Latin America has made important progress in the protection of biodiversity with the creation and management of protected areas of national competence. Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru are between 10% and 25% of the national territory in this condition. The multiple challenges involved in the management of protected areas are so extensive that they gain importance in more diverse forms of governance, including management by local governments. However, local governments still have a comparatively low level of commitment to this form of biodiversity conservation, due, especially to their limited structure and capacity, which means that existing initiatives remain isolated and unknown.