BYRON SWIFT directs Nature and Culture International [1] (San Diego, CA) and World Land Trust–US [2] (Washington, DC), both non-profit organizations dedicating to the global conservation of nature. His career over 30 years has addressed environmental law and policy issues, and establishing and supporting nature reserves in Latin America and to strengthen the institutions responsible for managing them. Internationally, he has worked in over 15 countries on environmental and natural resources policy, and has published widely on issues involving biodiversity and natural resources management, climate change and industrial pollution. Byron formerly directed the Energy and Innovation Center at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C., focused on improving environmental law, policy and management, directed the United States office of IUCN - the World Conservation Union, and served in the legal office of parks and wildlife in the U.S. Department of the Interior.