Showing papers by "International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources published in 1995"
TL;DR: The status of wetland inventory effort and availability of maps and other data sources is reviewed for the ten countries of southern Africa: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The status of wetland inventory effort and availability of maps and other data sources is reviewed for the ten countries of southern Africa: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The aims and strategies for inventory are discussed and the main survey methods compared. Prior to commissioning new inventory work, careful collation of existing maps and imagery is recommended together with targeting of strategic inventory at Province level, reserving high resolution effort only for certain important sites.
45 citations
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TL;DR: This paper reviewed the existing literature, examining the links between adjustment policies, the environment and the use of natural resources, and concluded that there is no simple answer to the question of whether adjustment is good or bad for the environment.
Abstract: Adjustment programmes in developing countries have been the subject of an intense debate since their debut in the early 1980s. Consideration of the environmental consequences of adjustment has added a new dimension to the discussion. This paper seeks to review the existing literature, examining the links between adjustment policies, the environment and the use of natural resources. Special attention is paid to the evidence presented in selected country case studies. A wide diversity of findings suggests that there is no simple answer to the question of whether adjustment is good or bad for the environment. The complexity of adjustment itself makes generalisation impossible, as do the varying circumstances of adjusting countries.
30 citations
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: VORTEX modelling indicated that adult females are the most valuable members of an orangutan population and that the death of an adult female has the greatest influence on increasing extinction rates of all life history variables.
Abstract: The Working Group on Life History Characteristics of the Population and Habitat Viability Analysis Workshop relied primarily on unpublished data on orangutans collected at Ketambe, Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra and Tanjung Puting National Park, Kalimantan The orangutan appears to be the ultimate K-selected species, in that survivorship is high, interbirth interval is long (mean = 8 years) and the female makes a high investment in her offspring VORTEX modelling indicated that adult females are the most valuable members of an orangutan population and that the death of an adult female has the greatest influence on increasing extinction rates of all life history variables Infants in illegal trade may be thought of as representing dead females
22 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that it is impossible to guarantee sustainability given the complexity of human and biological factors that must be balanced, and that sustainable use ensures conservation of the resource.
Abstract: Few issues in the conservation community rival the intensity of the debate over sustainable use of wild species. At one extreme, people advocate that sustainable use ensures conservation of the resource. Others view it as a guise to exploit wild species. Somewhere between these positions, scientists point out that it impossible to guarantee sustainability given the complexity of human and biological factors that must be balanced. All these points of view are represented among the membership of the IUCN.
21 citations
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this article, the authors derived estimates of habitat and population numbers for Sumatran orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) from field biologists who studied, or are presently studying, orangutan at Ketambe in Gunung Leuser National Park.
Abstract: At the Population and Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA) Workshop for orangutans, estimates of habitat and population numbers for Sumatran orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) were derived from field biologists who studied, or are presently studying, orangutans at Ketambe in Gunung Leuser National Park. For Sumatra, the exact boundaries of orangutan distribution are not known, but there are several distinct populations, including the lesser-known Singkil population and the Sembabala-Dolok Sembelin population. The Greater Leuser orangutan population, which extends beyond the national park boundaries, is thought to cover approximately 11,710 km2 and has two distinct populations. Using a correction or “safety” factor to derive population estimates, the western population is thought to number 5,700 individuals, and is the most important orangutan population in Sumatra; the eastern population is thought to number 3,500 individuals. Within the restricted boundaries of Gunung Leuser National Park, the area covered by the western population is 5,570 km2 and the corrected population size is about 3,450 individuals; the area covered by the eastern population is 2,957 km2 and the corrected population size is about 2,400 individuals. The total number of orangutans in the park probably is about 5,850 individuals. The Greater Leuser populations were judged to be among the strongest in Southeast Asia, in terms of numbers and potential for protection. Gunung Leuser National Park was considered to be the most vital habitat to the long-term survival of the Sumatran orangutan.
16 citations
TL;DR: The Convention on Biological Diversity requires systematics information to support action under virtually all of its substantive conservation and sustainable use articles as mentioned in this paper, and it seems apparent that large reference collections contribute directly to development, and development assistance agencies should recognize that investing in maintaining these collections is a legitimate form of development assistance.
