How the diversity of human concepts of nature affects conservation of biodiversity.

Protecting nature has become a global concern. However, the very idea of nature is problematic. We examine the etymological and semantic diversity of the word used for translating "nature" in a conservation context in 76 of the main languages of the world, in order to identify different visions of the relationship between humankind and nature. Surprisingly, the number of morphemes (distinct etymological roots) used by 7 billion people is low. Different linguistic super-families share the same etymon, across large cultural areas that correlate with the distribution of major religions. However, we find deep differences of etymological meanings between these words, echoing the semantic differences and historical ambiguity of the contemporary European concept of nature. The principal current Western meaning of "nature" in environmental public policy, conservation science, and environmental ethics - that which is not a human artifact - appears to be relatively rare and recent, and to contradict the vision of nature in most other cultures, including those of pre-Christian Europe. To avoid implicit cultural bias and hegemony - and thus to be globally intelligible and effective - it behooves nature conservation to take into account this semantic diversity when proposing conservation policies and undertaking conservation practices. Article Impact Statement: The idea of nature exists in most cultures, so awareness of the diversity of the concepts of nature is essential for nature conservation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.