between Auckland, Massey and Otago universities, AgResearch and Plant and Food Research, issued a report on lifting New Zealand's economic performance in the agri-food sector. The authors expressed frustration at the lack of industry leadership and called for urgent action on the part of the agri-food business sector in partnership with Government. The report stated: "New Zealand faces a mediocre economic future if it does not rapidly and significantly grow its wealth and simultaneously protects its precious resources." It called on New Zealand to "Become world leaders in sustainability and product integrity" and pointed out that such an approach is drawing price premiums that may grow in the future. So what's it all got to do with conservation? Conservation is about protecting the things that allow us to live in harmony with nature. The evidence is that even in New Zealand, with our rich resource base and tiny population, we are living out of balance with the natural environment. Conservation is not just about protecting bits of our natural heritage so that  future generations can see what New Zealand was like before we arrived, and enjoy the opportunities that allows for recreation and tourism. Conservation is also a key player in protecting the integrity of ecosystems that deliver the natural capital we rely on to survive and thrive. Given that, the degrading state of ecosystems globally creates an ethical responsibility for conservationists to achieve far more than we have been prepared to settle for in the past. To do that,