The concept of international peace parks and transboundary conservation areas (TBCAs), developed to manage shared natural resources better, was first introduced in the 1920s and 1930s. By 1997, 136 existing and 85 potential TBCAs straddled 112 international borders in 98 countries. In southern Africa, several TBCA initiatives have developed informally over the last 50 years. Until recently, communication among these initiatives was informal and ad hoc, and there was little dissemination of lessons learned. Over the past few years, however, dialogue among these projects has increased greatly. In 1997, the Peace Parks Foundation was established, and an international meeting on Peace Parks was held in Somerset West, South Africa. The Southern Africa Sustainable Use Specialist Group established a working group on Transfrontier Conservation Areas shortly afterwards.