Private sector bodies can be important owners and managers of conservation areas. However, little is known about the extent, scale and scope of private protected areas. Understanding and defining the characterizations of private protected areas are problematic, as private sector involvement in protected areas can involve an array of different tenure arrangements, management approaches and levels of control. This review examines the challenges of developing protected area categorization beyond the traditional state-led model. We review private protected areas in Kenya and Tanzania, exploring their tenure, the nature of the private sector organizations managing them, and the extent of control exercised within them. Drawing on this we develop a working typology with the aim to encourage further discourse amongst the conservation community on the emerging phenomenon of private protected areas.

The endemic Mediterranean yelkouan shearwater Puffinus yelkouan, elevated to the rank of species in 2002, is poorly monitored and studied. Despite this lack of data and the susceptibility of closely related species to threats at breeding sites and foraging areas, the yelkouan shearwater is currently considered to be at low risk of extinction. This review, based on published documents, personal communications with scientists and our own observations, summarizes available data on range, population size and trends, and on threats to the species' existence. Breeding sites range from the Marseille islands (France) to Bulgarian islands in the Black Sea but many are not confirmed. The estimated global population is 11,355-54,524 pairs but most censuses are probably overestimates and the global population could be only a few thousand breeding pairs. There is evidence of a population decline and susceptibility to introduced mammals, particularly feral cats Felis catus and ship rats Rattus rattus, and to accidental bycatch in fishing gear. We highlight the lack of accurate and regular censuses of the species, and the alarming situation suggested by the little data available. We recommend that the yelkouan shearwater be categorized as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, encourage collaborative work to clarify its status, and make a plea for more data on the species’ demography and ecology, and for the evaluation of terrestrial and marine threats.

Tree species have been the focus of increasing interest regarding the so-called conservation-through-use approach, which aims to achieve conservation by increasing the value of wild resources to local communities. Although tree species display many characteristics that increase their potential for sustainable use, the approach is rarely successful in practice. The reasons for this are examined with reference to case studies, considering five conditions needed for success: (1) sustainable harvesting, (2) no interaction between threats, (3) successful commercialization, (4) economic benefits received by producers, and (5) use of financial income to support conservation action. Case studies illustrate that even when the first four of these conditions are met, trade in forest products often provides insufficient financial returns to protect the forest against other threats. This highlights the importance of understanding the interactions between threats for conservation-through-use to be achieved, an issue illustrated by a conceptual model. Recommendations are presented indicating how the conservation of tree species through sustainable use may be achieved in practice. Critically, financial rewards of sustainable use need to be large enough to support practical conservation action, which is required to counter the many threats to which tree species are exposed.

Conservation through utilization is a controversial strategy that deserves more attention from researchers and practitioners. This case study focuses on Abies guatemalensis, a Vulnerable Mesoamerican conifer that is illegally used for timber, shingles, charcoal and Christmas tree production. Conservation of the remnant populations would preserve some unique montane forests, with concomitant benefits for local water supplies and prevention of landslides. As a conservation tool we suggest establishment of additional A. guatemalensis Christmas tree plantations. These could generate income for local farmers and help halt poaching from natural stands. So far, 51 such plantations have been established in Guatemala but practical knowledge of cultivation is limited and production dominated by a few large plantations. Seed for Christmas tree plantations needs to be carefully selected because there are marked differences among populations in germination, seedling height increment and greenery quality. Insect pests such as the balsam twig aphid Mindarus sp. could limit cultivation. A market study showed that c. 23% of households in the major Guatemalan cities buy A. guatemalensis Christmas trees but currently only 2.3% of these are plantation-grown. The prices of illegal and certified Christmas trees are, however, converging, making plantation trees more competitive. Because of the market characteristics and the potential for establishment of plantations, we are moderately optimistic that the conservation through utilization strategy may be successful for this species in Guatemala.

