For decades the question about why protect nature has led to two opposite answers: because nature matters for its own sake, regardless of reference to people, or because of the benefits people derive from interacting with it. While the first perspective rejects instrumental motifs for conservation and considers anthropocentrism as part of the problem, the second one highlights anthropocentric arguments and employs economic valuation to assess the importance of ecosystems to people. But does it have to be one or the other? Recent research suggests a third possibility: protecting nature because of the meaningful and constitutive relationships that connect people with nature and to each other through nature. So called relational values have gained traction recently and have been included into the IPBES assessments. The lecture will briefly present and discuss the recent Assessment Report on the multiple values of nature, with a particular focus on relational values and their importance for valuation and policy.