When the Otter Trust was set up in the UK in 1972, one of its long-term intentions was to restore European otters to suitable wild habitat. In 1982, this aim came to fruition with the release of three captive-bred otters into a river in East Anglia. These otters have now bred in the wild and further releases continue to add to the success of the project. The author is Chairman of the Otter Trust.

The Fal Estuary, with its eelgrass meadows, its reef of red calcareous seaweeds and its mix of southern and northern species of marine life, contains a Voluntary Marine Reserve. As its name implies, such designation does not give it any legal protection. It is listed in The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book as a threatened community and is in immediate danger from a proposal to build a container port on the opposite shore.

The opening of a new national park in Uganda is significant and welcome evidence of the resuscitation of the country's commitment to conservation. The author, an FFPS Council member, who has a long and active association with Uganda, attended the ceremonial opening of Lake Mburo National Park last July. He tells the story behind the achievement and makes a plea for international support to enable Uganda to sustain its efforts to reverse the trend towards environmental degradation.

North Yemen still imports rhino horn to make dagġer handles, despite the government ban in 1982. As rhino numbers continue on their precipitous decline, it is imperative that conservationists act now. Protection of rhinos in Situ is failing as poachers take more and more risks for greater financial gain. The author proposes urgent action, which includes exerting pressure on the appropriate governments.

In 1981 the Government of Burma, conscious that it should be doing more to conserve its natural resources, invited the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Development Programme of the United Nations to assist in a project to identify areas suitable for national parks and reserves. The Minister of Agriculture and Forests has already decided to establish one of the proposed parks, Alaungdaw Kathapa, and it is hoped that the rest will follow. The author was in charge of the project for its three-year duration.

From its earliest years, the Society's journal has carried reports on the tsetse problem in Africa. Between the 1920s and 1960s, attempts to eradicate the flies from many parts of the country resulted in the slaughter of 1.3 million game animals and extensive bush clearance, which permanently destroyed wildlife habitat. By the early 1970s, the use of insecticides had largely replaced these drastic techniques, but this, in its turn, with the environmental side-effects, caused much concern amongst wildlife conservationists. The authors review the history of tsetse control and discuss the new, safer methods that have been developed, as well as others still under trial. It is clear, however, that tsetse eradication will continue to be controversial. The development of safer and environmentally acceptable techniques does not solve a more fundamental problem—the wise use of Africa's land. Clearing the land of tsetse can open the path to its ruin by unsustainable pastoral encroachment. It is of interest that in April 1985, the EEC governments forced the EEC Commission to modify its forthcoming programme of tsetse fly eradication in four countries by insisting that environmentally harmful methods using DDT should not be employed. The Commission was also forced to include a three-year project on area development planning—land-use considerations were originally not included in its proposals.

In 1978, Bernd-Ulrich and Christiane Meyburg reported in Oryx the efforts to safeguard a very special area of Extremadura in Western Spain. On 4 April 1979, 17,582 hectares was designated as a Parque Natural (a nature park or reserve) by the Government. Perhaps readers of the Meyburgs' article, especially those who responded to its appeal for moral and financial support, would hail this as a great success for conservation in Spain: but there is much more to the story than that …

For religious, medicinal and decorative purposes, the Nepalese use more parts of the rhino than any other people in the world, but only a very few rhinos have recently been killed there. Moreover, since 1976 the rhino population has been growing by about eight per cent a year and when the author visited Nepal in 1982 there were approximately 375, which provides an exception to the commonly held belief that government officials in Third World countries are unable to protect rhinos in the wild. The author, who is a geographer, explores the fascinating background to a successful conservation story.

Mulanje massif in Malawi rises steeply from the surrounding plain, a landmark for miles around. An endemic cycad grows on its slopes and the plateau grassland is rich in endemic plants, including everlasting flowers and a heath. The mountain is also the stronghold of the Mulanje cedar, which Malawi has just declared as its national tree. The author, who prepared a report for the Malawi Government on cedar resources on Mulanje, found that the Forestry Department's fire control programme is effective, and that attention now needs to be given to the threat from alien plant invasion.

The numbers of green turtles that nest on Aldabra's beaches have increased significantly in the past 20 years. The author, who studied the turtles between 1981 and 1984, suggests explanations for the recovery. It is likely that the Aldabra population is still well below that which thrived there before exploitation began, and with sustained conservation efforts turtle numbers could continue to increase.

Brazil's Emas National Park protects important populations of the endangered pampas deer, giant anteaters, armadillos, rheas and many other mammals and birds, but its road and river boundaries are not the best that could be provided to protect this valuable cerrado Park. Uncontrolled fires are also a problem, killing giant anteaters and destroying gallery forest. The author spent two years doing research in central Brazil and visited the Park many times.

Since 1969, when Romulus Whitaker first established the Madras Snake Park, snake conservation in India has progressed a great deal and the Park has played a significant role in this achievement. His wife, Zai, who edits the tri-yearly Snake Park newsletter Hamadryad, was invited to describe the Park's development into an effective conservation force.