Aquilaria crassna, a tree species on CITES Appendix II and categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, is the main source of the highly valuable, fragrant and resinous agarwood that is extracted in forests in South-east Asia, exported to East Asian and Arab countries, and used for a range of medicinal, aromatic and religious products. Based on interviews with local, non-local and foreign harvesters in Laos we examined the relationships between harvesters' daily net revenue from agarwood extraction, their degree of commercialization (i.e. their differential access to markets) and their ability to target harvesting towards the small fraction of trees that do contain commercial qualities and quantities of agarwood. For comparison we included data on number of trees felled during the most recent harvesting trip. The analysis showed that poor targeting ability and low degree of commercialization were associated with low daily net revenues, whereas good targeting ability and high degree of commercialization were associated with high daily net revenues. In the case of A. crassna in Laos it therefore appears that the activities of highly commercialized harvesters are less harmful to A. crassna populations than those of less specialized, local harvesters.

Collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been promoted in India as a strategy to aid wildlife conservation whilst simultaneously alleviating poverty, and recent legislation now gives communities living within protected areas the legal right to collect NTFPs. However, research on the financial rewards from NTFP collection and its contribution to sustainable development is equivocal. In a case study in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, India, we examined whether NTFP collection can solve livelihood problems by analysing revenues obtained from various NTFP species, estimating the economic returns to collectors from various social backgrounds, and exploring the attitudes of collectors towards their profession. We found that black damar resin from the tree Canarium strictum (61.3%) and mace from Myristica spp. (35.5%) were the most commonly collected NTFPs, and the most valuable NTFPs were honey from Apis cerana indica (USD 4.12 kg-1), cardamom Elettaria cardamomum (USD 3.67 kg-1) and Myristica spp. (USD 2.77 kg-1). Mean daily revenue from NTFP collection was USD 3.15 ± SD 4.19 day-1, and the lowest daily revenues were earned by part-time collectors with low socio-economic status such as migrants, forest-dwellers or those without access to agricultural land. Most collectors (82%) did not wish to continue harvesting NTFPs if alternative livelihoods from agriculture could be provided, and none wanted their children to be NTFP collectors. Our findings suggest that, with respect to social justice, poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability, the role of NTFP collection in sustainable development is questionable.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification promises international consumers that ‘green-label’ timber has been logged sustainably. However, recent research indicates that this is not true for ipê (Tabebuia spp.), currently flooding the US residential decking market, much of it logged in Brazil. Uneven or non-application of minimum technical standards for certification could undermine added value and eventually the certification process itself. We examine public summary reports by third-party certifiers describing the evaluation process for certified companies in the Brazilian Amazon to determine the extent to which standards are uniformly applied and the degree to which third-party certifier requirements for compliance are consistent among properties. Current best-practice harvest systems, combined with Brazilian legal norms for harvest levels, guarantee that no certified company or community complies with FSC criteria and indicators specifying species-level management. No guidelines indicate which criteria and indicators must be enforced, or to what degree, for certification to be conferred by third-party assessors; nor do objective guidelines exist for evaluating compliance for criteria and indicators for which adequate scientific information is not yet available to identify acceptable levels. Meanwhile, certified companies are expected to monitor the long-term impacts of logging on biodiversity in addition to conducting best-practice forest management. This burden should reside elsewhere. We recommend a clarification of ‘sustained timber yield’ that reflects current state of knowledge and practice in Amazonia. Quantifiable verifiers for best-practice forest management must be developed and consistently employed. These will need to be flexible to reflect the diversity in forest structure and dynamics that prevails across this vast region. We offer suggestions for how to achieve these goals.

Conservation planners often seek short cuts when making decisions about land use by directing management towards one or a few species that will benefit the wider ecosystem. The umbrella species concept is one such proposed short cut. An umbrella species comprises a population of individuals of a particular species whose resource requirements and habitat needs encompass the sufficient home ranges and resource needs of viable populations of co-occurring species. We examined the 17 published criteria available to identify a potential umbrella species and recommend that conservation managers wishing to apply this concept could focus on only seven criteria: well-known biology; large home range size; high probability of population persistence; co-occurrence of species of conservation interest; management needs that are beneficial to co-occurring species; sensitivity to human disturbance; and ease of monitoring. We note however, that rigorous assessment of candidate umbrella species requires such detailed knowledge of candidate and co-occurring species that it seems less of a short cut than planners may wish.

