The process of community wildlife management in the Izozog area of the Bolivian Chaco began with participatory field research – self-monitoring of hunting activities and research on key game species. On-going discussions in community meetings have elicited seven wildlife management recommendations: (1) establishing hunting zones, (2) hunting only adults, (3) hunting only males during the reproductive season, (4) hunting only for the family's needs, (5) hunting only abundant animals, (6) protecting plants that are important to wildlife, and (7) prohibiting hunting by outsiders. We compare community attitudes towards these management measures. A majority of communities favour, in decreasing order, measures 7, 4, 6 and 1, communities are divided with respect to measures 2 and 3, and most communities oppose measure 5. Two socio-economic characteristics of communities – location and ethnicity – are associated with patterns of attitudes towards wild-life management among communities, whereas religion, economic activity and community size are not. Izoceño communities are currently reinterpreting traditional beliefs both to support and to oppose active wildlife management measures.

Birds restricted to islands are susceptible to extinction, and burrow or ground-nesting birds are particularly vulnerable to introduced mammalian predators. Human intervention has also played a vital part. Birds have been used as a source of food, and in more recent times the rarer species have suffered from specimen and egg collection. The island of Madeira and its resident species, which include the endemic Zino's petrel or Madeira freira Pterodroma madeira, are no exception. From subfossil evidence, this bird was once abundant. It was first recorded in 1903, and was already limited to the high central mountain massif of Madeira. By the middle of the century it was considered extinct, but a relict population was rediscovered in 1969. By 1985, all known breeding attempts were disrupted by introduced rats, to the extent that no young fledged. In 1986 the Freira Conservation Project was founded with the aim of increasing the population of Zino's petrel, by controlling rats and human interference, the principal perceived threats to the species. This control was extended to cats after the disaster of 1991, in which a cat(s) managed to get onto one of the breeding ledges and kill 10 adult birds. The results of these efforts have been positive and the small colony is making a slow, but steady recovery. To maintain this success, a conservation strategy for the future is suggested.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in south-west Uganda supports a population of gorillas that has become the primary gorilla population for tourism following the genocide in Rwanda. Previous estimates made in the early 1990s indicated that the population numbered around 300 individuals. The census reported here was the first in Bwindi to use the method successfully developed in the Virungas, which utilizes a complete sweep across the park within a short period of time by a large number of teams working simultaneously. We estimated the population to be 292 individuals; to the best of our understanding – based on previous estimates – the population, therefore, appears to be stable. Most gorillas were found within the centre of the southern section of the park. It appears that there are some areas of unused habitat and, therefore, room for the population to grow. We found no clear relationship between gorilla distribution and human presence, but some forms of disturbance were more frequent and close to the edge of the park and may contribute to the gorillas' avoidance of these areas. The effects of human disturbance, including tourism, on the gorillas and other wildlife should be investigated in more detail and monitored over time. This is particularly important in multiple-use zones which have been established around the edges of the park for bee-keeping, collection of nontimber forest products, and tourism.

This paper evaluates the ecological consequences of hunting by comparing mammalian densities, biomass, relative energy consumption and community structure between sites with different levels of hunting pressure. Hunting is carried out mainly by colonists who farm on the edge of Atlantic forest fragments in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Mammals were studied over a period of 18 months, along 2287 km of line transects. Transects were distributed among two protected sites, one slightly hunted site and two heavily hunted sites. Tapirs, the two peccary species, brocket deer, armadillos and agoutis are preferred by hunters in the region. Primates are not hunted in the region. Hunting has affected community structure, with ungulates dominating mammalian biomass at protected sites and primates dominating at hunted sites. This has caused an ecological inversion in the hunted areas of the Atlantic forests. In Amazonian regions of the Neotropics hunting is more evenly distributed among primates, large rodents, and ungulates and has resulted in an opposite inversion, with hunted sites having lower primate biomass. Atlantic forests are very susceptible to the possible ecological imbalances induced by hunting by humans, and this must be considered for management and conservation programmes.

This paper analyses the impact of a community conservation programme (CCP) implemented over a 7-year period around a national park in Uganda. Programme activities included dialogue, conflict reduction, education, community resource access and support for community development. Surveys of attitudes show that communities benefited from the programme were significantly more positive towards the park and wildlife than communities that did not. The community conservation programme built an understanding of conservation objectives amongst communities whose members were more likely to recognize positive aspects of the park and less likely to demand that it be degazetted. Comparison over the 7-year duration of the programme, however, did not show that communities were generally more positive towards conservation. They were more critical of management and demanded more support and resources than they had received. Their behaviour was not greatly changed, and high levels of poaching and illegal grazing continued. Attitudes were influenced by communities receiving development assistance, but improvements were fragile, vulnerable to poor behaviour of park staff and lawenforcement activities. Both were seen as contradicting community approaches. Attitudes were also influenced by land ownership and economic occupation. The CCP was not a panacea for the problems of the park and did not resolve fundamental conflicts of interest between communities and park management. However, it did change the way the protagonists perceive and interact with each other.

