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Biodiversity conservation is at a critical impasse. There is growing concern over the increased rate of biodiversity loss and rapid environmental degradation, largely caused by the overexploitation of nature and consumption-oriented economic growth (Brondizio et al, 2019;Wiebe and Wilcove, 2025). This is coupled with growing frustration over the failure of mainstream conservation to slow down or halt these worrying trends (Friedman et al 2022). Some warn that we are facing a precipitous decline in the earth's ability to sustain the very systems that support life (Diaz et al, in 2019). There is, meanwhile, persistent and longstanding distress over the continual and even intensifying disenfranchisement of Indigenous and local communities in the name of conservation (IPBESS 2019;Sapignoli & Hitchcock, 2023). These are not unrelated. As many have argued, the very removal of Indigenous and local peoples from their lands and the fracturing of their relations with and care for the land has harmed species, ecosystems, and communities globally (Aboukakrine et al., 2025;Layden et al, 2025;Nitah S. 2021). Clearly, we need to find new ways to do conservation that support people and the environment, while addressing broader structural issues of exploitation and inequality. This imperative is made explicit in the new global biodiversity framework of the Convention for Biological Diversity, which calls for transformative change to ensure that by 2050, "the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is fulfilled" (CBD, 2022:2). Yet important questions remain regarding what transformation looks like, what groups (and visions) will participate in creating this shared vision, and how.According to the IPBES 2024 Thematic Assessment Report, transformative change is no longer an option, but necessary for repairing the current state of the planet. Furthermore, to achieve such transformation, the report argues for redefining the "relationship between people and nature, basing new visions on inclusive, just, diverse and forward-thinking approaches that address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss" (IPBES, 2024: 2). Part of getting there requires "weaving together insights from diverse approaches and knowledge systems, including Indigenous and local knowledge (IPBES, 2024: A9, B10)." This special topic speaks directly to this need by creating space for productive and creative dialogue that transcends boundaries of sectors, scale, nation, approach, expertise, and literary style, foregrounding relational processes, Indigenous voices, stories, knowledge and ways of being.With this collection, we seek to start new conversations, ask new questions, and set the stage for the importance not only of dialogue and debate-but the kind of dialogue that opens new ground. Transformative change can only happen by changing the conditions of what we think is possible-in conservation theory, practice, and policy, but also in an academic journal like this one. Only then can we truly learn from each other and together transform conservation. In this spirit, this selection is diverse in topic and structure. Together the collection looks at how various aspects of Indigenous-led conservation can help substantiate the need for greater support for Indigenous approaches. Moreover, the various authors in different ways show how a greater appreciation for the nuance of conservation practice, especially amongst Indigenous and local peoples, can help advance a conservation that meets the needs of Indigenous and local communities and humanity more broadly, while addressing growing international concern over the erosion of biodiversity.The collection of articles in this special topic is by design diverse in terms of methods, theoretical frameworks, writing style, composition of writing teams, and findings. The papers nonetheless are united through several common themes. The authors all highlight the various ways in which the future of Indigenous peoples and humanity as a whole is tied to the future of healthy biodiverse landscapes. Together, the articles help to unsettle who the experts are and how to tell stories that matter. This includes different formats for telling stories, asking questions, and having dialogues. (Bruised Head, et. al); the important role that youth need to play in any future conservation planning (Jagadeesh), a close and critical look at transformations already happening in conservation science relying on conservation genetics and precautions that should be in place to safeguard Indigenous data sovereignty and ensure a decolonial agenda (Robbins et al.); and the promise of participatory video as a tool for emerging co-management programs (Carter et al.). The different contributions ask us to consider the value of alternative text formats including audio and visual mediums as tools of conservation if not Indigenous and more-than-human wellbeing (Carter et al.).Other contributions engage with different questions that may not be seen as directly conservation focused but are vital to the transformation process, particularly by challenging what "conservation" means. Authors move well beyond mainstream (colonial) understandings of conservation that prioritize separating humans from nature (spatially and ontologically) to explore instead the complex and changing relations communities have with their land and waters-and the importance of attending to that complexity in research and policy for restorative justice and biodiversity concerns (Middleton-Manning). Several articles reject the anthropocentrism of Western thought (Wilson) and promote relational ontologies that focus on improving the relationship between humanity and other living things upon which we rely for our collective health and well-being (Bright et al.); as well as the dichotomies of 'developed/urban' vs 'protected/nature' (Jagadeesh; Moola et al.). This includes understanding and maintaining environmental health and highlighting the interconnectedness of human health with healthy ecosystems-as related to dam removal and river restoration following Indigenous ontologies and origin stories (Middleton-Manning), the importance of Indigenous indicators of the impacts of glyphosate-based herbicides on the health of ecosystems and people (Patterson et al); and the value of following eels to better understand changing water ways (Gansworth and Bowser 2024). Taken together, the articles speak to shared themes including the need to decolonize conservation and what this might look like in practice, the need to include more diverse authors as well as composition of author teams and writing styles such as interviews, dialogue transcripts, Indigenous origin stories, and reading the more-than-human into the historic archives. Transformative change requires more than tinkering with existing models or building new models from the same foundation. Transformative change requires changing the foundations of epistemology (what counts as valid knowledge, how do we know what we know?), ontology (what is nature, how are human-non-human relations known and maintained?), communication patterns (oral and written) and essentially authority and power relations. We hope this special collection contributes to needed transformative change by creating a welcoming space for new kinds of knowledge and new dialogues about conservation.