Wild tree resins generate billions of dollars in revenue annually but many species face extinction. The lansan tree Protium attenuatum has disappeared across most of its range as a result of overexploitation for its valuable oleoresin, which is used as incense. This study in Saint Lucia aimed to determine whether lansan resin could be harvested sustainably. Over 34 months, 298 trees were tapped using 10 experimental methods, and compared with 74 controls. Significantly more resin was produced by tapping the same trees repeatedly, tapping trees with a wider girth, cutting the same part of the trunk repeatedly, and, in particular, spraying diluted sulphuric acid on the cut. Applying 5 and 30% sulphuric acid boosted yields by 58 and 134%, respectively, without negative impacts on tree growth, condition or mortality. In contrast, traditional methods used by local tappers were destructive, causing greater decay and infection, slower growth rates and increased mortality. Results show tappers can obtain more resin and maintain healthy populations by tapping mature trees of ≥ 20 cm diameter at breast height, using only one shallow cut per tree (refreshed every 2 weeks) and applying weak sulphuric acid solution. A blind survey found consumers could not distinguish between incense produced with or without this stimulant. A national management plan has been devised whereby tappers will be licensed and trained in the optimal method and granted their own forest coupes to manage under Forestry Department supervision. The methods and findings may guide the sustainable use and conservation of other resin-producing trees.

In Colombia, in South America, the biggest drain on some wildlife species is the international pet trade. For every quetzal or cock-of-the-rock that reaches its destination alive, fifty die, and whole populations are being exterminated, says Dr. Lehmann, who is Director General of the Valle State Museum of Natural History. The skin trade, urged on by the need for foreign exchange, is another serious drain. National Parks are the only hope in Colombia as elsewhere, but the importing countries, such as the USA and these of western Europe, could do much to reduce the trade in both pets and skins.

Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus is a subspecies of Bornean orangutan whose distribution is restricted to the northern part of the Kapuas River, West Kalimantan, and is categorized as Critically Endangered. In October 2017 we carried out a survey to estimate orangutan density in the peat-swamp forests of the Sungai Palin watershed, of the upper Kapuas river, Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Surveys for orangutans in 1991, in nearby Nanga Awen, had indicated the presence of orangutans in the peat-swamp forests of this area. We used distance sampling techniques to estimate orangutan densities from nest observations. We recorded 76 orangutan nests along 4.5 km transects in Sungai Palin in 2017, and 71 orangutan nests were observed along 4.3 km transects in Nanga Awen in 1991, giving densities of 1.29 and 2.62 individuals/km2, respectively. The results of this orangutan survey can be used as a baseline for monitoring of orangutan populations for conservation and management of this watershed landscape.

The African fauna has been subjected to pressure from two far distant sources. In the north the well armed Moors and Arabs have long ruled the land, and it is in this region that the faunal population has been most seriously depleted. The Atlantic Ass, depicted in Roman mosaics, disappeared long ago, the Rufous Gazelle and Bubal Hartebeeste have likewise vanished.