Is bushmeat just another conservation bandwagon?

There is currently great interest in the sustainability of bushmeat hunting (bushmeat being any wild animal by hunted for human consumption). All the big conservation ‘players’ have contributed to the debate, issued statements or funded research. IUCN's World Conservation Congress in October 2000 and the CITES Bushmeat Conference of the Parties in April 2000 both discussed bushmeat. Both organisations have since sponsored initiatives in West and Central Africa aimed at obtaining action on the issue. Major conservation organisations are funding research, including the Wildlife Conservation Society (which has a long track-record in this field) and Conservation International. The World Bank has commissioned a major report on the issue (Bennett & Robinson, 2000). Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is a partner in a UK government-commissioned project identifying priority research areas. Conservation organisations have formed the US-based Bushmeat Crisis Task Force (see http://www.bushmeat.org), of which FFI is a member, and the UK-based Bushmeat Working Group of the Tropical Forest Forum (see http://www.forestforum.org.uk), where academic conservationists and government policy makers can exchange experience and ideas.

There are 1,001 species of bats, almost a quarter of which are globally threatened. The Chiroptera Specialist Group of IUCN's Species Survival Commission has produced two Action Plans examining conservation issues for all species and detailing recommendations for action to conserve the most threatened species and habitats. These Plans are aimed principally at key decision makers as well as organisations and individuals who are promoting bat conservation issues. The underlying threat to bats is pressure on resources from increasing human populations that leads to the loss or modification of foraging habitats and roosts. Bats frequently have a negative public image that influences the response to the problems of rabies and vampire bats in Latin America and conflicts between bats and commercial fruit growers in other areas of the world. In some areas bats are persecuted because people are ignorant of the life history of bats and their role in ecosystems, while in other areas bats are overexploited for food. There is also a general lack of information about the distribution, status, biology and ecology of many species. This review examines some of the more general issues relating to bat conservation. It provides information on bat faunas of all countries worldwide, and on the most threatened species. It highlights the priority areas where action is needed immediately at a global, regional or national level. It highlights in particular the global importance of islands and caves for bats.

This paper provides a review of data on the effects of the civil war on forest areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Only a few of these effects were beneficial, the most important being the collapse of the wood industry. However, the war has increased the number of people that rely on wood for fuel and bushmeat for protein. The presence of soldiers and refugees aggravates this pressure. When people hide they do not necessarily refrain from hunting, because goods, including ivory, can be stocked to be traded when the situation improves. War seems beneficial to the environment only if it keeps people out of large areas. It could be useful to extend the concept of peace parks to war zones. The idea of an international ‘green force’ to protect biodiversity hotspots should be given serious consideration. Awareness is growing that political instability should not preclude conservation efforts from being continued.

The conservation status of Cycas seemannii, native to Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga, is assessed based on isozyme analysis, abundance estimates and factors affecting the survival of the species. Genetic variation in the species is low and genetic differentiation between populations is high, as compared to plants in general and to other cycads. Lower genetic variation was detected in a fragmented population as compared to less disturbed populations. Low gene flow was also detected, implying little contact between the various populations. A conservative estimate of 17,000 individuals remaining in the wild was obtained, with more than half of these located on the islands of Vanuatu. Accounts of past abundance suggest declining population sizes, most likely the result of repeated burning. Other factors that may be contributing to the decline are decreasing importance to and protection by humans, habitat alteration for agricultural and developmental purposes, and poor dispersal and recolonisation potential. An assessment based on the present estimated abundance and what is known of recent declines in numbers, indicates that the species should be categorised as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. On some of the densely populated islands, such as Viti Levu in Fiji and Nukualofa in Tonga, the species is locally Endangered or Critically Endangered. Possible conservation measures are suggested, and it is emphasised that populations on different islands must be considered separately because of their genetic differentiation.

