This volume gathers in one place the current knowledge of all aspects of protected area governance and management. It is a tool for protected area practitioners, policy makers, students, and interested readers, covering all levels of parks management expertise. In other words “everything that anyone ever wanted to know about protected areas management and governance.”

This publication represents one of the greatest ever WCPA volunteer projects. The original English version involved 164 authors, five editors, and 27 reviewers over two and a half years. In one large text, the 28 Chapters and 1000 pages cover all aspects of the protection, governance and management of our Earth’s protected areas. The equivalent of an estimated $US2.9 million of volunteer time was contributed to the development of the book. This resource is also available, for free, in electronic format.

Dr. Kathy MacKinnon, chair of the World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN WCPA), noted: “It is a major contribution to the knowledge and expertise that form the base for developing capacity.” 

After the launch of the publication in 2014 at the IUCN World Parks Congress, it became clear that there is a need for such a book in many languages. “When we have the expertise of these many world experts available, it is worthwhile to make it accessible for everyone, including for all this continent that speaks Spanish, to enjoy and have access to its content.” concluded Julia Miranda Londono, Director General of the Parques Naturales Nationales de Colombia and IUCN WCPA Deputy Chair. 

At the Lima launch event of the book, Dr. MacKinnon stated that “WCPA and IUCN are committed to building capacity and promoting good practices. Capacity development for protected areas is a major initiative of IUCN, through the BIOPAMA programme and the IUCN WCPA. As Trevor Sandwith (Director of IUCN’s Global Protected Areas Group) highlighted, “The challenges facing conservation today are many and we need to invest in building capacity”.

“For the EU it is very important to have concrete tools that help improve significantly the conservation results,” said Sebastien Chatelus, representative of the European Union, Directorate General for Development and International Cooperation, “This book is a tool to build capacity but also to align practices of monitoring and reporting on countries’ international biodiversity commitments.”

Protected Area Governance and Management is published with the support of the Convention on Biological Diversity and BIOPAMA, through the support from the European Union and the ACP Group of States. The Spanish version of the book has received support from Universidad el Bosque as well.