Every year millions of bulbs, corms and tubers are being dug up in the wild to supply the market for garden plants. In many cases the level of exploitation is so high that it threatens some species with extinction in their natural habitats. Some have already been lost. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which has been so successful in controlling damaging trade in certain species of animals, has yet to address the bulb trade effectively. One of the difficulties to be overcome is assessing its true extent and its effect on wild populations. In 1987 the FFPS contracted its staff botanist, Mike Read, to investigate the trade in wild-collected plants in Turkey. The findings reported here point clearly to the need for further research, more legislation and the promotion of sustainable methods of propagation in the countries of origin.

The forests that clad Phulchowki mountain in Nepal are internationally renowned for their fauna and flora but they are unprotected. The subtropical forests on the lower slopes are particularly valuable, being one of the last remnants of such forest left in Nepal and probably the only one still worth protecting. Currently very little of this forest type is included in the country's extensive protected area system. If it is to be saved action is needed soon: marble quarrying and the removal of trees for firewood, foliage and timber are destroying the forests, which are also vital for the protection of water supplies. The authors, whose recent study of Nepal's forest birds reinforced the importance of the mountain, suggest ways in which protection could benefit both the forests and the people.

A nature reserve is being developed at Kuala Selangor on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is important as the core area of a major belt of mangrove forest and intertidal mudflats, an ecosystem poorly represented in South East Asian reserves. The concept, as well as its management by a non-governmental organization, are unique in the region.

Bahrain was perhaps the first Arab country to realize the rapid decline of many native wild animal populations in the region and the urgent need to implement measures to ensure their survival. Part of Bahrain's response to this realization was the establishment of Al-Areen Wildlife Park. It was hoped that setting up a conservation centre dedicated to the preservation of wildlife would promote similar projects in other countries in the region. Now, more than 10 years since its creation, the authors review the original objectives of the project, its achievements and its aims for the future.

The Chiew Larn Dam, Thailand's thirteenth, was completed in 1986 and the resulting flooding will destroy 165 sq km of the country's largest remaining area of lowland evergreen rain forest. For the first time ever in Thailand a rescue operation was carried out to try to save some of the wildlife, which includes threatened and endangered species, stranded on islands as the waters rose. In 18 months 1364 animals of 116 species were captured, but 44 died soon after. The survivors were released into protected areas nearby. The operation can be judged successful in some ways, but there were many shortcomings. The author, who was Field Director of the rescue operation, argues that even if these could be remedied in future similar projects, a wildlife rescue operation cannot compensate in any way for the loss of important wildlife habitat.

The authors visited the Azores in September 1986 to investigate the status of the archipelago's natural forests and the rare endemic trees they contain. They carried out intensive investigation only on the island of Pico, although they also worked on Terceira and Sao Miguel. These three are the only islands on which moderately large areas of forest are believed to remain.