announcing an essential reference for students and practising conservationists

The Conservation Handbook: Research, Management & Policy

William J Sutherland

296 pages | 52 figs, 25 tables | Blackwell Science
Paperback | #101322W | £24.95

There are many books that tell us about the predicaments of biodiversity, but can you think of one that provides constructive advice and information on how to tackle conservation problems? That's what the Conservation Handbook sets out to do, from fieldwork through to drafting Action Plans.

'a very welcome addition to the literature and armamentarium of conservation practice' - from E.O.Wilson's Foreword

THE CONSERVATION HANDBOOK: GRATIS COPIES PROJECT
The book is being sent free to those practising conservationists outside Western Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan who are otherwise unlikely to obtain a copy. These copies are provided at cost price by Blackwell Scientific, the publisher, and paid for with the author's royalties. Each book sold means another one will be donated. Administration and distribution of gratis copies is handled free of charge by NHBS. The Christensen Fund has generously made a grant to cover the cost of postage.

We welcome names of people who live in the area outlined above and would benefit from this book. Please use our online Gratis Request Form to send your name and address, the name of the suggested recipient, their address and a sentence or two explaining why they should be sent this book.

FROM THE INTRODUCTION:
'I take it for granted that the reader recognises the widespread and accelerating loss of biodiversity, realises the enormous cultural, economic and biological importance of this loss and is convinced of the need to do something about it. The aim of this book is to concentrate on what individuals can actually do to tackle some of the world's problems. I believe that many conservation problems and solutions are similar everywhere, regardless of whether in polar, temperate or tropical regions, or how affluent the region, or whether the conservation is part of an international programme or focused on conserving a small area.

The universal problems are: habitat destruction, intensive agriculture, overgrazing, undergrazing, nutrient enrichment, pollution, hydrological changes, changes in fire regimes, overexploitation, introduced predators and introduced competitors. Similarly, the universal solutions are: set priorities, plan, monitor, detect problems, diagnose problems, then bring about change through the main techniques of species management, habitat management, legislation, education, public awareness and integrating development and conservation.

I believe that it is a mistake to over-compartmentalise conservation biology. The conservation of plants and animals need similar approaches. Science theory, science practice and policy all need to be considered together. As examples, it is often useful for biologists to discuss with policy makers to determine what information is required before carrying out research and for practitioners to discuss with researchers so that their actions can improve understanding.

Some themes run through this book. A major one is that we are throwing away the opportunity to learn from our actions. The lack of experimentation, monitoring and documentation means that we know far less about how to carry out conservation than we should. This criticism applies to every aspect including habitat management, species management, fund raising and education. Another major theme is the importance of determining objectives and how these will be achieved. This again applies to every aspect from selecting areas for conservation to determining priorities within an organisation.

The successful conservationist often uses a myriad range of skills and should ideally have some knowledge of planning, field skills, scientific methodology, statistical analysis, advocacy, policy and education. Although they require a great range of skills conservationists also tend to be underfunded and overworked. I wish to salute the remarkable achievements of many conservationists I met whilst preparing this book, some of whom were working under very difficult conditions.'

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Assessing biodiversity
Why assess biodiversity? - biodiversity assessment techniques - Total species list - Case Study of the discovery and conservation of the saola - total genera or family list - parallel-line searches - habitat subsampling - uniform effort - time restricted search - encounter rates - species discovery curves - Mackinnon lists - timed species counts - recording absence - habitat feature assessment - documenting rarities - collecting - labelling - preservatives - collecting plants, fungi, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals - ethnobotany - atlases - case study of the southern African frog atlas project - habitat mapping - remote sensing - databases.

3. Setting Conservation Prorities
Why set Conservation Priorities? - prioritising species - vulnerability to extinction - taxonomic isolation - what is a species? - flagship species - introduced species - likelihood of species recovery - prioritising species within areas - prioritising habitats - hot spots of global biodiversity - endemic bird areas - centres of plant diversity - important taxon areas - prioritising areas and selected reserves.

4. Monitoring
Why Monitor? - bias and accuracy - long term data sets - sampling - stratified sampling - monitoring plots - indices and censuses - counting recognisable individuals - quadrats and strip transects - distance sampling: line transets and point counts - mapping - mark/release/recapture frequency of capture - catch per unit effort - monitoring plants - total counts of plants - quadrats - seed sorting - measures of vegetation density - monitoring invertebrates - direct searching for invertebrates - beating for invertebrates - water traps for invertebrates - light traps for invertebrates - emergence traps for invertebrates - pitfall traps for invertebrates - sweep, pond and tow nets - benthic cores for invertebrates - monitoring fish - fish traps - gill and dip nets - electrofishing - transects and point counts for fish - monitoring amphibians: drift fencing - direct counts of amphibians - monitoring reptiles: mark - release - recapture of reptiles - direct observations of reptiles - monitoring birds: - direct counts of birds - transects for birds - point counts for birds - territory mapping - monitoring mammals: - direct counts of mammals - transects of mammals - mapping mammals - trapping mammals - dung counts - monitoring environmental variables: temperature - rainfall - water depth - water flow - evapotraspiration - wind speed - pH - underwater light - salinity - water chemistry - soil characteristics - monitoring human impact: - photographic monitoring.

