As the International Year of Biodiversity progresses, it is a good time to take stock of where we are with respect to the global objectives of halting the loss of biodiversity. It is clear that the 2010 goals have not been reached (Walpole et al., 2009). However, the conservation community is already making plans for the years ahead and formulating new goals and designing roadmaps for achieving them. One recent development of note is the formulation of the Busan Outcome Document (http://ipbes. net/) which calls for the formation of an International Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), along the lines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The question remains, however, if noble intentions and good science can be translated into policies and actions that benefit biodiversity? The IPBES’s very title explicitly furthers the links between biodiversity and ecosystem services–which builds on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (http://www. millenniumassessment. org/) and which is becoming one of the dominant discourses in 21st century conservation. Although there is little doubt in the scientific community that there is a broad link between biodiversity and human well-being, the relationship appears to be complex (Redford & Adams, 2009). However, in the public’s perception not all biodiversity is beneficial to human wellbeing and there are many situations where it can come into conflict with human activities leading to costs that need to be incorporated into conservation policies (Bostedt, 1999). The costs and conflicts associated with biodiversity conservation are diverse, but can be grouped into three main categories. Firstly, there are the direct costs where certain biodiversity components come into direct conflict with human interests causing material and economic damage. Examples of these conflicts include the destruction of crops by birds, primates and herbivores, depredation on livestock and pets by large carnivores, predation on game by predators, vehicle collisions with large herbivores, disease transfer from wild species to domestic relatives and direct loss of human life to large carnivores, large herbivores, venomous reptiles and zoonosis (Woodroffe et al., 2005). Secondly, there are a wide range of social conflicts. On one level, these include issues like fear for personal safety or of economic loss in the face of living with potentially dangerous or damage causing species. However, there is also a range of deeper social and cultural issues that come into play when the conservation of challenging or symbolic species is concerned. Rural communities can feel threatened by conservation activities when they are perceived as endangering deeply held values, world views or lifestyles