developments in policy.The Congresses stand out as a series of milestones in the development of the world's protected area system (Phillips, 2003).In 2003 , the 5 th WPC in Durban effectively created the bulk of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) Programme of Work on Protected Areas (POWPA) (CBD, 2004), which remains a touchstone and key strategy for protected area development.But the Durban meeting also saw other very significant policy shifts: it witnessed the emergence into the mainstream of a more people-centred and ABSTRACTThe IUCN World Parks Congress is a once in a decade event that has traditionally been a major forum for advancing global protected area policy and practice.The Congress this November in Sydney Australia will be run along eight streams; addressing biodiversity, climate change, health, ecosystem services, development, governance, indigenous peoples issues and youth; cross-cutting themes address marine issues, capacity building, World Heritage and a New Social Compact.In the following extended editorial, the organisers of the various streams lay out their aims and hopes for the 2014 Congress.