IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)

Protected areas have proven themselves to be an effective tool for the conservation of biodiversity in situ. However, conserving biodiversity, even in protected areas, is a challenging assignment for most countries around the world where governments and local communities are often in competition for access to and use of resources. On top of these challenges, the world is facing changes in climate and sea level, increasing numbers of invasive species, and fragmentation of forests.

This new series of publications on the values of Protected Landscapes and Seascapes is intended to document and spell out the various environmental, economic, social and cultural values that Category V protected areas can provide. The first volume addresses the topic of agrobiodiversity. Since they are lived-in, working landscapes, Category V protected areas would appear to provide a potential mechanism for conserving agrobiodiversity.

Important Bird Areas and Important Plant Areas have already been identified in more than 170 countries. The Key Biodiversity Areas approach builds on the work done to date, in order to provide practical guidance to governments in identifying those sites which must be protected to ensure the future of both biodiversity and humanity.

This book consists of 28 papers selected from among those presented at the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas 5th Conference on Protected Areas of East Asia, held on 21-25 June 2005 in Hong Kong. The title of the book repeats the theme of the Conference: "Sustainable Management of Protected Areas for Future Generations". All the selected papers relate to the management of protected areas, but in other aspects they are very diverse.

The most authoritative guide ever compiled to the principles and practice of park (or "protected area") management essential for all professionals and students in all countries and contexts. There are over 108,000 parks/protected areas on Earth, covering 13.5 million square kilometres - an area the size of China and India combined.

The Framework for management effectiveness developed by the IUCN World Commission for Protected Areas was published in the first version of this Best Practice Guideline. It is further explained and interpreted, although not substantially altered, in this version. A number of key guidelines for good practice in evaluation are presented from many practitioners around the world, and important needs and directions for the future are identified.