The distribution of the Arabian oryx Oryx leucoryx had declined markedly by the time European explorers documented distributions, and the species became extinct in the wild by the mid 1970s. Consequently, historical distribution records may be unreliable indicators of current habitat suitability for reintroductions. In this study diurnal behaviour of Arabian oryx was recorded within a central Saudi Arabian reintroduction site. Oryx were less active on warmer days due to an increase in shading (resting in shade) at the expense of feeding time; there was an inverse relationship between temperature and feeding. During hot conditions (maximum ambient temperature >40°C) some individuals spent <2 hours feeding during the day, compared with an average of 4.8 hours during cooler weather. This suggests the importance of shade trees to permit year-round occupancy in reintroduction sites. Selection of sites according to documented historical distribution may focus on tree-less areas, probably formerly part of the winter range. Absence of shade could result in migration out of the reserve, into areas where oryx risk being shot.

Abstract The conservation status of the five genera and 11 species of palm endemic to the Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, La Réunion and Rodriques) are reviewed. All species are threatened with extinction; nine taxa are classified as Critically Endangered and four as Endangered on the 2000 IUCN Red List. Two taxa survive as single wild specimens (Hyophorbe amaricaulis and Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum); an additional seven taxa have wild populations of 100 or fewer. Although the historical phase of large-scale forest clearance has passed, the remaining palm populations in the Mascarenes are under threat from the effects of population fragmentation, invasive plants and animals, and high levels of seed predation that prevent natural regeneration. The advantages of in situ management for the recovery of these palm populations are discussed. Without a long-term conservation programme, utilising both in situ and ex situ management, extinction of wild populations will occur.

Investigations carried out in the Aeolian Islands (off north-east Sicily) during 1989–99 gathered evidence strongly indicating that the endemic Aeolian wall lizard Podarcis raffonei is close to extinction. Competitive exclusion by the lizard Podarcis sicula, which has been introduced by man, habitat degradation, and possibly reduced genetic variability and inbreeding, were the main causes for the decline of the species. For the Aeolian wall lizard to recover from its threatened status and to prevent further decimation of populations, collection and trade in the species should be prohibited, and an education programme for local people should be promoted. An integrated project involving habitat protection and captive breeding is needed to secure the species in the wild for the future.

This paper presents the results of a mammal survey conducted between 1995 and 1997 in the newly established National Park of Upper Niger in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. Ninety-four species of mammals were recorded in the park area and its environs; 19 of these species were newly recorded or confirmed for Guinea. The fauna of the park includes about 50% of the known mammalian diversity of the country. Among the species found are West African endemics such as the Gambian mongoose Mungos gambianus. The park, although situated in the Guinea savannah belt, includes some remnant forest, which harbours tropical forest mammals such as Thomas's galago Galagoides cf. thomasi, hump-nosed mouse Hybomys planifrons, soft-furred rat Praomys rostratus and flying squirrel Anomalurops sp.. This National Park is a high priority area for the conservation of the vertebrate diversity of West Africa.

During 1993–2000 the conservation status of forest buffalo Syncerus caffer was investigated in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park region, northern Congo. Data from dung counts collected during a number of ecological reconnaissance surveys in and around the National Park showed that the preferred buffalo habitat was open canopy swamps and forest clearings associated with watercourses. Buffalo abundance was very low in terra firma forest more than 250 m from water, and signs were restricted to large elephant trails connecting watercourses and clearings. The clumped distribution of the buffalo appeared to be a result of the highly patchy distribution of their food resources. In terra firma forest preferred food species were poorly represented, whereas in open swamp and sedge clearings they were more abundant. Low overall numbers, highly patchy distribution, small group size, and low effort-high return for hunters, including sport hunters, mean that buffalo must be considered a conservation priority in this environment.

Rhesus monkeys Macaca mulatta and people have coexisted for many years in Vrindaban in Mathura District, Uttar Pradesh, India. The monkeys are highly valued both by locals and pilgrims to the area, in part because of their quasi sacred status, but during the last two decades the increasing human and monkey populations of the township have led to severe human-monkey conflict and a decrease in people's respect for the monkeys. To ease this situation one of the world's largest ever translocations of monkeys was undertaken. In 1995, 30 groups of rhesus monkeys, comprising an estimated 1,338 individuals, were recorded in Vrindaban. Of these, 12 groups, a total of 600 individuals, were translocated in January 1997 to eight sites in seminatural forested areas within the same District. A post-translocation study indicated that the translocated monkeys were settled and appeared to be exhibiting normal behaviour. This study indicates that translocation of commensal monkeys to forested areas can be a successful technique for their rehabilitation.