This document was written for the board of directors underscoring the importance of ecosystem services as a conservation approach.  The loss of ecosystem services is spurring a growing interest in innovative, practical, politically feasible, and ultimately effective approaches to conservation more than the protection of biodiversity for its own sake ever has. This is feasible because protecting biodiversity often also protects and maintains ecosystem services. If the conservation movement were more effective at getting full credit for the protection of ecosystem services that accompanies biodiversity protection, we could greatly magnify support for conservation. Realizing this vision, however, will require overcoming the many barriers to incorporating ecosystem services into key policy, funding and market decisions. The document includes sections on global trends and how to make ecosystem services work for conservation.