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The prevailing view of biodiversity conveys the image of a “natural” capital, eroded and threatened by human activities, particularly in humid tropical regions. Behind this view lie a number of prejudices, postulates and prisms of various denominations that strongly undermine the currently catastrophism that is attached to it This dominant view has developed in the Western world within the of neo-malthusianism conceptual framework, a theory that has for long been proven wrong. Neo-malthusianism makes wide use of the obsolete theories of “natural equilibrium” and climax. It relies on a purely quantitative notion, while the real value of biodiversity is qualitative in nature. It totally ignores the fact that man has created almost all the biodiversity he uses every day. Finally, it is based on a biodiversity “natural zero state” that nobody is able to define because it simply does not exist. Throughout history, all human societies have repeatedly rebuilt and manipulated biodiversity and ecosystems according to their needs. These difficulties strongly diminish the pertinence of the conservationist policies still forming the basis of international action, in contradiction with the objectives of poverty reduction in the poorest countries. A new paradigm must be found in order to improve these policies.