Long before conservation became an institutional practice, there were people who listened to the wind, followed the migrations, read the soil, and spoke the names of plants as kin. Their guardianship arose not from credentialing or curriculum, but from continuity — of place, of culture, of belonging and devotion.

For most of human history, Nature was wholly capable of maintaining biodiversity when met with reciprocity and respect. It was human extraction and exploitation that fractured this innate balance, giving rise to what we now call “conservation” — a human attempt to protect what our ways of living have put in danger.

The Existing Conservation Paradigm is:

• Conditional: Protect what is profitable to humans
• Fragile: Conservation collapses when tourism, funding, political will falter
• Selective: Leaves unprofitable beings (like wild bees) defenseless
• Anthropocentric: Human benefit/profit is the central organizing force perpetuating the mindset that has caused ecological collapse

The New Conservation Paradigm is:

• Unconditional: Life is protected because it exists
• Durable: Land is not dependent on fluctuating markets or human attention
• Inclusive: Entire ecological webs, including unseen, non-charismatic and foundational beings like wild bees are safeguarded
• Relational: Humans are repositioned as participants and guardians, not controllers, managers or beneficiaries

We propose a conservation paradigm that protects life unconditionally, restoring relationship rather than protecting nature conditionally, based on extraction value and human benefit.