Charudutt Mishra, Ranjini Murali, Bayarjargal Agvaantseren, Justine Shanti Alexander, Matthias Fiechter, Kubanych Jumabay, Benazir Kabaeva, Muhammad Ali Nawaz, Tayyab Shahzad, Kulbushansingh Suryawanshi, Bermet Tursunkulova, Ulukbek Visid Uulu, Koustubh Sharma

Since the industrial revolution, the predominant model of economic development has involved economies of scale and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, leading to environmental degradation and the ongoing mass extinction of species. The environmental impacts of this development-for(the sake of)-development model led to biodiversity conservation efforts that can be described as conservation-for (the sake of)-conservation approach involving protected areas maintained free of humans. This approach subsequently expanded to include development-for-conservation efforts that integrated local community welfare into conservation programs. These conservation approaches helped make socio-ecological gains, but have failed to address planetary environmental degradation. Here, we outline a development approach for the earth’s last-remaining biodiversity rich areas, focusing on economies of value rather than scale, and relying on conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of ecosystem services. This conservation-for-development model is an attempt to bring humanity and nature closer, and move away from nature–people dualism that has characterized economic development and biodiversity conservation so far.