This book presents 49 papers that formed the basis of a "Mountain Protected Area Field Workshop" organised by the Mountain Biome of the World Commission on Protected Areas of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in South Africa's uKhahlama-Drakensberg World Heritage Site in September 2003. Referring to 28 different mountain areas around the world, a collection of 49 papers is inevitably difficult to organise into a book with consistent threads. However, the editors have made an admirable effort to group the papers into 12 broad themes, serving to highlight some of the key challenges facing mountain areas. The fact that these themes range from conservation corridors to conflict management, from cultural and spiritual values to economic benefits, from wilderness to community partnerships, is a good indication of the diverse challenges disussed.The potential benefits of protected mountain areas to society are well articulated here and, from most of the papers, the challenges that emerge reflect a need to work across and beyond boundaries. Whether it be physical geographical boundaries, administrational and institutional boundaries, or the boundaries of knowledge, science and tradition, the collective experience in this book offers a number of responses to consider.
