Discarding old paradigms: Finding fertile ground at the nexus of conservation and entrepreneurship
What do Yellowstone and Silicon Valley have in common? Both birthed iconic but limiting models – one framing conservation as untouched wilderness, the other equating entrepreneurship with tech-scale hypergrowth. But conservation and entrepreneurship are far more diverse than these paradigms suggest. Now, researchers at the University of Amsterdam are exploring conservation entrepreneurship, asking: Have these dominant models stifled innovation? As conservation seeks transformative change and entrepreneurship rethinks its social role, could breaking free from these caricatures unlock new possibilities?
Conservation and entrepreneurship research can both be characterized as highly interdisciplinary, yet cross-fertilization between the two is limited. A team at the University of Amsterdam has started research into “conservation entrepreneurship” and is confronted with the question: have the Yellowstone Model of conservation and Silicon Valley Model of entrepreneurship limited our imagining of what’s possible?
Western histories of conservation usually begin with the story of Yellowstone National Park Act, established in 1872, which introduced regulations to “provide for the preservation, from injury or spoliation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural condition.” Thereafter this Yellowstone Model of conservation was exported around the world, emphasizing large national parks of ‘pristine wilderness’ – generally fenced off, devoid of any human settlements and under the purview of state agencies or big international NGOs.
About 100 years later, and 1,000 miles further West, you find the buzzing headquarters of high-tech innovation. Silicon Valley now offers a home to the headquarters of various Fortune 1000 companies and is considered a nursery for high-tech, high-growth, and high-profit entrepreneurship.
The Yellowstone Model and Silicon Valley Model serve as paradigmatic examples of how conservation is practiced and how entrepreneurs operate, and while both models have inspired awe and devoted believers, they are hardly representative. Conservation and entrepreneurship are delightfully diverse. This diversity is undoubtedly recognized by the scholars in their respective fields, but is it also appreciated beyond these silos? At a time when conservation is calling for transformative change and entrepreneurship is considering its societal relevance, the enduring legacy of these Models might better be understood as caricatures standing in the way of mutual enrichment.
Interested in the full article? Check out the next issue of Policy Matters, coming October 2025.
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