For many years the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society has supported efforts to conserve forests in the Albertine Rift Afromontane Region of east-central Africa. The biodiversity of these forests is especially high but most have been destroyed or badly degraded. There are a large number of local, national and international initiatives to conserve at least some of the forests that remain. In 1991 Uganda created the Rwenzori Mountains, Mgahinga Gorilla, and Bwindi-Impenetrable National Parks, thus protecting all three of its Albertine Rift montane forests. This paper presents a synopsis of the conservation values of these three parks, and describes the conservation problems and the efforts to help ensure their proper development and long-term viability. Considerable progress towards the conservation of all three areas has already been made and future prospects are good, particularly for the mountain gorilla Gorilla gorilla beringei.

Rubber tapper communities along the large white-water rivers of central-western Brazilian Amazonia rely heavily on local fish stocks all year round. This subsistence fishing faces severe competition from commercial fishing boats from urban centres, which in some areas have over-fished the economically most important fish species. In the Juntá River and its oxbow lakes, two species of freshwater crocodilians – the black and the spectacled caiman – indirectly benefit subsistence fishermen by disrupting commercial fishing operations. The gill-nets used by commercial fishing boats are often damaged beyond immediate repair by the caimans as they make easy pickings of the catch. This appears to deter overharvesting of important fish stocks in many sections of the river. In contrast, subsistence fishermen use fishing gear that is rarely damaged by caimans. It would seem that caimans at their present numbers offer protection to local fish stocks by reducing the efficiency and financial viability of commercial fisheries, which would otherwise rapidly reduce fish yields for local rubber tappers.

In late December 1991 and January 1992 the authors surveyed tourist shops selling fur and other animal products in Kathmandu, Nepal. Comparing the results with a study conducted 3 years earlier showed that the number of shops had increased, but indirect evidence suggested that the demand for their products may have decreased. There was still substantial trade in furs, most of which appeared to have come from India, including furs from species that are protected in India and Nepal. While both Nepali and Indian conservation legislation are adequate to control the illegal wildlife trade, there are problems in implementation: co-ordination between the two countries, as well as greater law enforcement within each country, are needed

Bilkis gazelle Gazella bilkis was first described in 1985 from material collected in Yemen in 1951. No new information about the species has been forthcoming since then and the animal's current status is uncertain in two respects. First, it is difficult to establish the taxonomic relationship between G. bilkis and a possible subspecies of the Arabian gazelle, G. gazella erlangeri, which also occurs in the south-west Arabian peninsula. Secondly, uncontrolled hunting and the general lack of conservation measures in Yemen mean that, if it does still survive, its continued existence is far from assured. Systematic field surveys and taxonomic research are urgently needed to clarify the status of this animal and draw up conservation measures.

Thailand has the best protected-area system in South East Asia, comprising 74 national parks and 34 wildlife sanctuaries. However, the integrity of these sites is far from assured: some are ‘paper parks’, which are being subjected to increasing human pressure. One site, Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, has suffered some of the most extreme degradation.