversity, and community development on a sustainable and ethical basis. He also co-founded the think tank RURAL (Responsible Use of Resources in Agriculture and on the Land) in 1980, with Neil Wates and Sir Colin Spedding. One such company, Sustainable Forestry Management Ltd, was incorporated in Bermuda in 1999 and liquidated in 2011.

Swingland was a draftsman of part of the Convention on Biological Diversity concerning fair and equitable benefit-sharing (PrepComm UNEP, Nairobi 1990). At the request of Sir Peter Scott, he created the IUCN/SSC Tortoise Specialist Group in 1981, now the Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. He directed the First World Congress of Herpetology in 1989.

He co-founded and chaired the Rural Regeneration Unit, a social enterprise supporting self-help projects and food cooperatives, and helped establish the Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology to support DICE. He served on the RSPCA Council (1990–1995), chaired its Wildlife Committee (1985–1990), and delivered the RSPCA’s 150th Anniversary Lecture.

Since 1985, Swingland has served on the Council of Fauna & Flora International and was the longest-standing board member of the UK Government’s Darwin Initiative, which funds multisectoral international biodiversity projects. He chaired the Apple and Pear Research Council from 1997, now part of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. He is a benefactor of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and was an Ambassador to the Galapagos Conservation Trust until 2019. He supported the founding of Great Oaks Small School in Sandwich, which specialises in education for students who struggle in mainstream settings.

Swingland was invited in 2010 and 2012 by the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning to evaluate biodiversity and Linnaeus research programmes across Sweden.

He has advised the World Bank, Global Environment Facility, Asian Development Bank, and the UK Government on conservation policy. He also worked as a research and management biologist in Kafue National Park, Zambia, contributing to its management plan, and the Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project in Bangladesh.

Swingland was appointed Chairman of the International Board of Trustees of the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development — the Commonwealth’s largest biodiversity initiative — by the President of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, under the patronage of the Prince of Wales. He also advised China on ecosystem management strategies aimed at reducing land degradation and conserving biodiversity through market-based approaches.

He led the Indian Ocean and Galapagos sections of Operation Drake and participated in the Royal Geographical Society’s scientific expedition to Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak.

He is Director Emeritus and former Trustee of Earthwatch (1999–2009), and founding trustee, former chair, and current Patron of Operation Wallacea, a trust supporting sustainable biodiversity-linked enterprises worldwide.

Legal issues

In July 2017, Swingland was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in connection with the UK's government-approved tax relief scheme for environmental investment. He received a two-year suspended sentence. The judge acknowledged that Swingland had not personally profited and was misled about the nature of the scheme; his reputation was exploited.

Court records and media reports acknowledged that Swingland did not orchestrate the scheme nor receive substantial personal financial gain. Many supporters have noted that he was misled and that his actions were out of character with his lifetime of public and academic service. He has since returned to private life and remains engaged in conservation at an advisory level.Ironside1946 (talk) 17:46, 26 June 2025 (UTC)

Follow-up to COI edit request: full sections with citations

Hello @Tacyarg — thank you for your earlier response.

As requested, I’m now following up with revised versions of the Career, Early life, and Legal issues sections for the article. These reflect previously proposed edits but now include inline citations to reliable, publicly available sources. I hope this helps move the request forward.

---

🧭 Career

Ian Richard Swingland began his academic career working in Oxford University's Zoology Department and the Royal Society on Aldabra tortoises, and later joined Shell Research as a mathematician before moving into ecological research in Zambia and Bangladesh.

🔗 Wikipedia

He founded the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent in November 1989, served as its first UK Chair in Conservation Biology, retired in 1999, and now holds Emeritus status.

🔗 University of Kent – DICE

Swingland directed the First World Congress of Herpetology (1989) and was founding chair of the Herpetological Conservation Trust (now Amphibian & Reptile Conservation) from 1989 to 2010, helping raise the organisation’s profile and funding.

🔗 CV – Ian Swingland

He served on the RSPCA Council from 1990–1995 and chaired its Wildlife Committee between 1985–1990.

🔗 Wikipedia

---

📘 Early life & Education

Ian Richard Swingland was born on 2 November 1946 in Barnet, England, the only child of Flora Mary (née Fernie) and electrical engineer Hugh Swingland, a former Royal Navy officer and MoD procurement official.

🔗 Wikipedia

He was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, London, then studied zoology and social anthropology at the University of London, publishing his first paper in Nature in 1969 as an undergraduate. He earned a PhD in ecology from the University of Edinburgh and worked at Oxford, Edinburgh, and with Royal Society field teams.