Abstract: Conserving biological diversity requires a major effort in conducting survey and inventories, establishing priorities, selecting protected areas, managing resources and monitoring the effects of management. Systematics has an important contribution to make to each of these five major activities. Further, the new Convention on Biological Diversity requires systematics information to support action under virtually all of its substantive conservation and sustainable use articles. It seems apparent that large reference collections contribute directly to development, and development assistance agencies should recognize that investing in maintaining these collections is a legitimate form of development assistance.
9 citations
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: Estimates of habitat and population numbers for orangutans in Borneo suggest a more serious decline in the Bornean population than was previously thought.
Abstract: At the Population and Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA) Workshop for Orangutans, estimates of habitat and population numbers for orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) in Borneo were derived from various sources. For Borneo, the known distribution of orangutans comprises eight regions with currently isolated populations. The total area of orangutan habitat on Borneo was calculated at 22,360 km2, and the estimate of total population numbers ranged from a minimum of 10,282 to a maximum of 15,546 individuals. These figures suggest a more serious decline in the Bornean population than was previously thought.
8 citations
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: The first Population and Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA) Workshop for Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) focused on the status of wild populations of orangutans on Sumatra and Borneo, with major emphasis on the Sumatran population.
Abstract: The first Population and Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA) Workshop for Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) focused on the status of wild populations of orangutans on Sumatra and Borneo, with major emphasis on the Sumatran population (Pongo pygmaeus abelii). At the Workshop, three working groups were established: Orangutan Distribution and Status in Sumatra, Orangutan Distribution and Status in Borneo, and Life History Characteristics and VORTEX Modelling. Recommendations from these working groups form the basis for the Indonesian Orangutan Action Plan presented here.
5 citations
TL;DR: The Sooty Babbler Stachyris herberti was rediscovered in central Vietnam in July 1994 as discussed by the authors, from five specimens collected in Laos in 1920, and was identified as a species with highly specific ecological requirements and current human disturbance may have implications for its conservation.
Abstract: Summary The Sooty Babbler Stachyris herberti, previously known from five specimens collected in Laos in 1920, was rediscovered in central Vietnam in July 1994. Fieldwork in Phong Nha Cultural and Historical Reserve located a population inhabiting lowland evergreen forest on limestone. The species was recorded on a number of occasions over several days and one female specimen was collected. The species appears to have highly specific ecological requirements and current human disturbance may have implications for its conservation at this site. A revision of its taxonomic position suggests its retention within the genus Stachyris.
4 citations
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: The recent decline of the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) in Borneo, to an estimated range of 12,300 to 20,571 in 1993, may be attributed in part to the 1986 decision of the Indonesian government to open up Kalimantan to economic development.
Abstract: The recent decline of the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) in Borneo, to an estimated range of 12,300 to 20,571 in 1993, may be attributed in part to the 1986 decision of the Indonesian government to open up Kalimantan to economic development. Habitat loss and degradation increased the vulnerability of orangutans to poaching and capture and made possible a surfeit of animals to fuel the pet trade in Taiwan, one of the major economic investors in Indonesia. The emergence of east Asia as the world’s fastest growing economic sector has led to increased trade and communication among the countries comprising the region and new opportunities for illegal traffic in wildlife, including orangutans. Extraordinary measures will have to be initiated on both national and international levels to combat this threat to the region’s fauna.
3 citations
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this article, a geographical information system (GIS) was used to map the current distribution of the Sumatran orangutan population in Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP), North Sumatra.
Abstract: A geographical information system (GIS) was used to map the current distribution of the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) population in Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP), North Sumatra. From this, vegetation cover of the orangutan’s distribution was calculated. Vegetation cover and population density estimates within different vegetation types were used to estimate overall population numbers. In addition, the effects of potential land-use changes on the orangutan’s distribution were analyzed using GIS. The land-use scenarios modelled with GIS were: (1) forest loss in and surrounding GLNP; (2) road construction through GLNP; (3) the loss of all low-hill forest in GLNP; and (4) changes in the legal status of park boundaries. This geographical analysis helped guide recommendations for the conservation management of wild orangutans in GLNP.