Unless the trade in rhino horn is stopped, the survival of the world's rhinos is in jeopardy. Thanks to the efforts of conservationists, many countries have now banned exports and imports of rhino products, and most of the trade that occurs is illegal. There is still much to be done, however, as the authors explain.

The world is being altered by human action more rapidly now than natural forces changed it during any short period in the past. There are predictions of massive ecological changes and extinctions of species on a unprecedented scale. The author examines what is actually happening, what the consequences are likely to be, and what corrective action can be taken. He emphasizes that, as with all exercises in crystal gazing, this cannot be an error-free analysis. Despite the vast scale of current scientific activity, our knowledge of the processes affecting the world environment and our monitoring of changes are far from adequate. Too many statements—including widely quoted estimates of extinctions—are based on extrapolation from limited data. This is a speculative paper intended as a spur to further analysis rather than as a definitive review. It is based on an address to the Annual General Meeting of the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society on 10 September 1986.*

Kaziranga, home of the world's largest population of the greater Indian rhinoceros, is under threat. The author, who is a magistrate in Guwahati, Assam, and who has published about 80 articles and papers, mainly on wildlife, is concerned about its future.

The southern bearded saki is a critically endangered Amazonian primate, occurring only in a small area of north-eastern Brazil. The animal is poorly known, and recent evidence suggests that the species may comprise several critically endangered subspecies. All existing forms are threatened by the continuing economic development of their rain-forest habitat. The fate of this monkey is only an example of the dark future faced by many species as forest clearance spreads through the region.

Three gibbon species inhabit the tropical and subtropical forests in China, all of which occur in Yunnan Province: the crested gibbon Hylobates concolor, lar gibbon H. lar, and hoolock gibbon H. hoolock. As a result of deforestation and over-hunting, all three species are gravely endangered in China and may be on the verge of extinction; they are now considered to be the nation's rarest animals. A recent census and survey of crested gibbons in Yunnan Province, partly funded from FFPS's Oryx 100% Fund, revealed new information on the distribution, status and conservation of gibbons in China. The authors made recommendations for future conservation measures, and these are now being considered by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Government.

In 1981, as a result of Dr Sálim Ali's assessment of the deteriorating status of the great Indian bustard, the Bombay Natural History Society embarked on a five-year project to study the ecology and distribution of the bird. The author, who has worked on the great Indian bustard in three places in India and who took part in the BNHS bustard project, describes its findings.