EDITORIAL AS WE CELEBRATE the expansion of protected areas to nearly 15% of our planet’s land surface, well over 100,000 individual sites, it is sobering to also recognise how many of these protected areas are threatened by various kinds of conflicts. This is certainly nothing new; virtually all protected areas have been established against the opposition of at least some interest groups, though the best-managed protected areas are able to provide sufficient benefits to the various interest groups to justify their establishment. But many of the threats to protected areas today come from a far more violent kind of conflict, where protected areas are simply caught in the cross fire of opposing armed groups. In many parts of Africa, in Colombia, in Nepal, the islands of South East Asia, and some of the Central Asiatic Republics, armed insurgency movements show little respect for protected areas, putting extra stresses on the managers of these sites. The individuals who often are putting theirlives on the line to carry out their nature protection duties deserve our admiration and support. But too often, the international forms of support for protected areas start to get cold feet when bullets start flying. This is perhaps understandable, but the steadfastness of some international conservationorganisations is sometimes making a difference between total withdrawal and at least somemodest successes. In this issue, the story of international cooperation in saving the World Heritagesites of the Congo is especially heartening. Other sites tend to slip from the public consciousness, such as Comoé in Côte d’Ivoire, or the protected areas of Nepal. These two examples are cause for all of us to work together to continue supporting our colleagues in the countries that are faced with such conflict.Fortunately, we have many models where cooperation has led to real improvements, with examples from the Sudan, Tayrona in Colombia, and even along the border between Kuwait and Iraq. And the opening paper on ‘Parks in the crossfire’ sets out a series of useful strategies foreffectively promoting protected areas even in the most difficult of times. We are all hoping forpeace and tranquillity, but these qualities are not always in evidence, and conserving nature willundoubtedly require us to continue supporting our courageous colleagues who are continuingto protect valuable sites against destruction in very difficult times.

Jeffrey A. McNeely is Chief Scientist at IUCN–The World Conservation Union, where he has worked since 1980. Prior to going to IUCN, he spent three years in Indonesia, two years in Nepal and seven years in Thailand, working on various biodiversity-related topics.He has been deeply involved in the development of the Convention on Biological Diversity from its very beginnings, and was co-founderof the Global Biodiversity Forum. He is on the editorial board of seven international journals and has published over 30 books andhundreds of papers on a wide range of topics relating to biodiversity conservation, invasive species and sustainable development. Jeffrey A. McNeely, Chief Scientist, IUCN–The World Conservation Union, 1196 Gland, Switzerland. E-mail: JAM@iucn.org