Reimagining Relationships: the heart of reimagining conservation

Author(s): Liza Zogib

We hope that we’re at another crossroads in how we understand and practice this thing we call conservation. For too long, we have been valuing approaches that have treated the natural world as something separate from ourselves: a resource to manage, a problem to fix, a place to keep others out of, a species to count. But what if the most powerful conservation work begins not with control, but with relationship?

Reimagining Relationships invites a deeper exploration of what it means to live as nature and of nature rather than apart from it. It asks us to: re-evaluate our place in the world; question the illusion of separation; reflect on kin and kinship; cultivate compassion and care, and embrace humility.

These questions and more lie at the core of Policy Matters’ broader call to rethink, reposition, and reimagine relationships – not as abstract ideas, but as lived connections that can define our future. Conservation is really all about the ways we are connected with our planet, with one another and – perhaps the most difficult lesson of all – with ourselves.

Please enjoy the newsletter, and come back to read the full versions of these and other articles on Relationships in the next issue of Policy Matters, coming October 2025.

Author(s): Arowah Cleaver

When we dissolve the myth of separation, equity and collaboration cease to be aspirational goals – they become innate. If we are nature, conservation is an act of self-care. If we are community, governance is a dialogue of mutual thriving. This shift transforms power itself: from domination (power over) and resistance (power under) to co-creation (power with), rooted in the quiet strength of power within – the awareness of our interconnectedness. Arowah Cleaver explores the concept of interbeing through the teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Author(s): Jacob Phelps, Miaomiao Tian and Rika Fajrini

Can strategic legal action transform how we value and relate to nature? What if lawsuits could do more than win cases – what if they could shift how society values nature itself? In this article, the authors explore how strategic legal action can challenge the status quo, accelerate the recognition of nature’s diverse values, and help "reimagine relationships" between people and planet.

Author(s): Shelby Matevich and Joeri Sol

What do Yellowstone and Silicon Valley have in common? Both birthed iconic but limiting models – one framing conservation as untouched wilderness, the other equating entrepreneurship with tech-scale hypergrowth. But conservation and entrepreneurship are far more diverse than these paradigms suggest. Now, researchers at the University of Amsterdam are exploring conservation entrepreneurship, asking: Have these dominant models stifled innovation? As conservation seeks transformative change and entrepreneurship rethinks its social role, could breaking free from these caricatures unlock new possibilities?

Author(s): Philippa Brakes and Annette Lanjouw

New research is revealing what Indigenous communities have long understood: animals have rich cultures, from chimpanzees' ancient tool use to whales' enduring songs. While modern science now detects these patterns of social learning, this knowledge could transform conservation, reducing human-wildlife conflict and improving reintroductions. The key? Blending cutting-edge tools with traditional wisdom and citizen science to honor these intangible cultural heritages. As we listen more closely to the natural world, what else might it teach us?