Over the last decade the increasing number of protected natural areas in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres has brought the issue of environmental justice to the forefront. The creation of protected natural areas has resulted in regulation (ranging from restrictions to prohibited access) regarding the extraction of resources, land occupation and access to amenities. Such regulation indeed affects both local and external uses of protected areas in different ways, including in the form it takes, for example, whether traditional or contemporary. Regulation may also affect different users differently, at times privileging wealthy users over those with fewer resources. This thematic issue provides critical analyses of the social and historical construction of protected natural areas and also addresses different forms of inequality (social, economic, ethnic, spatial...) that characterize access to and use of natural areas.