🔗 Google Books Bio

---

⚖️ Legal Issues

In March 2017, Ian Swingland was convicted of conspiring to commit fraud by false representation in connection with a UK government‑approved tax‑relief scheme for environmental investment. He received a two‑year suspended sentence, was acquitted of the principal charge, and the judge noted that he did not personally profit from the scheme. He also resigned his OBE in November 2017, which had been awarded in the 2007 New Year Honours for services to conservation.

🔗 Wikipedia

---

Thank you again for taking the time to review these updates. Please let me know if you would like anything revised or clarified.

Best regards,

Ironside1946 (declared COI) Ironside1946 (talk) 20:00, 8 July 2025 (UTC)

Hi, if you add {{edit COI}} to your request, it will appear on a list of requested edits for uninvolved editors to review. Please do give full, published references from independent sources. Every statement should have a reference. Wikipedia itself can't be used as a reference, and other than that you've just put University of Kent – DICE, CV – Ian Swingland and Google Books Bio. Other editors need to know where these sources can be found. You may find the guidance on reliable sources useful, or want to ask for more assistance at the WP:TEAHOUSE. Tacyarg (talk) 20:28, 8 July 2025 (UTC)

Thanks @Tacyarg — My error, I'll go back through the text and add proper third-party sources. Thanks again for your help — I’ll follow up soon with a cleaner version.

Best,

Ironside1946 Ironside1946 (talk) 20:49, 8 July 2025 (UTC)

Hello @Tacyarg — I'll work on improving the other sections and citations, but in the meantime I’d like to respectfully request the removal of the current lead paragraph.

It places undue weight on a single event — the 2017 conviction — without summarising the rest of the article, which includes decades of academic and conservation work.

That violates Wikipedia’s own guidance:

“The lead should stand on its own as a concise overview of the article’s most important points.” — WP:LEAD

The Criminal prosecution section already covers this in detail. Removing the lead paragraph would bring the article closer to balance while I continue working on sources for the rest.

Thanks again for your time and input.

Ironside1946 Ironside1946 (talk) 21:05, 8 July 2025 (UTC)

Adding {{edit COI}} for Ironside1946, who wants a sentence removed from the lead as set out above. Tacyarg (talk) 21:57, 8 July 2025 (UTC)

Partly done: Fixed lead. The main body however needs reliable sources - also looks incredibly AI generated. I'd highly recommend not using AI/LLMs to write Wikipedia articles, it's quite frowned upon. If this is LLM/AI generated please see WP:LLM. I'd also like to point out that the proposed text removes well sourced informational content which will not be approved. I recommend revising this request. Encoded  Talk 💬 18:06, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

Just to clarify: the removal of the lead paragraph was a specific request based on WP:LEAD and WP:UNDUE — not AI-generated content. It was about article balance, not wording style.

I understand concerns about AI, but any proposed changes are being reviewed carefully, cited properly, and submitted transparently with COI declared.

Also, I’ve noticed that the same information from the removed lead now appears in the infobox. That seems to go against the spirit of the agreed change — especially as the Criminal prosecution section already covers this in detail.

:Thanks again for your time and input. ~~~~ Ironside1946 (talk) 21:32, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

Encoded just noting this article now has the situation where the lead says nothing at all about the criminal conviction. As per WP:LEAD, it should be able to stand on its own as a concise version of the article, which it currently does not do. I suggest there needs to be a way of concisely and neutrally including something about this in the lead rather than removing it altogether. Melcous (talk) 00:00, 16 July 2025 (UTC)

Hi @Melcous, apologies for that oversight - I've made an adjustment that hopefully improves it. I'm happy if anyone has a better way of wording it - I was a bit unsure on how exactly to slot it in without putting it back where it was removed from.

Hi @Ironside1946, I understand the lead was not related to the AI concerns, apologies if it sounded as such. Unfortunately the proposed changes for the body are not cited sufficiently, it needs to have reliable sources and Wikipedia itself is not considered as one. Since most of the changes have us as the source it's not an acceptable RS, the other sources are also not linked so not sure what they are exactly. I'm happy to re-review if the sourcing is improved.

Thanks, Encoded  Talk 💬 07:09, 16 July 2025 (UTC)

@Encoded - Following up on the recent edits…

I believe the current version of my article gives undue emphasis to my 2017 conviction by placing it in both the lead and the infobox.

WP:LEAD states that the lead must summarise the article without overemphasizing any single event.

WP:INFOBOXPEOPLE also discourages using the infobox to highlight contentious material unless it defines the subject’s primary notability — which is not the case here.

