The author was one of the first people to see the white-winged guan Penelope albipennis, an endemic Peruvian bird thought to be extinct, after its rediscovery in September 1977. It is believed now that a few hundred of the birds may survive, and if protected could become a viable population. But some are taken for food, and it is urgent to create a sanctuary for them. The author is Head of the Department of Ornithology and Mammalogy in the Natural History Museum in Lima.

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve was created in May 1992 to conserve a representative area of the Ituri rainforest in north-eastern Zaïre. This article examines the threats facing this large protected area and summarizes the management actions proposed to address these problems within the next 10 years. Emphasis is placed on the need to integrate the local population into reserve management and to empower people as much as possible to manage their own resources. The long-term future of the reserve in the context of national economic and political instability is discussed.

Réunion is probably the least well known of the islands of the Mascarene archipelago. The author, a veterinarian who spent two years working there, gives an account of its now much diminished wildlife and some of the problems facing the species that remain.

Since the last report on the work of the Mountain Gorilla Project (Oryx, August 1980), all the three main programmes in Rwanda – conservation education, park protection and park development – have made substantial progress.

Although the tamaraw occurred on Luzon during the Pleistocene, in historic times this buffalo has been restricted to the Philippine island of Mindoro. There it established a reputation for aggressiveness that made it widely known in the Philippines, but it was not described for science until 1888. It has been estimated that 10,000 tamaraw Bubalus mindorensis occupied Mindoro island in 1900 but by 1949 numbers had declined to 1000 animals, and in 1953 fewer than 250 remained. In 1969 Harrisson estimated that about 100 survived in three of their four known areas. Poaching was the main cause of the decline. Thanks to Harrisson's and General Lindbergh's efforts, 1969 also marked the start of the Philippine Government's tamaraw conservation effort, and wardens and guards were posted at the Mt Iglit Game Refuge and Bird Sanctuary in Occidental Mindoro. Between May 1972 and March 1974 I conducted a tamaraw study on 2000 hectares of the refuge where the major tamaraw population was to be found.

Seventy years ago the population of Southern Rhodesia was only about 500,000. The inhabitants occupied the land according to their tribal customs, and were mainly hunters and pastoralists. In those days the whole country abounded with wild life. Then western civilization came to the country, bringing with it advanced agricultural techniques, medical science and the western system of law. Within thirty years vast changes and development took place. The indigenous population trebled: industries, particularly mining, sprang up all over the country and around these industries towns were built with the resultant network of road and rail communications. But, following the pattern of development seen in so many countries, Rhodesia's natural resources were being squandered and destroyed, in some cases through lack of knowledge, in others wantonly. Nevertheless, even in the 1920's a few people, supported by the Government, did make some provision for the conservation of wild life and in 1927 the first game reserve was established at Wankie. By the 1930's, however, it was obvious that other resources, particularly the soil, were being lost at an alarming rate. Again a few far-sighted people, led by Water Court Judge Mcllwaine, stirred up public opinion, the Governor appointing a commission of enquiry into the extent to which the natural resources were being squandered. The outcome of this enquiry was the establishment of the Natural Resources Board, constituted by Act of Parliament which, in essence, recognized the Board as the public trustee for the natural resources of the country. The Board has extremely wide powers and can give orders to the owners, occupiers or users of any land to adopt such measures as it may deem necessary for the conservation and protection of the resources. Whilst an appeal to the court against such orders is provided for, the Board relies upon persuasion rather than compulsion and depends upon the goodwill and common-sense of the people to ensure a future both for themselves and for those who are to follow.