The global biodiversity crisis will require the next generation of scientists to be in a better position to safeguard the planet's biocultural diversity. This is particularly relevant for researchers from tropical countries where the potential benefits of knowledge application are greatest. Although the tropics are home to the greatest species diversity and the richest centers of endemism, students and young researchers in developing countries remain under-resourced and find it difficult to access comprehensive textbooks on natural resource conservation. In an effort to make conservation knowledge available as widely as possible, some of the top names in ecology and conservation biology make a major conservation textbook available as a download in a free and open access format. Conservation for All addresses hot topics including balancing conversion and human needs, tropical deforestation, invasive species, climate change and ecosystem functioning by clearly stating the challenges but also offering solutions. Feel free to share this textbook with your colleagues and research partners in the field.

In recognition of the United Nations' declaration of 2010 as the 'International Year of Biodiversity', the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) has included a special section on biodiversity in its September 2010 issue of Biotropica. The section includes 16 commentaries assembled by Jaboury Ghazoul, an ecologist at ETH Zurich and Editor-in-Chief of Biotropica. The editorials cover a wide range of issues relating to tropical biodiversity.