Converting international interest in biodiversity conservation into a positive development strategy represents a major challenge for governments and the donor community. While defensive strategies in line with the ‘fines and fences’ approach are now widely rejected, attempts to provide positive incentives through alternative income generating strategies have not proven very effective. The way forward is increasingly seen to lie in the consolidation of existing livelihoods through the integration of biological and socio-economic information supported by efforts to increase local management capacity.