Industrial logging is expanding rapidly in Central African rainforests. We suggest that logging operations in this region pose an indirect threat to nesting marine turtles, especially the Critically Endangered leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea. This occurs because some logs are being lost or abandoned during downriver transport to coastal timber yards; the lost logs float out to sea and then often wash ashore, where they accumulate on beaches used by nesting turtles. We used a light aircraft to survey logs along the entire coastline of Gabon, and also studied the impacts of logs at Pongara Beach, one of the world's most important turtle nesting areas, during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 breeding seasons. Nearly 11,000 lost logs were counted along Gabon's beaches, with an estimated commercial value of USD 11.1 million. Logs were unevenly distributed along the coast, reaching a peak density of 247 logs km-1. At Pongara, logs blocked 30.5% of the beach. These logs had a number of negative effects on marine turtles, causing 8-14% of all nesting attempts (n = 2,163) to be aborted or disrupted. Initiatives to remove lost logs and driftwood from critical nesting beaches may be the most effective means to reduce their deleterious impacts on threatened marine turtles.

The Madagascar flat-tailed tortoise Pyxis planicauda is threatened with extinction through loss of its deciduous, dry forest habitat and illegal collection for the pet trade. Little is known of the population status of this species as no systematic survey across its range has previously been conducted. Surveying P. planicauda is problematic as it has cryptic colouration, is only active during the wet season, and spends periods of time hidden under leaf litter. In this study we designed a line transect survey, which incorporated an approximation of the amount of time tortoises were available for sampling, to produce an unbiased estimate of population size. We estimated density of P. planicauda in the main forest block in central Menabe, which represents the majority of its range, to be 0.40 ha-1 with a total population size of nearly 28,000 individuals (95% confidence interval 16,323-47,669). This estimate is substantially higher than previous predictions of <10,000 individuals. Nevertheless, the species faces ongoing threats from deforestation and probably from illegal collection, although the recent designation of the Menabe forest as a protected area will probably help reduce these threats. This study provides a baseline density estimate of P. planicauda and a survey protocol for monitoring future population trends.

Population units that merit separate management and are of conservation concern have been called evolutionary significant units. Two divergent lineages of the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus occur naturally in Spain, with a well-marked geographical distribution. We analysed the frequency and importance of rabbit translocations in central-southern Spain and whether this practice, carried out by hunters and conservationists, could cause the mixture of two clearly different evolutionary significant units. We carried out interviews in 1993 and 2002 at 60 locations to determine the presence and intensity of translocations during both decades. The distribution of the lineages was obtained using mtDNA analysis of hunted rabbits in 2003-2005. We demonstrate that rabbit translocation was used frequently in the 1980s and increased in the 1990s. Up to 43% of the studied areas translocated rabbits in the latter decade, whereas only 25% did so in the 1980s. Our results show that neither the origin of the introduced rabbits nor their genetic lineage were taken into account in most of the translocations. We found rabbits of lineage A in several localities within the distribution area of lineage B, and vice versa, probably as a consequence of translocations. The distribution of both lineages is likely to have been altered by human activity and this could represent the loss of the results of 2 million years of genetic differentiation with possible attendent ecological consequences. Consequently, authorities should more closely regulate rabbit translocations and convey to both hunters and conservationists the importance of not mixing the lineages by translocations.

