Global concern about the maintenance of the Earth’s biological diversity in 1992 induced broad agreement among governments to establish a Con- vention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which was endorsed during the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro and has since been signed by 168 states. Between 1992 and 2008, protected areas increased from 9% to over 12% of the earth’s ice-free land area. This total surface area is as large as the surface for all cultivated land, which feeds humanity and a good part of our livestock. But what are the benefits of these protected areas? What sacrifices must people endure in order to preserve flora and fauna, and ensure eventual use by later genera- tions? How can local land users be compensated for losses that directly affect them?