Since its discovery in 2002 the small colony of northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita in the central Syrian desert remains at perilously low numbers, despite good productivity and some protection at their breeding grounds. The Syrian birds are migratory and return rates of young birds appear to have been poor but because the migration route and wintering sites were unknown little could be done to address any problems away from Syria. Satellite tracking of three adult birds in 2006–2007 has shown they migrate through Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen to the central highlands of Ethiopia. The three tagged birds and one other adult were found at the wintering site but none of the nine younger birds that also left Syria were with them. At least four birds wintered elsewhere because they returned to the colony the following spring. The return migration followed the western shore of the Red Sea through Eritrea to Sudan before crossing the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia, then northwards to Syria. The adults appeared to be at low risk on the wintering site although we recommend protection. Threats along the migration route now need to be assessed and mitigated, and further effort made to determine the movements of subadults and young birds.

To use more effectively the limited resources available for conservation there is an urgent need to identify which conservation approaches are most likely to succeed. However, measuring conservation success is often difficult, as it is achieved outside the project time frame. Measures of implementation are often reported to donors to demonstrate achievement but it is unclear whether they really predict conservation success. We applied a conceptual framework and score-card developed by the Cambridge Conservation Forum (CCF) to a sample of 60 conservation activities to determine the predictive power of implementation measures versus measures of key outcomes (later steps in the models defined in the CCF tools). We show that assessing key outcomes is often more difficult than quantifying the degree of implementation of a project but that, while implementation is a poor predictor of success, key outcomes provide a feasible and much more reliable proxy for whether a project will deliver real conservation benefits. The CCF framework and evaluation tool provide a powerful basis for synthesizing past experience and, with wider application, will help to identify factors that affect the success of conservation activities.

Ecotourism is often suggested as a tool for promoting conservation but evidence for its usefulness is mixed. The success of conservation projects is widely recognized to depend upon the positive attitudes of local communities and thus it is important to know if ecotourism affects local perceptions of natural resources and conservation, as these can be important determinants of conservation behaviour. Rapid Rural Appraisal and questionnaire-based interviews were used to investigate this issue in the village of Grande Riviere, Trinidad. This has a community-based ecotourism programme for leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea, and is also one of the few sites where the Critically Endangered endemic Trinidad piping-guan Pipile pipile may be sighted. Topics addressed were knowledge and awareness of local conservation issues, focusing on attitudes to the environment in general, turtles and the Trinidad piping-guan. Ecotourism significantly affected perceptions. Villagers showed more awareness and support for turtle conservation than for the piping-guan or any other wildlife. Moreover, those households directly benefiting from the ecotourism industry had better knowledge of local natural resources and greater general awareness of conservation issues (not limited to turtles). Other socio-economic factors such as education and income also affected attitudes and knowledge but the ecotourism effect was still present after accounting for these. Hunting was seen as the main threat to wildlife but was also a popular pastime, illustrating the potential for mismatch between attitudes and conservation behaviours.

Increasing numbers of fee-paying volunteers now travel from the UK to work on conservation projects in middle and low income countries. The time and resources they commit have important implications for international conservation practice. This article provides an overview of this sector, comprising data on its size, value and key organizations. I map the scope of volunteer-led conservation in 2007 in terms of the countries, species and habitats prioritized for attention, and identify distinct geographical and taxonomic partialities towards particular taxa, countries and habitats. I outline how conservation priorities are established and reflect on two factors that help account for the identified partialities: the history and politics of international conservation and the cultural preferences of volunteers. In conclusion I argue that volunteering can help international conservation but is not a panacea for comprehensive efforts to protect threatened biodiversity.

Because of the complex interactions between socio-economic systems and remaining natural systems, conservation biology will need to be better integrated within a wider discipline of conservation science that is inherently integrated with the social sciences. Key to this progress will be the graduate training given to conservation scientists. We surveyed graduate students at the annual Student Conference on Conservation Science at Cambridge University in March 2007 to look at how current conservation science students view this need for integration. Our survey indicates that students want social science training alongside that in biology or ecology and that their current training in social science is inadequate for their future work in conservation.

The Indonesian pastime of keeping wild birds as pets is threatening the long-term survival of many songbird species on the islands of Java and Bali. Here we present the results of a large-scale household survey of bird-keeping in the six largest cites of Java and Bali that investigates: (1) the scale and conservation significance of bird-keeping and (2) the relative merits of regulatory versus market-based approaches as means to reduce the enormous demand for wild-caught birds. We found bird-keeping is widespread across social groups, with a rising demand for certain species of conservation importance. Specifically, 35.7% of households surveyed keep a bird and 57.6% of households had kept a bird in the last 10 years. Overall, we project that 584,000 households keep almost 2 million songbirds, the category of most conservation concern. Just over half of songbirds kept are wild-caught. We identified an increase in popularity (since 1999) of three native species (long-tailed shrike Lanius schach, orange-headed thrush Zoothera citrina and white-rumped shama Copsychus malabaricus) attributable to their popularity in bird song contests. In the latter two species this has caused ‘rolling’ local extinctions across West Indonesia. Given the huge popularity and deep cultural significance of bird-keeping we argue that, in this case, lobbying for stricter regulation is undesirable, impractical and may alienate a potential future supporter base for bird conservation in Indonesia. We argue in favour of a portfolio of softer policy instruments that may include market-based and voluntary mechanisms and engage a wider range of people and organizations.

