Vietnam's exceptionally rich fauna is threatened by habitat loss and hunting. Although a system of protected areas has recently been developed, many of the sites selected are subject to human encroachment, hunting pressure and other forms of exploitation. Other protected areas may be too small to hold viable populations of primates. Following faunal surveys of existing and proposed protected areas in Vietnam between 1988 and 1991, this paper documents the status of and identifies threats to three species of threatened primate: white-cheeked gibbon Hylobates leucogenys gabriellae, red-shanked douc langur Pygathrix nemaeus and blackshanked douc langur P. nigripes.

A survey of the Western Area Peninsula Forest in Sierra Leone in 1990 located eight breeding sites of the white-necked picathartes–a striking endemic West African forest bird threatened with extinction. Several breeding sites were in areas of fairly intense human activity and in danger of imminent destruction. Subsequent observations revealed successful breeding in 1990 and unsuccessful attempts in 1991. This population is probably only just viable. The discovery of Jentink's duiker–Africa's rarest duiker–in the same forest in 1988 and the presence of three threatened primate species prompted calls for urgent conservation action. The precarious status of the white-necked picathartes population provides another compelling reason for such action.

A survey of the distribution of the yellow-footed rock-wallaby Petrogale xanthopus was carried out in Queensland from 1984 to 1987. The species was found at 44 sites to the north and north-west of Adavale in south-western Queensland, mainly in the rugged country along the edges of low sandstone tablelands and hills. The size of the rock-wallaby population could not be estimated with accuracy, but is considered to be of the order of 5000–10,000 animals. The species is vulnerable because of property development in the area and possibly because of competition from other herbivores. The authors recommend regular monitoring of the population size.

This paper presents the current results of a continuing survey of the distribution, status and biological importance of Tanzanian coastal forests. The Frontier-Tanzania Coastal Forest Research Programme has shown that at least 34 locations, and possibly another eight, support important coastal forests. There are probably 350–500 sq km of forest remaining, with most sites smaller than 20 sq km. Most sites, and 75–85 per cent of the total area, are located in Forest Reserves. Coastal forest supports many endemic taxa and many individual forests support species and subspecies known from nowhere else. All these forests are severely threatened and effective conservation action is a priority. The Frontier-Tanzania project findings are contributing to conservation programmes co-ordinated by the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania and the World Wide Fund for Nature (Tanzania).

In the spring of 1992 a group of zoologists completed a faunal survey of Sibuyan Island, a small mountainous island in the central Philippines. This island, which is oceanic in origin and during the Pleistocene at least was not connected to any other island mass, has an exceptional amount of intact primary forest, including lowland forest, a habitat that has all but been destroyed in the Philippines. The mammalian fauna of Sibuyan Island is exceptionally high in endemic species and also contains many other species that are threatened throughout the Philippines. Current logging operations severely threaten the remaining areas of lowland forest on the island. With forests of the Philippines under intense pressure, the most realistic hope for conservation lies in the protection of forests on islands where the population and political pressures are less intense. Sibuyan Island is an excellent candidate for such initiative.

The snake Chironius vincenti (Colubridae) is endemic to the West Indian island of St Vincent, and for many years herpetologists considered the species to be extinct. Recent field work has indicated that it still survives but that it is restricted to primary and secondary rain forest (at elevations between 275 and 600 m) primarily on the leeward side of the island and that it probably occurs at low population densities. The range of C. vincenti appears to overlap widely with that of the endangered St Vincent parrot (Amazona guildingii) and the snake will gain significant, direct benefits front the protection afforded the parrot.

Traditional wildlife conservation has remained effective in Malawi for more than a century despite great cultural changes. The modern approach, based on a system of protected areas controlled by the government, has been less effective. It has failed to gain the support of local people and the result has been much illicit encroachment into protected areas. For the future, a solution needs to be found that integrates modern and traditional conservation with rural economic development.