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		Big Ideas in Conservation Home Archive

Get Involved What do you think of this Next Big Idea? And what's your idea for the future of nature? Tell us today!

Climate change, biodiversity, sustainability and easements: Believe it or not, these ideas were once radical — even controversial — in conservation circles.

But what are the next big ideas in conservation? Which new approaches and concepts will we rely on to protect nature and human livelihoods — when habitat and species losses are accelerating and rising global temperatures threaten to remake the natural world?

Nature.org asked six experts from The Nature Conservancy to tell us how they see the future of protecting nature. Read their responses — and then tell us what you think the next big idea in conservation should be.

Fast Forward to the Future of Conservation

Biofuels, Yes — But Not at the Expense of Forests William Ginn "In our drive to replace fossil fuels, are we 'burning' the biodiversity of forests?"	Ending the "War on Terra" Steven J. McCormick "Conservation must become a pillar of U.S. national security policies."
Taking Private Conservation to the Sea Lynn Hale "Marine conservation needs some fresh thinking — and land might be just the place to look for it."	Improving Dams for Nature and People Brian Richter "Less than 40 percent of all large rivers in the world remain free-flowing and relatively undeveloped."
Accounting for Nature Peter Kareiva "If we don't start linking the needs of humanity and nature, all our efforts are guaranteed to fail."	Reducing Deforestation to Slow Climate Change Bill Stanley "Halting deforestation in the next 50 years is possible—if we give countries the appropriate financial incentives."