Although hunting is still critical to the subsistence of many people throughout Amazonia, this practice may not be sustainable under current socio-economic conditions. Native societies are rapidly undergoing socio-economic changes that exacerbate the pressure on wildlife and habitats, indicating the urgent need to assess the impacts of subsistence hunting. In a 12-month study we assessed hunting patterns in four Shuar native communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Hunting patterns and impact of hunting activities were documented using interviews, direct observations, self-monitoring records, community landscape mapping and mammal surveys. Although Shuar harvest a wide-range of wildlife species, including insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals we only report information about mammals. A total of 3,181 individuals (c. 26,000 kg) of 21 mammal species were hunted during the 12 months. We used three algorithms for assessing the sustainability of hunting: the production, stock-recruitment and harvest models. Of the 21 mammal species hunted there were sufficient data to assess 15, 12 of which were hunted above maximum sustainable levels within the 243 km2 hunting catchment area. The immediate need to conserve wildlife populations is not obvious to Shuar hunters who still enjoy what they perceive to be an inexhaustible source of wild meat. In this context management of Shuar hunting practices to control harvest levels is complex. The assessment presented here is the first step of what needs to be a long-term wildlife management process.

In the 2003 Durban Vision the Malagasy government committed to tripling the amount of protected areas in Madagascar by 2009. This extensive expansion needs to involve an assessment of the potential impacts on the people who rely on forest resources for subsistence. Wildlife for human consumption (bushmeat) is one such resource that has received great attention on mainland Africa but has largely been ignored in Madagascar until recently. In terms of biomass, hunting in Madagascar appears to be on a lesser scale compared to areas of mainland Africa. However, because of the life-history characteristics associated with hunted primate and carnivore species in Madagascar even small-scale hunting is a major threat to long-term conservation. In this study I used semi-structured interviews to quantify annual rates of bushmeat harvest in 14 villages adjacent to the Makira Forest in north-eastern Madagascar. Interviews revealed that 23 mammal species were hunted for consumption, providing a new insight into the scale and frequency of bushmeat use. Harvest data and life-history information were sufficient to allow quantitative assessments of sustainability for four species of lemur (black and white ruffed lemur Varecia variegata, indri Indri indri, eastern bamboo lemur Hapalemur griseus and white-fronted brown lemur Eulemur albifrons) and a species of the carnivore family Eupleridae (fossa Cryptoprocta ferox). Model results suggest hunting of these species is probably unsustainable. This research presents clear evidence that hunting is a major conservation and livelihoods issue in Madagascar and needs to be considered in the planning stages of protected area development to address better the needs of local people.

Worldwide many important tree resources, and the livelihoods of local community members who depend on them, are threatened. Effective management of tree resources requires, among other things, knowledge of which species are preferred locally and can therefore be successfully adopted into conservation plans, as well as an understanding of local attitudes towards tree conservation. We conducted a study in Nawaikoke Sub-county of eastern Uganda to address three questions: (1) Which woody species are considered most valuable to rural communities and how do priorities vary across different sectors of the communities? (2) What are local perceptions of the status of woody species and of the main threats to their conservation? (3) What attitudes do local people hold towards conservation and what challenges do conservation initiatives face? We carried out focus group discussions with different specialist groups, key informant interviews, and semi-structured interviews with 62 households. Our results illustrate that local communities value 26 woody species highly, 15 of which are indigenous. However, priorities vary greatly across different specialist user groups. According to respondents most of the prioritized species are threatened, with the greatest threats being charcoal burning, overexploitation and expanding agriculture. Community members are actively managing and/or interested in managing those tree resources with economic value but largely ignore the greater diversity of woody species, especially shrubs. Administrative, political and traditional leadership institutions do not currently assist in the conservation of woody species. We provide suggestions for a conservation action plan that involves multiple strategies.

Lac Alaotra is Madagascar's largest lake and a recognized wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. It supports several Critically Endangered species, including the Alaotran gentle lemur Hapalemur alaotrensis. A principal threat facing the remaining Alaotran wetland is anthropogenic burning of the vegetation during the dry season; a practice now officially banned. A number of reasons have been given to explain this but to date no attempt has been made to investigate the principal motivations for the burning. We present the results of semi-structured interviews (n = 27) and questionnaires (n = 122) in a lakeside town. Seventy-eight percent of interviewees stated wetland burning was performed only or mainly to gather an introduced fish, the Asian snakehead Channa maculata, which buries into the underlying substrate during the dry season. Sixty-eight percent of questionnaire respondents provided a similar explanation. These data provide valuable insights into the reasons for the ongoing burning and should inform the management actions that are required to protect this globally important wetland.