Coniferous forests are an important component of the Lebanese landscape. Ten species of conifers in five genera are found as wild populations in Lebanon: Cilician fir Abies cilicica, cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani, Mediterranean Cyprus Cupressus sempervirens, Syrian juniper Juniperus drupacea, Grecian juniper J. excelsa, willdenow J. foetidissima, prickly juniper J. oxycedrus, Calabrian pine Pinus brutia, Aleppo pine P. halepensis and stone pine P. pinea. Although none of these species are seriously threatened in a global context, they exist in Lebanon mostly as fragmented and degraded populations, and their habitats are under great pressure from urbanization and associated development. Conservation efforts in Lebanon have concentrated mainly on the cedar of Lebanon, with two cedar of Lebanon forests protected as Nature Reserves. Large areas of forest, coniferous and otherwise, remain unprotected. In this review, the need for an integrated approach to conservation of the coniferous landscape of Lebanon and the importance of the participation of local communities in this process are emphasized.

Tomistoma schlegelii is a threatened crocodilian whose current range is restricted to Sumatra, Borneo (Kalimantan and Sarawak) and Peninsular Malaysia. During surveys undertaken in eastern Sumatra in 1995–1996, 15 T. schlegelii nests were located in peat swamp forest along a single tributary, the Merang River. No other areas with equivalent nest densities have yet been described. Although much peat swamp forest has been lost to logging and fire, it remains the dominant habitat in most of the current range of T. schlegelii. In the Merang River the peat swamp and T. schlegelii are threatened by a series of ongoing activities and both may be lost unless some form of innovative management programme is introduced. Peat swamp forest supports a range of other rare and threatened species, and would appear to have high conservation value. This paper reviews current information on the role of peat swamp forest in the ecology of T. schlegelii and describes the conservation threats to T. schlegelii in the Merang River.

Kibale National Park (KNP), Uganda, has a number of chimpanzees habituated for tourism. The close genetic relationship between humans and chimpanzees means that there is the potential for disease transmission between the two. The aim of this study was to establish the diseases to which chimpanzees may be exposed by surveying the medical histories of humans in contact with the chimpanzees of KNP. Medical questionnaires were given to tourists visiting KNP and to the population of a village close to the park. The 62 tourist surveys returned indicated a high prevalence of disease symptoms, in particular diarrhoea, as well as ongoing infectious diseases and a lack of current vaccinations. The 50 local surveys returned also indicated a high prevalence of disease symptoms, in particular respiratory disease, along with a low rate of vaccination and a high frequency of visual contact with the chimpanzees both within and outside KNP. This study indicates that humans are a potential source of infection for chimpanzees. The results, which have been communicated to the appropriate authorities, will assist in the devising of proper tourist viewing regulations and provide local health authorities with the information necessary to improve both public health and chimpanzee health. Further recommendations include education of tourists regarding appropriate vaccinations, hand washing prior to the visit, the use of facemasks during the visit, and the provision of latrines. Chimpanzee ecotourism is becoming increasingly popular and protecting the chimpanzees' health will help to ensure that ecotourism is a sustainable activity.

Surveys for shushuks Platanista gangetica were conducted during January to April 1999 in Kaptai Lake and the southern rivers of Bangladesh. A population of at least 125 dolphins was recorded in the Karnaphuli and Sangu rivers and connecting canal. The overall encounter rate was 0.76 dolphins per km. Density was highest in the lower reaches of the Sangu, where we recorded 1.36 dolphins per km. These rates are fairly high when compared with other areas of shushuk distribution. Dolphin movements in the Sikalbaha–Chandkhali Canal were consistent with it being used as a corridor for migration and dispersal between the Karnaphuli and Sangu. Shushuks were also sighted in marine waters of the Karnaphuli and Sangu river mouths, adding credibility to the hypothesis that dolphins move along the coast between the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna and Karnaphuli–Sangu systems, perhaps during the monsoon when freshwater plumes extend into the Bay of Bengal. No dolphins were nobserved in Kaptai Lake, a dam-created reservoir of the upper Karnaphuli, despite reports of occasional sightings by local fishermen. No shushuks were observed in the Bagkhali and Matamuhuri rivers, possibly because of seasonal-closure dams present near the mouths of both rivers. The main threats to dolphin survival in the Karnaphuli-Sangu system are probably accidental entanglement in monofilament gillnets, bioaccumulation of persistent contaminants and possibly collisions with motorized vessels and a decline in prey as a result of over fishing. The most significant conservation measure that could be taken would be to establish a protected area for dolphins in the Sangu River below the Dohazari Bridge.

