We hope to approach challenges of tropical diversity conservation and restoration in the Anthropocene. This will include addressing the role of social actors and institutions as drivers of change, the need to redefine economic success, the impact of human population growth, urbanization, agriculture and conservation of tropical agro-biodiversity. We also hope to share experiences from Colombia that could be relevant to other parts of the tropics, such as conflict and post-conflict scenarios and the threats to conservation posed by illicit crops. Finally, we would like to address strategies to persuade policy makers to prioritize a sustainable use of tropical ecosystems and biodiversity.