Indigenous ecological knowledge and customary sea tenure may be integrated with marine and social science to conserve the bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) in the Roviana Lagoon, Western Solomon Islands. Three aspects of indigenous ecological knowledge in Roviana were identified as most relevant for the management and conservation of bumphead parrotfish, and studied through a combination of marine science and anthropological methods. These were (1) local claims that fishing pressure has had a significant impact on bumphead parrotfish populations in the Roviana Lagoon; (2) the claim that only small bumphead parrotfish were ever seen or captured in the inner lagoon and that very small fish were restricted to specific shallow inner-lagoon nursery regions; and (3) assertions made by local divers that bumphead parrotfish predominantly aggregated at night around the new moon period and that catches were highest at that time. The research supported claims (1) and (2), but did not support proposition (3). Although the people of the Roviana Lagoon had similar conceptions about their entitlement rights to sea space, there were marked differences among regional villages in their opinions regarding governance and actual operational rules of management in the Lagoon. Contemporary differences in management strategies resulted from people's historical and spatial patterns of settlement across the landscape and adjoining seascapes, and the attendant impact of these patterns on property relations. This was crucial in distinguishing between those villages that held secure tenure over their contiguous sea estates from those that did not. Indigenous ecological knowledge served to (1) verify that the bumphead parrotfish was a species in urgent need of protection; (2) explain how different habitats structured the size distribution of bumphead parrotfish; (3) identify sensitive locations and habitats in need of protection; and (4) explain the effect of lunar periodicity on bumphead parrotfish behaviour and catch rates. Secure customary sea tenure identified locations best suited to bumphead parrotfish management programmes, with a greater likelihood for local participation and programme success. The information was used to establish two marine protected areas in the region for bumphead parrotfish conservation.

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) constitute the single largest determinant of livelihoods for scores of forest fringe communities and poor people in the tropics. In India over 50 million people are believed to be directly dependent upon NTFPs for their subsistence. However, such human dependence on NTFPs for livelihood gains (win) has most frequently been at a certain ecological cost (lose). If livelihoods are to be maintained, the existing ‘win-lose’ settings have to be steered to a ‘win-win’ mode, otherwise, there could be severe erosion of the biological resources and loss of livelihoods (‘lose-lose’). Examining the dependence of forest fringe communities on NTFPs at three sites in south India with contrasting human and ecological settings, three key factors (extent of dependence on NTFPs, indigenous ecological knowledge and market organization) are likely to constrain reaching the win-win situation. How these factors shape the ecological cost of harvesting NTFPs at the three sites is examined. Within the parameter space of these factors, it is possible to predict outcomes and associations that will conform to win-win or win-lose situations. Empirical data derived from the three study sites demonstrate the causality of the observed associations. The key for long-term livelihood gains lies in reducing the ecological cost. Certain interventions and recommendations that could optimize the balance between livelihood gains and ecological cost are proposed.

To elucidate effects of fragmentation and degradation of tropical rainforest on Negros Island (Philippines) on tropical herpetofauna, nine tropical rainforest fragments (eight limestone and one non-limestone), ranging in area from five to 122 ha (total area = 352 ha) in south-western Negros were surveyed using cruising and quadrat sampling methods, between December 2001 and October 2002. A 14-ha limestone plantation forest served as a reference site. Ten to fifteen of the total 61 species (16.4–24.6%) expected in the nine forest fragments (taken as a whole) had been lost in the previous 50 years. These species are known to occur in the tropical rainforest on Cuernos de Negros and environs in south-eastern Negros Island at altitudes <500 m above sea level. The factors responsible for the loss of these species appear to be (1) removal of large trees, which decreases canopy cover causing physical changes; and (2) forest fragmentation, which increases the edge areas. However, it is not possible to separate the effects of each of these two factors. The main factor that was correlated with the number of species in the limestone forest fragments appeared to be area. Two species of frogs appeared to be represented by relatively moderate population densities: the Negros cave frog (Platymantis spelaeus) and the common forest frog (Platymantis dorsalis). The burrowing skink (Brachymeles boulengeri taylori) also exhibited a relatively higher density than the other burrowing species of skinks. The other herpetofaunal species exhibited low population densities.