The maintenance of ecosystem services and the conservation of biodiversity are driven by the management decisions and actions taken by local stakeholders and governments. While some management strategies might be widely applicable and yield positive results across a range of socio-ecological systems, conservation plans often fail to incorporate long term economic strategies that allow effective conservation of biodiversity, but also ensure sustainable use of natural resources. Considering the socio-political background and stakeholder preferences can be crucial in determining what the optimal and realistic plan of action might be in order to achieve effective management of resources. For instance, extrapolating from studies which do not consider this context dependency, might lead to ineffective use of resources and unsuccessful conservation efforts. The session will focus on lessons learned in Latin America, where historical, cultural and political factors often limit the generalizability of studies that fail to consider these factors. We will discuss the strength of these approaches and try to identify generalities and differences regarding the successful management of ecosystem services in Latin America.