The flare horned markhor Capra falconeri occurs in northern Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Most of the species’ range is along volatile international borders and limited information is available, especially for the population of the Pir Panjal or Kashmir markhor C. f. falconeri in India. From October 2004 to April 2005 we therefore conducted the first range-wide survey of the species in India since independence. The markhor's range has shrunk from c. 300 km2 in the late 1940s to c. 120 km2 in 2004–2005. Our surveys and interviews with key local informants indicate that 350–375 markhor may yet exist in the region. All the populations are small (usually < 50) and fragmented. International conflicts, developmental projects, the needs of an increasing human population and poaching, along with lack of awareness, are the primary threats to the species. The largest population in India, in Kajinag, may have potential for long-term survival if immediate conservation measures can be implemented.

Assessing the biodiversity of a region, particularly when it includes rare, cryptic and nocturnal species, is notoriously difficult but nevertheless of great importance, especially in regions that have received little prior research interest. Species in these regions are often only perceived to be present through the identification of animal signs such as scat or hair. Here we show how molecular techniques can be used to sequence mitochondrial DNA extracted from the scat of essentially unknown carnivore species and thus assess the species present in a remote desert region in southern Algeria. In doing so we present a reliable and reproducible method for determining carnivore biodiversity through non-invasive sampling. We also identify two species of large carnivore in an area where one, the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, is known to exist but at very low densities, and another, the leopard Panthera pardus, has never previously been observed.

Nest surveys are widely employed to assess the population density of orang-utans (Pongo spp.) and evaluate alternative management scenarios relevant to the protection of these threatened great apes. However, this method is less accurate and prone to much greater error than is generally acknowledged. Here we highlight the limitations of orang-utan nest surveys, discuss the risks of ignoring these limitations, and note conditions under which standard nest survey methods are appropriate.

Until recently the conservation status of seven of the nine species of tarsier on the IUCN Red List was Data Deficient, and determining the status of these species has been a priority. In addition, there are believed to be numerous cryptic tarsier taxa. Tarsiers have been proposed as flagship species to promote conservation in the biogeographical region that includes Sulawesi and surrounding island chains. Therefore, identifying and naming cryptic tarsier species and determining their conservation status is not only a priority for tarsier conservation but also for regional biodiversity conservation. Two tarsier species, Tarsius sangirensis from Sangihe Island and Tarsius tumpara from Siau Island, occur within the Sangihe Islands, a volcanic arc stretching c. 200 km north from the northern tip of Sulawesi. The geographical information system database from The Nature Conservancy's Sulawesi Ecoregional Conservation Assessment was used in conjunction with field surveys to determine the conservation status of these two species. Our results show that both species are at risk from a small extent of occurrence and area of occupancy, small population size, high risk of volcanism, high human population density, fragmented populations (many of which are in marginal habitat), and lack of conservation areas for either species. In addition, there are no available ex situ conservation options. The Siau population is further threatened by hunting for bushmeat. Our recommendations are that T. sangirensis be categorized as Endangered and T. tumpara, which was included on the 2006–2008 list of the world's top 25 most endangered primates, as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Information on large mammals in Turkey is limited, and widely applicable, reliable field methods need to be used to gather appropriate data for conservation and management. To evaluate local information on mammal species we conducted interview and ground surveys, followed by a camera trap survey, during January–May 2006 in Yenice Forest, a globally important and intact region for mammals in Turkey. Interviews with local people provided information on the occurrence of wolf Canis lupus, brown bear Ursus arctos, wild cat Felis silvestris, red fox Vulpes vulpes, Eurasian badger Meles meles, pine marten Martes martes, roe deer Capreolus capreolus, wild boar Sus scrofa and Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx. The ground and camera trap surveys confirmed the presence of all these species except lynx. In addition, the camera trap survey documented the presence of jackal Canis aureus and brown hare Lepus europaeus, signs of which were not found in the ground survey and whose presence was not known by local people. Local information on wildlife is important but management and conservation initiatives should not solely depend on such information and, as our study indicates, interview surveys cannot replace field research. The Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forestry needs to consider the establishment of a protected area large enough to secure the future of the large mammals of Yenice Forest.

The Siberian marmot Marmota sibirica is a social, colonial-living rodent that ranges widely throughout northern Asia. In Mongolia the species has declined substantially in recent years due to overharvesting for fur, meat and body parts, used locally and traded illegally in international markets. The Siberian marmot is often considered a keystone species because its burrows appear to represent an important resource for a variety of taxa, including carnivores. However, few studies have quantified marmot burrow use by other species, although such use may be important for developing conservation strategies. We monitored patterns of burrow use by 10 radio-collared corsac foxes Vulpes corsac during a study in Mongolia during May–November 2006. Corsacs used marmot burrows regularly and at rates greater than expected by chance, suggesting that burrows represent an important resource for foxes and supporting the notion of the Siberian marmot as a keystone species. As corsacs are also declining in Mongolia we contend that targeted patrols of marmot colonies in certain areas would provide a cost-effective means of protecting both species.