In a recent editorial one of the founding fathers of conservation biology, Michael Soule, expressed concern about ideas that he fears stray from conservation’s core principles and the primary goal of protecting nature (Soule 2013). Michael has inspired generations of students to pursue conservation biology, including me. When I was a university professor, Michael’s papers figured prominently in...

In the last two decades, the World Wide Web and subsequent associated developments (e.g., widely available computers, broadband, Web 2.0, the Internet of Things) have shaped old and created new modes of business, management, communication and governance. The implications for modern societies are deemed so important that some sociologists dub the current era the Digital Age (e.g., Orton-Johnson ...

In recent years, some conservation biologists and conservation organizations have sought to refocus the field of conservation biology by de-emphasizing the goal of protecting nature for its own sake in favor of protecting the environment for its benefits to humans. This 'new conservation science' (NCS) has inspired debate among academics and conservationists and motivated fundamental changes in...