The Amazon Region Protected Areas (ARPA) Programme, the world’s largest protected area initiative which aims to protect and sustainably manage 60 million ha of the Brazilian Amazon, has reached almost 99 per cent of its target with the inclusion of six protected areas (PAs). ARPA now contains 111 PAs and a total supported area of 59.3 million ha. In 2002, ARPA was launched when WWF helped mobilize a partnership led by the Government of Brazil with partners including the World Bank, GEF and German Development Bank, to protect 12 per cent of the Brazilian Amazon. ARPA has added over 25 million ha of new PAs, improved management of an additional more than 30 million of existing PAs, and established a US$215 million conservation fund to finance the programme.