1 Commentary Conservation in a changing world: biodiversity hotspots and the distracting paradigm THE ILLUSION: A recent report from the Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa, shows that the global network of protected areas covers now 11.5% of the earth’s surface (Rodrigues et al. 2004). This percentage surpasses the 10% target proposed in the last World Parks Congress held in Caracas a decade ago (McNelly 1993). Finally a main conservation goal is reached! But… does it means the global biodiversity crisis reaches an end, returning the hope for the long term maintenance of the world’s biota? The answer is a rotund “not at all”: Rodrigues et al. (2004) show that the global network is still far from representing most species of terrestrial mammals, birds, turtles, and amphibians, some of the best known biological groups. Not even mentioning other known groups like plants and huge still less known groups like insects and fungi... and all the “invisible life” (Nee 2004). Were the precedent estimates ten years ago too low? What is then the “optimal” percentage with which most of the world’s biota will be protected? I won’t risk an answer, I rather believe that this percentage doesn’t exist, it is an illusion, a chimera supported by an out-of date conservation paradigm. Keywords: biodiversity, hotspots, priority areas Andrés Moreira-Muñoz Andrés Moreira-Muñoz Institute of Geography University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Kochstr. 4/4 91054 Erlangen, Germany Society for Conservation GIS member (www.scgis.org) Email: amoreira@geographie.uni-erlangen.de Journal of Conservation Planning Vol 1 (2005) 1—5