Despite the 1992 Rio Convention on Biological Diversity, the world’s biological resources continue to be lost at an alarming rate, and particularly so in developing countries where many of the remaining resources are concentrated. Both inside and outside protected areas, biological resources, their management, and people’s livelihood systems are complex and intricately inter-connected. While conventions are signed globally the  implementation of provisions has to be local, and prospects for success depend on assessment of likely costs and benefits among stakeholders at various levels, and the resolution of conflict of interest among them.