We question whether the increasingly popular, radical idea of turning half the Earth into a network of protected areas is either feasible or just. We argue that this Half-Earth plan would have widespread negative consequences for human populations and would not meet its conservation objectives. It offers no agenda for managing biodiversity within a human half of Earth. We call instead for alternative radical action that is both more effective and more equitable, focused directly on the main drivers of biodiversity loss by shifting the global economy from its current foundation in growth while simultaneously redressing inequality.

As human pressure on tropical forests grows, conservation needs new approaches. An experiment in conserving tropical rain forests on private lands on the Belize River is under way in Belize. Over 70 landowners have signed pledges to abide by a management plan devised for the conservation of the black howler monkey Alouatta pigra. The author discusses what was involved in creating the Community Baboon Sanctuary and how this approach could be used in similar projects to benefit both wildlife and local people.

The human race is setting itself some formidable problems by both increasing at an unprecedented rate and raising its living standards at an even faster rate. Have we the resources to feed, house, clothe, let alone provide leisure and culture, for all? What, for example, are the untapped food resources of the sea, of rivers and lakes, of wildlife? Nobody knows. The task of the International Biological Programme is to find the answers. Dr. Worthington, deputy director of the Nature Conservancy, and scientific director designate of the IBP, explains the task, and outlines the methods.

Sustainable development is increasingly being seen as a legitimate, and locally critical, element in wildlife conservation. However, relatively few studies of projects attempt to combine conservation and development goals. The Hadejia—Nguru Wetland Conservation Project in Nigeria grew out of a concern for wildlife (particularly wetland birds), but has expanded to address issues of environmental sustainability and economic development at both the local and the regional scale. This paper assesses the achievements of the project's approach.

The Okomu Forest Reserve in south-west Nigeria contains a 114-sq-km wildlife sanctuary that is an important refuge for several threatened species, including the white-throated guenon Cercopithecus erythrogaster. A conservation project that started in Okomu in 1987 focused initially on protection, but the emphasis recently shifted to a programme of agricultural development assistance to migrant farmers in the reserve. This approach, which appears to follow the philosophy espoused in IUCN/UNEP/WWF's Caring for the Earth, may hasten rather than prevent the destruction of this remnant tropical forest and its wildlife.

When the Yuquí Indians of Bolivia adopted a settled life-style in the 1960s, wild animals continued to be their main source of meat. As a result, game species declined in numbers around their settlement and their problems were exacerbated by colonists seeking new lands to farm. Prospects brightened in 1992 when 115,000 ha of land were designated Yuquí Indigenous Territory. This paper describes how a system of satellite camps was developed to enable the Yuquí to exploit game animals sustainably and to defend their land from encroachment.

Those with the enthusiasm and zeal for fauna preservation and conservation even yet, I believe, remain inadequately aware of the enormity of the human tide which sets against them. This essay is intended to help towards a fuller perspective, biologically frightening though it is.

National parks are no luxury today, but an essential tool in every country, on every continent, and in the sea if man is to understand his environment and avert destruction. The author, who is Senior Adviser to the UN Environmental Programme, explains why the selection of the right areas is important, and what the criteria should be to avoid past mistakes.

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.

Discussions of sustainable use have become polarized. Welfarists oppose all use that involves killing animals. Among conservationists polarization arises in part from failure to distinguish between different ideas nestled under the umbrella term of ‘sustainable use’. These include direct use as an imperative or choice, the ideal of keeping any use within biologically sustainable limits, and use as a possible conservation strategy that can create positive incentives, which are key where land could otherwise be converted to biodiversity-unfriendly practices. People will continue to use wild living resources, which increasing human populations could further deplete. In response the conservation community can follow one of two approaches. On the one hand, it can try to stop use through the establishment of strictly protected areas and by enforcing legislation, although many would question the ethical position of imposing such an approach. On the other hand, it can work to introduce the wider management systems needed to deliver sustainable use and, if possible, incentive-driven conservation. Because most rural populations will continue using wild living resources in human-dominated landscapes, sustainable use and incentive-driven conservation should both be at the centre of the conservation agenda this century. Both species- and ecosystem-based management are likely to have a role in sustainable use. However, current enthusiasm for the ecosystem approach may throw up unexpected consequences, making the search for sustainability even more polarized. Nevertheless, direct use of species cannot provide sufficient incentives to ensure the continued delivery of ecosystem services, which need to be fully incorporated in the global accounting system.