The 5th World Parks Congress of IUCN was held in Durban, South Africa, 8–17 September 2003. The theme of “Benefits Beyond Boundaries” attracted around 3000 participants from all over the world who are concerned with Protected Areas issues. It was announced at the gathering that, on paper at least, 12 percent of the terrestrial surface of the earth is now under some kind of conservation status. Information on the Congress is available at www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/wpc/2003. A summary report was prepared bythe International Institute for Sustainable Development (www.iisd.ca/linkage/sd/worldparksv).
