Could we be living in harmony with nature in 2050, only 24 years from now? The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity sets out a pathway for achieving this, with goals to protect and restore, prosper with nature, share benefits equally, and invest and collaborate. This pathway ‘relies on action and cooperation by all levels of government and by all actors of society’ and ‘recognizes that reversing the loss of biological diversity…is a common concern of humankind’. But in our divided, compartmentalized world, closer harmony with nature, and with each other, seems as distant as ever. To achieve the Framework’s ambitious goals, real transformative change needs to be embedded into conservation, and wider society must shift to a true people-with-nature perspective. This is not a new insight (see e.g. Mace, Reference Mace2014) but the calls for societal change are getting louder in the conservation literature, including for more effective and inspiring narratives to catalyse action (e.g. Pascual et al., Reference Pascual, Balvanera and Christie2023; Reyers & Bennett, Reference Reyers and Bennett2025).

Relatedly, in a recent open letter lambasting the ‘failure of governments, corporations and civil society to make the changes we need to avert a climate crisis’, numerous notable signatories emphasized that the lack of progress towards a future in which humanity lives in harmony with nature is ‘fundamentally a failure of the imagination’ (Holmes, Reference Holmes2025). They asserted that ‘[stories] reach us emotionally as well as intellectually, reminding us of what we truly need and value, and reconnecting us to one another and to the natural world’, and called ‘for the United Nations and its member states to meaningfully involve the creative arts in developing climate change policy and action’.

As this open letter shows, climate change advocates sometimes seem ahead of conservationists in engaging with the arts, humanities and social sciences. Work to shift narratives around climate change has long engaged with community experiences of grief, loss and anger, and hopes and aspirations for alternative futures (e.g. through initiatives such as Extinction Rebellion and school climate strikes). There is already action to bring community stories and voices into conservation policy and practice (e.g. through movements like Conservation Optimism, and artistic activities at conferences), but this seems piecemeal. Many conservation scientists are already talking about extinction anxiety and ecological grief, and about their visions for a future in which people and nature flourish together. They are doing this through stand-up comedy, improvisation, the creative arts, activism and other pursuits, but almost entirely in their personal time rather than as part of their professional endeavour.

We know that narratives and stories matter in changing societal norms, even if they have often been marginalized in conservation science and practice (e.g. Goldman et al., Reference Goldman, Jagadeesh, Meng’oru Ngimojino and Gowda2021; Durán et al., Reference Durán, Kuiper, Aguiar, Cheung, Diaw and Halouani2023). But what form should these narratives and stories take, who should write them, where and how should they be presented, and how can we ensure people will listen to and engage with them? As with climate change policy and action, how can we involve the creative arts in developing conservation policy and action, and how can we encourage the creation of organizational cultures that routinely use emotion to enact transformative change in conservation (Lawrence, Reference Lawrence2025)?

As editors of Oryx, we pride ourselves on the contributions this journal has made, for example, to the debate on inclusiveness in conservation (e.g. Kothari, Reference Kothari2021), to the showcasing of practical conservation action (e.g. Squires et al., Reference Squires, Kepakisan, Kusumanegara, Collar, Yuni and Owen2024; Gerlach et al., Reference Gerlach, Aberdeen, Amo, Brocherieux, Clarke and Depierre2025), and to the inclusion of Indigenous voices (e.g. Aini et al., Reference Aini, West, Amepou, Piskaut, Gasot and James2023; Newing et al., Reference Newing, Fisher, Brittain, Kenrick and Milner-Gulland2023). Yet, although Oryx and other conservation journals are influential through their curation of the peer-reviewed literature and their shaping of debate and policy, they are less helpful in bringing together the full range of disparate voices working in conservation outside the mainstream academic and NGO networks. The Global Biodiversity Framework is explicitly ‘a framework for all’ and we are uncomfortable there are as yet no clear pathways for including other voices in the scholarly conservation literature. We believe it is time to shout out to the activists, chefs, comedians, musicians, novelists, painters, poets, religious leaders, volunteers and others concerned with nature conservation: conservation will only succeed if it is a truly shared enterprise. We need their voices, and we really need their influence.

We acknowledge there is a counter-argument that other outlets may be more appropriate for non-academic writing and art, and that peer-reviewed journals should remain academic. Oryx will of course continue to do what it does well, but there is also the counter-counter-argument that peer-reviewed material is archived and curated in a way that other publications are not, and thus remains permanently available. Any diversification of conservation voices will thus also be curated, rather than lost when an internet link breaks or a publication goes out of print. We also realize there will be challenges in venturing into the messy territory beyond our normal strictures. But these desperate times require new, creative thinking. As Adams (Reference Adams2024) noted, ‘… surely formal research papers are only one way to get ideas across: how about poetry, song…or satire? Not all ideas are best expressed in stilted academic prose. Greater diversity of conservation writing [seems] to me an important part of speaking, and thinking, like a nature-caring human’.

With this in mind—as part of an endeavour to widen the scope of who is involved in, and what matters for, nature conservation—we are opening the pages of Oryx to new voices, perspectives and styles of engagement alongside existing formats. This will, we hope, stimulate thought on how conservation is done, by and for whom, and why. But more than that, this endeavour is about exploring which narratives and styles of engagement are effective in triggering action and positive change.

To facilitate the sharing of different visions, experiences and dialogue, this initiative will require the inclusion or embedding of formats new to this journal, potentially including, for example, video, artwork, written narrative or song. Documentation of the experience of nature could, for instance, include sound recordings of wildlife and wild places, or people in these landscapes, or narrative accounts of movement through them. Contributions may also include discussion of the cultural dimensions of human–wildlife interactions, including spiritual dimensions (e.g. Holmes et al., Reference Holmes, Aneurin Smith and Ward2018). We are open to suggestions and recommendations, and to exploration of styles and formats new to the journal.

We are excited about opportunities for transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaborations, and eager to encourage the participation of a greater diversity of conservation-minded people in Oryx. There will be challenges in including non-academic voices, in working with authors from sectors and cultural backgrounds who do not routinely engage with the scholarly literature, and there may be technical challenges around structure, format, length, authorship, and more. But none of these matters are insurmountable. We welcome constructive proposals, comments and critiques, and recommendations for authors and collaborators, to help us work towards a more open, inclusive and creative conservation journal.

Please send your ideas, proposals and recommendations for how to include this type of contribution into the journal in a meaningful way, as well as articles and/or offers of collaboration, to us at oryx@fauna-flora.org.