Large populations of marine turtles breeding in the Cayman Islands were drastically reduced in the early 1800s. However, marine turtle nesting still occurs in the islands. The present-day status of this nesting population provides insight into the conservation of marine turtles, a long-lived species. In 1998 and 1999, the first systematic survey of marine turtle nesting in the Cayman Islands found 38 nests on 22 beaches scattered through the three islands. Three species were found: the green Chelonia mydas, hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata and loggerhead Caretta caretta turtles. Comparison with other rookeries suggests that the small number of sexually mature adults surviving Cayman's huge perturbations may be impeding population recovery. This shows the need to implement conservation measures prior to massive reductions in population size.

Species reintroduction programmes are an important feature of global conservation efforts. There is evidence within the texts of some international and European laws of legal obligations to reintroduce species to their former habitats. However, these obligations are inconsistent between legal instruments, and it is not at all clear exactly what it is they are legislating to recreate. In particular, definitions of native species are either absent from the law or unclear, especially in an historical context. Attempts to reintroduce some predators have been met with legal challenges, and so it is essential that conservation authorities have a clear mission in their reintroduction activities and that this mission is reflected in their national law. Successful reintroductions will be achieved only with public support, and this is more likely where clear objectives have been established after public consultation. Conservation authorities undertaking reintroduction projects should use the legal system and the international commitments made by their governments to validate their efforts.

Two parrot species, Tanimbar corella Cacatua goffini and blue-streaked lory Eos reticulata, endemic to the Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia, were regularly trapped and sold into the international wild bird trade prior to 1992. Following concerns about numbers entering the trade, but with little knowledge of the remaining wild population or socio-economic role of bird trapping on the islands, international trade in both species was suspended at the 1992 CITES meeting. This paper reports on a rapid survey conducted on the islands in 1993 as a follow-up to the decision on trade. The survey attempted to determine the status of the wild populations, the distribution and activity of the human population, the interaction between Tanimbar corella and agriculture, and the structure of the local commodity-chain for wild-caught parrots. We found that: (a) both parrot species were widely distributed and present at relatively high densities across the largest island in the group, Yamdena; (b) catching of parrots is geographically limited; (c) in the case of Tanimbar corella, at least, the catching is of birds raiding crops and probably involves mainly immature and non-reproductive birds; (d) the international and domestic ban on catching was generally adhered to locally but the reasons for the ban were not widely understood, contributing to a general mistrust of conservationists that still remains. Although not advocating a lifting of the ban on trapping, we do conclude that in this case invoking the precautionary principle without proper consideration of local context may have been counterproductive to conservation goals.

The status of the Seychelles endemic terrapins is reviewed based on field-surveys. Pelusios castanoides intergularis and P. subniger parietalis are confined to a small number of marshes and rivers. All the sites occupied are limited in area (<4.5 ha) and under threat from drainage, predation and invasion by alien water plants. The smallest populations are unlikely to be viable in the long-term. Both species can be categorized as Critically Endangered using the IUCN Red List categories, with highly restricted ranges (2.89 and 6.02 ha for P. castanoides and P. subniger, respectively) that have decreased by over 50 per cent in recent years. Conservation of these species requires both the protection of wetland habitats and the establishment of new populations in protected areas. A captive breeding programme has been established with the aim of reintroducing juveniles into secure reserves. The endemic species P. seychellensis may be extinct.

The results of a field census of Alaotran gentle lemurs Hapalemur griseus alaotrensis carried out in February and March 1999 are reported. The results are compared with a census carried out 5 years earlier in 1994. Both censuses followed the same methods and were carried out by the same team, using direct observation from canoe. Mean group encounter rates for the lemur were assessed in each location, which allowed us to calculate the relative group density in each site. Qualitative information on habitat condition (on the basis of plant diversity, vegetation height and evidence of burning) was gathered at each site. Additional information, mainly on lemur hunting, was acquired through interviews with local people. In most sites group encounter rate was at least 50 per cent lower than 5 years before. Taking into account unusually low water levels because of a drought at Lac Alaotra in 1999, we estimate that these encounter rates reflect a 30 per cent decline in the total population size over the last 5 years. The main cause of this dramatic decrease was humaninduced fire (habitat degradation) coupled with heavy hunting (poaching of lemurs for food). The importance of assessing regularly both population status and threats, and of adjusting conservation actions accordingly is emphasized.

