Towards safe and just nature conservation

Nature conservation has not halted biodiversity decline and incremental, conventional change is insufficient. Global, society‐wide transformation is needed to address the root causes of loss and conservation must retain common cause with broader efforts to reshape human–environment relationships sustainably.

This paper argues that conservation is fundamentally a matter of justice for both people and planet, but policy and practice have yet to internalise the goals of safe and just transformation. The growing gap between contemporary sustainability science and dominant conservation approaches is becoming increasingly untenable.

To adapt, conservation must develop core capabilities to address the justice domain and environmental complexity. Business‐as‐usual risks reinforcing inequities, perpetuating the structural drivers of biodiversity decline, political resistance and loss of legitimacy.

We conclude by calling for transdisciplinary collaboration to build shared language, institutional capacity and practical tools to support a nature‐rich future in a safe and just world.

Solution : Our perspective offers guiding principles that are justice‐centred and Earth systems‐focused, based on a precautionary approach to avoid unintended harms and deliver a positive duty to people and the environment. Despite the methodological challenges, the planetary crisis is too urgent to wait, and we propose pragmatic, adaptive, stepwise programme design.