Interview Nathalie Pettorelli: “Focus on the essential.”

Professor Nathalie Pettorelli is a conservation scientist at the Zoological Society of London, a science-driven conservation charity working to restore wildlife in the UK and around the world. Six months before Nathalie will give her keynote speech we asked her: ‘what is effective biodiversity conservation in your eyes?’

Nathalie: “Effective biodiversity conservation leads to nature outcomes that are resilient and sustainable. It promotes solutions that take changing conditions into account  – a changing climate, rising sea levels, shifting environments. This sounds obvious, but it is still not the norm everywhere. We continue too often to focus on how things were in our childhood, or to have fixed ideas about what nature should look like. We need to embrace more readily change, and celebrate the dynamic nature of biodiversity. 

“We need to embrace more readily change”

Effective biodiversity conservation does not exist without local communities’ support and involvement. People are always part of these solutions that deliver the resilient and sustainable nature outcomes we need. If the solutions are not co-designed with local communities, if residents’ views are dismissed and ignored, chances are whatever solution is being deployed will not last long. Building a biodiversity-rich, sustainable future requires building it together.  

“Giving nature space is often enough.” 

Biodiversity is ultimately more than a sum of species; it is about the connections between species, and the connections between species and their environment, humans included. We need to understand how things interact and work together, how to bring things into stable equilibriums, without assuming that we as humans always have to manage nature. Nature does not always need human intervention to thrive. Often, giving it space, and protecting connections and connectivity, is enough. In many cases, such an approach is a good starting point.”