Four species of monarchs (Pomarea spp.) presently inhabit French Polynesia, one on Tahiti and three on the Marquesas Islands. Although all species populations were abundant during the nineteenth century or at the beginning of the twentieth century, their range and population numbers have recently decreased dramatically: intensive field surveys conducted between 1998 and 2000 reveal that four subspecies are now extinct from five islands in the Marquesas in the last decades. Introduction of the black rat is the major cause of extinction and decline, now amplified by new threats such as aggressive introduced birds and invasive alien plants reducing suitable habitats for breeding.

A review was carried out of the mammalian fauna of the Kilum-Ijim forest in the mountains of northwest Cameroon. The purpose was to examine the loss of species, particularly of larger mammals, and the implications of this for forest ecology. Information was collected by direct observation, hunter interviews and a literature review. The forest is the largest remaining representative fragment of the West African montane forest habitat. Seventy-seven species of mammal have been recorded in the forest over the last 50 years. Most are small, especially rodents, bats and insectivores. Seven species are endemic to the Kilum-Ijim area. The process of species extirpation probably began over 100 years ago with the loss of the mega-fauna, possibly beginning with elephant Loxodonta africana (several generations ago), and certainly with buffalo Syncerus caffer (at least 20 years ago), and other large mammals. Remaining large mammal population densities are very low and many species are close to regional extinction. The long-term consequences of these extinctions is uncertain but, as many tree species are monkey- or ruminant-dispersed, severe ecosystem damage has probably already occurred. Human population density in the area is around 300 people per sq km, and no sustainable offtake of wild animals will ever be possible that would provide more than a few grams of meat per person per year from the forest. The protein requirements of the communities of the area will have to continue to be supplied from domesticated stock. Since 1987 the Kilum-Ijim Forest Project of BirdLife International has been working to conserve the remaining forest, using a community forestry approach in collaboration with traditional and local authorities and the government of Cameroon. The project is investigating ways to improve the production of domestic animals outside the forest boundary.

Rodents account for 40 per cent of living mammal species. Nevertheless, despite an increased interest in biodiversity conservation and their high species richness, Rodentia are often neglected by conservationists. We attempt for the first time a world-wide evaluation of rodent conservation priorities at the genus level. Given the low popularity of the order, we considered it desirable to discuss identified priorities within the framework of established biodiversity priority areas of the world. Two families and 62 genera are recognized as threatened. Our analyses highlight the Philippines, New Guinea, Sulawesi, the Caribbean, China temperate forests and the Atlantic Forest of south-eastern Brazil as the most important (for their high number of genera) ‘threat-spots’ for rodent conservation. A few regions, mainly drylands, are singled out as important areas for rodent conservation but are not generally recognized in global biodiversity assessments. These are the remaining forests of Togo, extreme ‘western Sahel’, the Turanian and Mongolian-Manchurian steppes and the desert of the Horn of Africa. Resources for conservation must be allocated first to recognized threat spots and to those restricted-range genera which may depend on species-specific strategies for their survival.

This article reconsiders the use of financial incentives for securing the participation of ‘local’ people on conservation programmes by raising several less discussed social consequences which such incentives may entail. To this end, it outlines the involvement of a South Indian honey-hunting ‘tribe’ with an ecodevelopment programme and the market economy, noting how commercializing ‘traditional’ livelihoods may increase the general ‘standard of living’ but undermine the social ‘fabric’ of the community and aid in the rationalization of custom. It concludes by suggesting that social development should precede economic development for communities in transition between subsistence and commodity-orientated economic practices.

Controversy has surrounded the role of intervention in studies of African wild dogs Lycaon pictus. Following the death or disappearance of all wild dogs under study in the Serengeti ecosystem, it was suggested that immobilization, radio-collaring or administration of rabies vaccines might have caused high mortality by compromising wild dogs′ immune response to rabies virus. Planning future management and research on wild dogs and other species demands an assessment of the risks associated with such intervention. This paper critically reviews the available evidence and concludes that it is extremely unlikely that intervention contributed to the extinction of wild dogs in the Serengeti ecosystem. A more likely scenario is that vaccination failed to protect wild dogs exposed to rabies virus. Radio-collaring is an important component of wild dog research; hence, the benefits of immobilization appear to outweigh the risks, as long as (i) research is orientated towards wild dog conservation, (ii) radiocollaring is followed up by efficient monitoring, (iii) the number of animals immobilized is kept to the minimum necessary to maintain scientific rigour, and (iv) full data on disease and genetics are collected from all immobilized animals. By contrast, rabies vaccination currently seems to confer few benefits, at least when a single dose of vaccine is given. Further research, on captive animals, is in progress to establish more effective protocols, and to assess the role that vaccination might play in future management of wild dog populations.