A survey of dead Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus crispus) at Kerkini Lake, Greece, the major wintering site in Europe of this world-endangered species, was undertaken to investigate the causes of high mortality that occurred during 1991–93. In February 1991, 30% of the population wintering on the Lake (30 individuals) were found dead, the majority (85%) having died of natural causes. A loss of this magnitude does not reflect only locally or on the genetic stock of the species but is also a matter of grave concern relative to its conservation world-wide.

Most mortality of the Pelicans coincided with subzero temperatures and the Lake freezing over — conditions that direct fish to deep waters, and make them unavailable to the Pelicans. Necropsies were carried out on the carcasses of 13 Pelicans, including stomach and gizzard, etc., contents' analysis, and gross pathological, bacteriological, toxicological, and parasitological, examinations. All the carcasses found at Lake Kerkini were dehydrated and emaciated. No food was found in the digestive system of the Pelicans, but there was a heavy parasite burden. Species of seven helminth genera were detected in the carcasses, three of them (Bolbophorus, Contracaecum, and Synhimantus) being reported for the first time in Greece. Contracaecum spp. in large numbers (up to 875 worms per bird), were found in the digestive system of all the carcasses. Most parasites were observed to penetrate the wall of the gizzard, causing haemorrhages and ulcers. No evidence of chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination or bacterial infection was found. Mycotic lesions were detected in the air-sacs of one Dalmatian Pelican, which may have contributed to the death of that particular individual in connection with the parasite burden.

A key characteristic of conservation in the United States is the dichotomy between two main philosophies. One of these is anthropocentric and utilitarian, advocating the wise use of Nature and natural resources, while the other is basically ecocentric, as it espouses principles of nonuse and preservation. This dualism has existed since the early days of the conservation movement, when the formerly uncontrolled use of a supposedly limitless natural environment finally gave way to a policy of resource management which was designed to conserve Nature and resource availability within the framework of human utilization. Generally opposed to this historically dominant paradigm were those who believed in preserving Nature for its own sake, and who have laboured over the years to modify and ameliorate the prevalent, central pattern.

After a period of relative unconcern, conservation underwent a resurgence as part of the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Environmental quality was the key concern, being highlighted by problems of pollution and degradation of the natural habitat. While providing the impetus for some broad environmental and conservation measures, this central focus directed primary attention to setting the problems. The traditional dominance of utilitarian resource management was maintained, relying on our managerial and scientific skills to address heightened environmental concerns. The era also spawned a number of other philosophies and themes. These have included a renewed sense of the ethics and spirituality of Nature, the emergence of ecology as a publicly-recognized-as-important field of science, ‘greener’ ecocentric movements, theories advocating more radical change, neo-Marxist theory on the relationship between Man and Nature, and various themes on limiting environmental growth and stress especially imposed by everincreasing human numbers.

Estimates of the rate and extent of tropical deforestation differ widely. The accuracy of the estimates for many countries has improved greatly during the last decade, especially with increased use of satellite data and advancements in analysis techniques. A good basis for ongoing global monitoring of tropical forests has been established by the FAO in its Forest Resources Assessment for 1990 (though data for some countries are still inadequate). The FAO assessment estimates that over one million km2 of the Earth's tropical rain-forest and moist deciduous forest was destroyed during 1981–90, representing an annual deforestation rate of 0.75% of such forests throughout the decade.

This paper traces the controversy over measurements of deforestation in Brazil's Legal Amazon and the resulting confusion and exaggeration of research findings (in both directions). Some widely-cited estimates are highly inaccurate, indicating a need for critical evaluation of any estimates that are used. A substantial narrowing of the range of estimates is found in recent studies. Landsat data indicate that the deforestation rate in the Legal Amazon declined considerably from 1988 to 1991.

People of diverse cultures appreciate and observe wildlife. With the increase in the importance of economic, social, and aesthetic, values of wildlife comes the responsibility for wise management and use of these resources to ensure biodiversity and the continued wellbeing of the populations. We describe several ways in which ecotourists affect the behaviour, reproductive success, and population levels, of breeding and migratory birds in New Jersey — a heavily industrialized, coastal US state with a dense human population. We use several case-studies to illustrate the effects of ecotourists on birds: heronries, breeding Least Terns (Sterna antillarum), foraging Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) during the breeding season, migrant shorebirds and gulls at Caven Point and Delaware Bay, and migrant hawks at Cape May.

The objective of interest-groups is to influence policy. Conflict is inevitable when two or more interest-groups are in competition for scarce resources. It then becomes the responsibility of the state to accommodate or resolve the conflict. However, an additional complexity occurs if the state agencies are themselves undergoing transformation, as has recently occurred in South Africa.

