At its 7th meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in February 2004, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted an ambitious work programme on protected areas. This Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PowPA) identified four elements of the Programme, sixteen goals and ninety-two associated activities. The central objective is the establishment and smooth functioning of comprehensive national and regional protected area systems. The aim is not only to increase the number of protected areas but to ensure, as far as possible, that they are designed and located in the best places to conserve biodiversity and that this is determined by a process that brings together many stakeholders. This document is the report of the capitalization study of the experiences of implementing the PowPa 1 and PowPa 2 protected areas work programme.