Dibru-Saikhowa Sanctuary protects 340 sq km of the floodplains of the Brahmaputra and Lohit rivers in eastern Assam state, north-eastern India. It provides habitat for several threatened species, including Asian elephant and tiger. The sanctuary suffers from several problems, however, including illegal tree felling, the scarcity of safe, high ground for animals during the annual floods and insufficient staff and resources. The author makes recommendations for improving the conservation value of the sanctuary.

During 1996 and 1997, data on the status of selected mammal species were collected from a remote region of North Myanmar. Of the 21 species discussed in this paper, the black muntjac, stone marten and blue sheep are new records for the country. One species, the leaf muntjac, has never been described. At least three species that once inhabited the region – elephant, gaur and Sumatran rhinoceros – are no longer present, and the tiger has been nearly extirpated. Himalayan species that are declining elsewhere, such as takin, red goral and red panda, are still relatively abundant despite hunting pressures. Musk deer are in serious decline. The wolf, while not positively confirmed, may be an occasional inhabitant of North Myanmar.

The use of wire snares for catching wildlife to support household needs was treated as an indicator to evaluate community support and understanding for a community-based resource management project. Data were based on snare counts in areas surrounding the targeted community as well as from interviews with individuals purported to have had a history of snaring. The high use of snares conflicted with expected behaviour for a community benefiting from the project. Snaring levels were high enough to threaten the viability of the safari industry and the derived revenues that were meant to be shared with the community. These contradictions suggested flaws in the project: an overdependence on external donor-supported management and lack of real community involvement and leadership in management of the resource. This study underscores the critical importance for monitoring land-use behaviour as an indicator of the success of community-based management projects.

Concomitant with the increasing denouncement of African game legislation as inappropriate law imposed by a former colonial authority, is the attack upon traditional, i.e. total protection, practice of conservation. It is increasingly argued by a school of neo-populist thinkers, that local people should be allowed to exploit protected areas in accordance with their own traditions and beliefs. Examples of alleged injustice or practice are consistently misrepresented with a view to replacing traditional conservation practice with left-wing political dogma, proponents claiming a mandate from the Caracas 1992 IVth World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas.