Proboscis monkeys, endemic to the island of Borneo, are declining in Sarawak. Their mangrove and peat swamp forest habitats are being degraded or destroyed and people continue to hunt them despite their protected status. Surveys between 1984 and 1986 established the status of this monkey and its habitats in this Malaysian state. The author who participated in the surveys, receiving some financial support from the Oryx 100% Fund, discusses the results and makes recommendations for future conservation action.

West African manatees are believed to be declining over much of their range, including in Sierra Leone. They are nominally protected there, but they are traditionally caught and eaten because of their delicious meat and also because they are considered as pests by rice growers and fishermen. The authors' surveys in 1986–1987 showed that manatees are still widely distributed in coastal districts of the country, but that they are being regularly caught in some places, at levels that may not be sustainable. Much more needs to be known to guide appropriate action to ensure that the manatee remains a part of Sierra Leone's wildlife. It is encouraging that one of the authors has begun, under the government Fisheries Division, to implement a manatee research programme.

The ghor-khar is a rare subspecies of onager, or Asiatic wild ass, and its habits are little known. The only known wild population inhabits the Little Rann of Kutch Desert in Gujarat State in western India and, after its numbers fell dramatically in the 1960s, it was declared a protected species. Conservation measures, including the establishment of a Wild Ass Sanctuary in 1973, have been so successful that the most recent census, in 1983, recorded nearly 2000 individuals, compared with 362 in 1967. The authors made four visits to Gujarat to study wild asses between 1984 and 1986.

Many of India's primates are threatened, especially by forest destruction, and in some areas they are also hunted for food. The 15 species involved are not threatened equally—some are widespread and common, even in the hearts of cities, while others survive only in small populations over a limited area. In order to make best use of the limited resources available for primate conservation it is necessary to identify those species needing urgent attention. The author, who is at present carrying out research on the primates of Assam, has rated the species according to their conservation needs using a method based on one developed for identifying conservation priorities for African primates. He compares his results with those of the Asian Action Plan for Primates and makes recommendations for conservation action in India.

The Tambopata Reserve Zone covers 55 sq km of tropical rain forest bordering the Tambopata River, a tributary of the upper Amazon. Set up by the Peruvian Government in 1977 to conserve an unusually diverse wildlife community, the reserve has already established a variety of world records for species numbers in vertebrate and invertebrate groups. It also protects a number of threatened species. The fact that the reserve exists at all is largely due to the implementation of a policy that has successfully integrated its conservation objectives with its commercial interests and applied science activities. The author, who worked as a naturalist guide and biologist on the reserve in 1984,1985 and 1986, discusses the importance of this enterprise.

In 1984 international attention was focused on Mt Apo National Park in the Philippines when the IUCN declared it one of the world's most threatened protected natural areas. Human settlements had destroyed large areas of the park and in 1983 the Philippine Government reclassified over half of the park for agricultural development, although this was revoked in 1986. The author lived in the park while working on the Philippine Eagle Conservation Programme, witnessing the problems first-hand. He describes the park and the problems it faces, which he believes could be overcome.