Conservation managers need to be able to assess and prioritize issues that may affect their target habitats and species. In the Baie de Somme, France, conservation issues affecting overwintering shorebirds include hunting pressure, cockle fishing, recreational disturbance, Spartina encroachment, and changing sediment levels. We used an individual-based model to predict the effect of these issues on the survival of three shorebird species: dunlin Calidris alpina, oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus and curlew Numenius arquata. In the model, removing hunting from the mudflats in the eastern part of the estuary had the greatest positive effect on shorebird survival. Oystercatcher survival decreased markedly when stocks of large cockles were reduced to <250 m-2 or numbers of fishermen per day were doubled. Short-term disturbance events, such as walkers, had more effect on shorebird survival than long-term events, such as fishermen. Dunlin, as a protected species, were able to feed outside the Réserve Naturelle and were unaffected by disturbance within the Réserve. Oystercatcher survival decreased when the number of disturbance events within the Réserve exceeded one h-1, and curlew survival when disturbance events exceeded six h-1. Spartina encroachment caused dunlin survival to decline steadily as feeding habitat was lost. Dunlin were also the species most affected by changes in sediment levels, likely to occur through either sedimentation or sea level rise.

The Mediterranean monk seal is categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is in urgent need of effective conservation measures. Following a steep decline in the 20th century, the National Park Service of Madeira initiated efforts to protect the species in the archipelago of Madeira, including habitat protection, scientific research and public awareness. The aim of this study was to analyse data collected during a monitoring project (1988–2005) to assess the conservation status of the species and identify priority conservation actions for the future. The study recorded the presence of the species at key pupping sites in a strictly protected area at the Desertas Islands, increased sightings in recent years around the main island of Madeira, an increase in the number of pups born, and low mortality. The population in the archipelago of Madeira is currently estimated to be 20-30 adults. These findings suggest that the species remains Critically Endangered in the area but that its conservation situation has improved because of the implementation of effective conservation actions. Conservation priorities identified include protecting suitable monk seal habitat at Madeira, investigating seal–fisheries interactions, increasing environmental education, and strengthening regional legislation for the protection of the species.

The Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary lies off the north-west coast of Sri Lanka. In the first dedicated cetacean survey of this area, monthly boat-based surveys were carried out over 1 year (April 2004 to March 2005) both within the Sanctuary and seawards in deeper offshore waters. The survey established that the Sanctuary has year-round abundance of cetaceans. Eight species were observed, including three species of large whales. Live sightings of Sousa chinensis in this area were documented for the first time in Sri Lanka, as were the first live sightings of Kogia sima and Peponocephala electra off the west coast of the island. This area appears to be an important habitat for Balaenoptera acutorostrata in Sri Lanka's waters. Several threats to marine mammals were also identified and some were found to be localized and specific to this area. The results of this study were used to produce a set of management recommendations.

A survey on the Tagant Plateau, Mauritania, to design a reserve for the crocodile Crocodylus niloticus revealed that the area is occupied by a crocodile population larger than expected. Crocodiles occur in lakes and pools along seasonal rivers that form an inner hydrographical network. Reported movements of individuals during the summer floods suggested that it is necessary to protect the whole 700 km-long hydrological network to preserve inter-pool connectivity. However, the basin is occupied by 40,000 people that are completely dependent on water from the hydrological network. Thus it was important to propose a reserve network that would reconcile both the protection of biodiversity and human use of water resources. Considering the symbolic role of crocodiles for many Mauritanians, the acceptance of their presence by the people of Tagant, and the increasing use by tourism agencies of some pools for crocodile-watching, the species may be a good focal species for promoting the conservation of the whole hydrological network of the Tagant Plateau.

The globally distributed leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea is subject to fisheries bycatch throughout its range. Protection from fisheries within pelagic foraging habitats is difficult to achieve but may be more tractable when populations are concentrated near neritic breeding and nesting grounds. We used satellite telemetry to describe patterns of habitat utilization during the inter-nesting period for seven leatherback turtles nesting at Mayumba National Park in Gabon on the equatorial West African coast. The National Park includes critical nesting grounds and a marine protected area to 15 km offshore. Turtles dispersed widely from the nesting beach spending a mean of 62 ± SD 26% of tracking time outside the confines of the National Park. This propensity to disperse is likely to increase the chance of deleterious interactions with fisheries in the region. Patterns of habitat utilization indicate the need for wider spatial scale planning on the West African continental shelf to enhance protection of leatherback turtles when they are seasonally occupying these habitats in great numbers for breeding and nesting.