5. Ecological Research Techniques
Why Carry Out Research? - designing a research project - experiments - hygienic fieldwork - determining habitat use - radio tracking - diet analysis - ageing and sexing - plants, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals - pollination biology: determining the breeding system - identifying the pollinators. Marking Individuals: - plants, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. Studying the Fate of Individuals: - measuring breeding output - measuring mortality. Determining the Cause of Illness or Death: - collecting material for examination - autopsies - identifying plant pathogens - determining why eggs fail. Modelling Populations Changes: - principles of population ecology - creating population models. Risk of Extinction: - processes in small populations - population viability models - Case Study: estimating the population viability of a re-established white-tailed eagle population. Molecular Techniques: - identifying individuals and relatives - identifying species and populations - ten major statistical errors in conservation.

6. Diagnosis and Prediction
Why Diagnose Problems? - a need for evidence-based conservation? diagnosing why species have declined - case study: the Lord Howe Woodhen: diagnosis and recovery - predicting the ecological consequences of changes - environmental impact assessment - strategic environmental assessment.

7. Conservation Planning
Why Plan? - the planning process - the species action plan process - writing a species action plan - case study: the UK corncrake species action plan - the site management plan process - writing a management plan.

8. Organisational Management and Fund Raising
Why is Organisational Management Important? - leadership and management: leadership - delegation. Types of conservation organisations and their problems - collaboration between organisations. Meetings: generating ideas in meetings - crisis management - fund raising - grants.

9. Education and Ecotourism
Why Educate? - planning and running an education programme - case study: conservation stickers in sumba - case study: public involvement in the conservation of Tiritiri Matanga island, New Zealand - case study: Global Rivers EnvironmentalEducation Network - identification guides - ecotourism - case study: managing tourism in the Antarctic.

10. Bringing About Political and Policy Changes
Why Enter Politics? - campaigning - case study: water extraction in Mon Lake - publicity: case study: international collaboration to reduce pesticide poisoning. Negotiating and conflict resolution - changing legislation - case study: reducing traffic damage to a roadside reserve - meetings - economic instruments - the importance of international agreements: Convention on Global Biodiversity (1992) - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973) (CITES) - Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (1979) (Bonn Convention) - Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (1971) (Ramsar Convention).

11. Species Management
Why Manage Species? - manipulating wild populations - creating breeding sites - supplementary food - hand pollination - controlling parasites - controlling predators, herbivores and competitors - eradication of problem species - control of problem species - exclusion of problem species - changing the behaviour of problem species - captive breeding - plant propagation: seed storage - re-establishments: determining feasibility and desirability of re-establishments - release protocol - monitoring of re-establishments - case study: Brush-tailed Phascogale re-establisment - learning from experiments.

12. Habitat Management
Habitat Management or Wilderness Creation? - the need for research - case study: wild nature in the Dutch Oostvaardersplassen - size, isolation and continuity - disturbance - retaining old habitats - grazing - burning - hydrology - understanding the hydrology - water management - water quality - habitat creation, restoration and translocation - waterbeds - trees and shrubs - grass and herbaceous communities - reefs - translocation - managing access: zoning - car parks and footpaths - visitors centres and hides.

13. Exploitation
Why Manage Exploitation? - benefits of exploitation - why does overexploitation occur? - determining sustainable yields: surplus yield models - yield per recruit models - Robinson and Redford models - relating yield to recruitment and mortality - adjusting in relation to population changes - Lotka-Volterra model. Case study: Moose exploitation - Case Study: Goose management in North America. Full population model - adaptive management - controlling exploitation - discouraging illegal persecution - Case Study: anti-poaching strategy to protect the Amur tiger. Criminal detection.

14. Integrating Development and Conservation
Why Combine Development and Conservation? - approaches for combining development and conservation - regulations to restrict access or use - increasing the value of natural resources - alternatives to damaging exploitation - development as part of a package - benefit sharing - general principles for integrated conservation development projects - Case Study: combining development and conservation in Kilum-Ijim forest, Cameroon. Participatory development - the project cyle. Case Study: Coral Reef and Fisheries Management in the Philippines. Identification - Planning - Appraisal - Implementation - Monitoring - Completion - Evaluation. Basic methods for conservation development projects: key questions - participatory research and monitoring techniques - stakeholder analysis - problem trees and objective trees - options analysis - logical framework analysis - risk analysis - identifying and allocating tasks - stakeholder participation matrix - Capacity Building.

References