The course introduces foundations of the classical nature conservation as social scientific and economic models and regularities of aut-, dem- and synecology, as well as the contemporary methods of conservation science. The following topics are covered at the lectures: what is the contemporary human impact on nature and what means have been proposed for mitigation of the negative human impact. Problems arising from the domain of conservation biology are introduced, as well as how to analyze the opportunities of using economic tools for steering the utilization of nature or apply social analysis. The course is based on necessary knowledge of biology and ecology of protected objects necessary for applying effective protection measures and how to plan measures that are optimal from the economic viewpoint, but also on the origins of conflicts occurring in nature conservation, how they depend on the values and ethical beliefs of people and how to analyze and resolve them.