Exploring Convivial Conservation in Theory and Practice: Possibilities and Challenges for a Transformative Approach to Biodiversity Conservation

Convivial conservation has been put forward as a radical alternative to transform prevailing mainstream approaches
that aim to address global concerns of biodiversity loss and extinction. This special issue includes contributions from
diverse disciplinary and geographical perspectives which critically examine convivial conservation’s potential in
theory and practice and explore both possibilities and challenges for the approach’s transformative ambitions. This
introduction focuses on three issues which the contributions highlight as critical for facilitating transformation of
mainstream conservation. First, the different ways in which key dimensions of justice — epistemic, distributive,
and participatory and multi-species justice — intersect with the convivial conservation proposal, and how potential
injustices might be mitigated. Second, how convivial conservation approaches the potential to facilitate human
and non-human coexistence. Third, how transformative methodologies and innovative conceptual lenses can be
used to further develop convivial conservation. The diverse contributions show that convivial conservation has
clear potential to be transformative. However, to realise this potential, convivial conservation must avoid previous
proposals’ pitfalls, such as trying to ‘reinvent the wheel’ and being too narrowly focused. Instead, convivial
conservation must continue to evolve in response to engagement with a plurality of perspectives, experiences,
ideas and methodologies from around the world.