Conservation philosophy is swinging away from the traditional approach of setting up reserves to give absolute protection to wildlife and is replacing it with more realistic strategies. To succeed today, conservationists should take into account the needs of the people who share their land with wild species. The author examines some of the ways in which wildlife can be valuable to local people and made to pay for its own conservation – game viewing, sport hunting, game cropping and ranching. The advantages and pitfalls are discussed and it is concluded that while these uses are possible for some some wildlife species, others will never have a direct economic value. Someone will have to pay for their conservation – and it should not be those who can least afford it.

Butterfly ranching is an important facet of promoting habitat conservation in tropical regions. Recent developments, emphasizing centralized co-ordination of rural cottage industries, are summarized to indicate progress in integration of trade and larger scale species and habitat sustainability.

The Kitulo Plateau of southern Tanzania is a lava plateau covering 273 sq km at an altitude of over 2500 m. The vegetation is predominately grassland with more than 350 taxa of vascular plants, of which nearly 5 per cent are of restricted distribution. Although the plateau is extensive, much of it is now cultivated. Digital analysis of satellite images showed that at least 24 per cent of the plateau was bare soil, modified grassland or cultivation between 1973 and 1989. The botanical importance of the plateau and increase in cultivation make a strong case for the establishment of a nature reserve to protect its rare and threatened plants.

The Magombera Forest in Tanzania contains the most viable population of the endangered Uhehe red colobus monkey, three other primates, and rare and endemic plants and animals. In 1980 almost half of the Magombera Forest Reserve was surrendered for settlement in exchange for the southern part being incorporated into the Selous Game Reserve. Due to an oversight, the southern part was not legally annexed into the Selous and now the Kilombero Sugar Company has claimed a portion of it. The forest is currently in good condition and offers the best opportunity to conserve the Uhehe red colobus. The author recommends a number of measures to save the forest and its wildlife and to ensure that the needs of the local people are met.

Kutai National Park in East Kalimantan was originally established as a game reserve in 1936 and became a national park in 1982. The park's lowland forests have suffered from logging, agricultural encroachment and extensive fires during the prolonged dry season in 1982 and 1983. During the 1980s a new coal mine opened at Sangatta to exploit rich coal deposits along the northern boundary of the park. The new mine could have been the ‘last straw’ for Kutai. Instead, industrial development has provided a new and exciting opportunity to strengthen park protection and management.

Between 1988 and 1993 six periods of field study were undertaken to investigate the environmental impact of the construction of a main irrigation canal and other works in the proposed extension of Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve and to recommend protective measures. Suklaphanta is administered by His Majesty's Government of Nepal through the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Special emphasis was placed upon the barasingha Cervus duvauceli population because it is the largest remaining group of this endangered deer species in the world. This paper presents recommendations for the management of the barasingha and its habitat.

Surveys of the amphibians (Order: Anura) of Ranomafana National Park, a midaltitude rainforest in central-eastern Madagascar, and nearby areas of disturbed habitats were carried out in two seasons (December 1991 and August 1992). A total of 40 frog species was recorded. In undisturbed areas many strictly terrestrial species were present, most of them belonging to the endemic family Mantellidae. These species showed changes in abundance between August and December, probably due to temperature variation. In contrast, most of the species found in altered habitats were arboreal or semiarboreal. These are ‘ecologically opportunistic’ species, not so sensitive to habitat variations and able to reproduce whenever conditions are favourable. These species were equally abundant in December and August and they appear to be able to live in a more varied habitat patchwork. To preserve the diversity and abundance of amphibians, nature reserves should retain a central core of primary forest to ensure the survival of the more specialized species, surrounded by a buffer zone of degraded vegetation to sustain the presence of more adaptable frog species.