Comparable biographies of public figures with similar convictions (e.g., Bob Spink, Edward Davenport) handle this differently:

• Their convictions are mentioned once in the lead (if at all),
• With the detailed information moved to a dedicated section.

Proposal:

• Keep a single neutral sentence about the conviction at the end of the lead (linking to the “Criminal prosecution” section).
• Remove the conviction details from the infobox to avoid duplication and undue focus.

I’d appreciate other editors’ thoughts on this proposal. Ironside1946 (talk) 15:27, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

External links

Further information: Wikipedia: External links

Consensus needs to determine inclusion or exclusion.

• A tag indicates concerns of links. However, none is needed for article promotion.

Some links may be included in WP:ELNO, or What Wikipedia is not (policy) such as WP:NOTREPOSITORY or WP:NOTGUIDE.

• WP:ELDEAD may apply.
• In some cases ELCITE applies: Do not use {{cite web}} or other citation templates in the External links section. Citation templates are permitted in the Further reading section. Others, listed below:
• ELpoints #3) states: Links in the "External links" section should be kept to a minimum. A lack of external links or a small number of external links is not a reason to add external links.
• LINKFARM states: There is nothing wrong with adding one or more useful content-relevant links to the external links section of an article; however, excessive lists can dwarf articles and detract from the purpose of Wikipedia. On articles about topics with many fansites, for example, including a link to one major fansite may be appropriate.
• ELMIN: Minimize the number of links.

The External links guideline This page in a nutshell: External links in an article can be helpful to the reader, but they should be kept minimal, meritable, and directly relevant to the article. With rare exceptions, external links should not be used in the body of an article.

Second paragraph, acceptable external links include those that contain further research that is accurate and on-topic, information that could not be added to the article for reasons such as copyright or amount of detail, or other meaningful, relevant content that is not suitable for inclusion in an article for reasons unrelated to its accuracy.

• • Please also note:
• WP:ELBURDEN: Disputed links should be excluded by default unless and until there is a consensus to include them. Please do not add back more links without consensus. Simple solution to facilitate career maintenance tag. Move links here for discussion.

Moved links: -- Otr500 (talk)

• Interview with Ian Swingland in Kampala, Uganda on YouTube
• Biologist uses carbon trading to grow forests (Australia)
• Science and Economics Work Together Toward Environmental Improvement -- Otr500 (talk) 23:49, 15 July 2025 (UTC)

COI tag (July 2025)

Ironside1946 (talk · contribs) has said on the Talk page that they are the subject of this article. Tacyarg (talk) 18:31, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

• • COI Note – Early Years & Education / Career Updates**

Hello editors,

I recently updated my article to add reliable citations and correct unsourced material in the “Early years and education” and “Career” sections. The goal was to improve accuracy and verifiability using sources such as *Nature*, University of Kent, ARC Trust, Springer, Operation Wallacea, and my official CV (for non-contentious factual details).

I now realise this should have been requested here first. This was an oversight on my part due to my limited familiarity with Wikipedia’s editing rules, and I apologise for any inconvenience caused. I’m happy to leave further review or refinements to neutral editors, and I welcome any adjustments or feedback.

• • Key sources added:**

- Nature article (1969) – first scientific paper. - University of Kent – DICE – founding of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology. - ARC Trust – Our History – founding of Herpetological Conservation Trust. - Springer – Biodiversity and Conservation – founding of journal. - Operation Wallacea Brochure – current Trust Patron role. - Ian Swingland CV (Academia.edu) – advisory roles (World Bank, GEF, ADB).

Thank you for your time and understanding. Ironside1946 (talk) 19:23, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

Lead & Infobox Proposal — Seeking Consensus

Hello editors,

I believe the current version of my article gives undue emphasis to my 2017 conviction by placing it in both the lead and the infobox.

WP:LEAD states that the lead must summarise the article without overemphasising any single event.

WP:INFOBOXPEOPLE also discourages using the infobox to highlight contentious material unless it defines the subject’s primary notability — which is not the case here.

Comparable biographies of public figures with similar convictions (e.g., Bob Spink, Edward Davenport) handle this differently:

• Their convictions are mentioned once in the lead (if at all).
• With the detailed information moved to a dedicated section.

Proposal:

• Keep a single neutral sentence about the conviction at the end of the lead (linking to the “Criminal prosecution” section).
• Remove the conviction details from the infobox to avoid duplication and undue focus.

I’d appreciate other editors’ thoughts on this proposal Ironside1946 (talk) 20:25, 22 July 2025 (UTC)