These issues are explored, using as a case-study the conflict that occurred between environmental interestgroups and a mining company over an application to dredge-mine the sand dunes that line the eastern shores of Lake St Lucia in Natal. The nature and objectives of these groups is discussed, and the role of the press in the controversy is analysed. The interests of black settlers who wish to return to their ancestral lands following the collapse of apartheid are shown to complicate further the dilemma that confronts state policymakers. The changing nature of the ‘decision environment’ in South Africa is addressed, and group theory is used to explain the relationship between state agencies and the mining, environmental, and black settler group, interests. Stages in the policy environment to match the modes of change over the period of political transformation in South Africa are identified by levels of conflict and ambiguity in a contingency model.

The impacts of hydropower developments on local environment, ecology, and socio-economics, has influenced, and will continue to influence, the efficacy in decisionmaking and planning/design processes. Big dams have several disadvantages: (a) high costs, (b) possible collapse, (c) evaporation loss, (d) flooding of prime agricultural land, (e) siltation of reservoir, (f) salt-water intrusion in coastal areas, (g) deforestation and ‘greenhouse’ effect, and (h) destruction of habitat for rare species. We must refine our environmental understanding of how hydropower development affects species, both individually and in their interactions with each other. The utter dependence of organisms on appropriate environments is what frustrates most attempts to proceed with development and still protect ecosystems and wider ecocomplexes. Conservation objectives must be integrated with other objectives in formulating national and other policies, before they crystallize into projects and programmes. When ecological factors are considered only at the end of the process, they are liable to be viewed as obstructing development, which can be disastrously wrong. But if integrated at the basic level of decision-making, they can positively guide development most propitiously and beneficially. Translated to the global context, this is best served by holistic thinking.

Economic and social problems facing many developing countries jeopardize the effectiveness and very existence of their national parks and protected areas. Rural poverty exacerbates the need for access to natural resources in protected areas and increases public conflict with protected-area management. A prerequisite for the long-term sustainability of parks and protected areas is public involvement and support for the conservation of natural resources.

Towards the above ends, the present study analyses local residents' attitudes, knowledge, and concept of values concerning conservation and the management of natural resources in Machalilla National Park, Ecuador. A survey was administered of 90 households in three villages located within the Park boundaries and two villages adjacent to the Park. Survey results indicated that local residents living either within or adjacent to Machalilla National Park hold a variety of negative attitudes towards the Park. Positive attitudes tended to increase with respondents' level of education (X2 = 19.001, df = 2, p < 0.0001) and knowledge about conservation issues (X2 = 26.616, df = 1, p < 0.0001). Younger residents (X2 = 12.960, df = 2, p = 0.002), respondents perceiving benefits from the Park (X2 = 14.292, df = 2, p = 0.001), and respondents reporting good relations with the Park staff (X2 = 5.514, df = 1, p = 0.019), were more positive towards the Park. Factors influencing public attitudes are compared with study results in other countries.

We estimate that roughly one-third of Gaoligongshan's total area is now devoted exclusively to agriculture and other uses that preclude maintenance of biodiversity. In most cases, primary forests existing at the establishment of the three Nature Reserves have been conserved effectively. However, small-scale (but largely unmonitored and uncontrolled) tree-felling and other vegetation disturbance continues in many areas. Despite these lapses, forests are in better condition within, than outside of, established Nature Reserves. As well, the future for these forests looks brighter than for those surviving outside Reserves: at the very least, county governments are not free to convert them into pine plantations.

In contrast, hunting has been reduced only slightly — much less effectively than forest cutting has been. Although it is possible to find evidence of persistence of some rare animal species, and some Nature Reserve personnel believe there are indications that sensitive and rare species are showing an upward trend, poaching of animals is still common, particularly of smaller-bodied or lesser-known species. Although it seems well established that wellknown species (e.g. Takin) must be strictly protected, many species at equal or greater risk of extirpation and equally protected legally (e.g. some species of pheasants), do not enjoy such effective protection.

Several lines of evidence suggest that humans may be sensitive to the scale at which environmental problems occur, and that humans perceive to be more urgent those environmental problems that happen over relatively shorttime duration and at relatively local-spatial scales, compared with those that happen over greater spans of time and space. If this is true, then solutions to environmental problems should be planned accordingly: i.e. incentive-based strategies to promote some type of conservation may be more easily implemented, and most appropriately socially-based, for environmental problems that occur at the smaller societal scales. For those that occur at the larger societal scales, incentive-based strategies may be most appropriately economically-based, and are likely to be more difficult to implement, than the socially-based ones at the smaller societal scales.

This theory is explored in the context of municipal solid wastes. There is some support for the general arguments in that various types of economic incentives have been effective in reducing household wastes across the scale of cities, and some more socially-based incentives appear to be effective in small town/neighbourhood settings, though much work on these issues remains to be done.