The Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area Programme promotes landscape-level connectivity between clusters of wildlife management areas in five neighbouring countries. However, declining regional biodiversity can undermine efforts to maintain, expand and link wildlife populations. Narratives promoting species connectivity should thus be founded on studies of system and state changes in key resources. By integrating and augmenting multiple data sources throughout eight wildlife management areas, covering 1.7 million ha, we report changes during 1978–2015 in the occurrence and distribution of 31 mammal species throughout a landscape linking the Greater Kafue System to adjacent wildlife management areas in Namibia and Botswana. Results indicate species diversity is largely unchanged in Kafue National Park and Mulobezi and Sichifulo Game Management Areas. However, 100% of large carnivore and 64% of prey diversity have been lost in the Simalaha areas, and there is no evidence of migrational behaviour or species recolonization from adjacent wildlife areas. Although temporal sampling scales influence the definition of species occupancy and distribution, and data cannot elucidate population size or trends, our findings indicate an emerging connectivity bottleneck within Simalaha. Evidence suggests that at current disturbance levels the Greater Kafue System, Zambia's majority component in the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, is becoming increasingly isolated at the trophic scale of large mammals. Further investigations of the site-specific, interacting drivers influencing wildlife distribution and occurrence are required to inform appropriate conservation interventions for wildlife recovery in key areas identified to promote transboundary connectivity in the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.

In his article “Wild Life in Southern Ethiopia” (Oryx, vol. 1, No. 6, page 288), Captain D. S. Sorrell says that he believes that the dibatag (Ammodorcas clarkei) has never been recorded outside the Mudugh province of Somalia, and that it is in danger of soon becoming extinct. These remarks create a wrong impression, and I write to give some additional information on the distribution of this interesting antelope.

Early in 1972 the author visited Tunisia at the request of the British Council to study all aspects of nature conservation. This article is a brief résumé of his report.

It is of great interest to have confirmation from so experienced an observer as Dr. Peter Delap of apparent antipathy between roe and fallow deer in Lakeland, more especially as he suggests that the dominant species there is the roe. In every instance which I have investigated in the south where the two species have come into territorial collision, the successful contestant for “living-space” has been, in the long run, the fallow.

Land-use change is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Large-scale disturbances such as habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are known to have negative consequences for native biota, but the effects of small-scale disturbances such as selective logging are less well known. We compared three sites with different regimes of selective logging performed by Indigenous communities in the South American temperate rainforest, to assess effects on the density and habitat selection patterns of the Near Threatened endemic arboreal marsupial Dromiciops gliroides. We used structured interviews to identify patterns of wood extraction, which was 0.22–2.55 m3 per ha per year. In the less disturbed site only two tree species were logged, in the intermediately disturbed sites eight species were logged at low intensity, and in the most disturbed site seven species were logged intensively. The site with intermediate disturbance had the highest fleshy-fruited plant diversity and fruit biomass values as a result of the proliferation of shade-intolerant plants. This site also had the highest density of D. gliroides. These findings are consistent with Connell's intermediate disturbance hypothesis, suggesting that coexistence of people with nature is possible if wood extraction volumes are moderate, increasing plant diversity. Indigenous communities have sustainably used natural resources for centuries, but current rates of land-use change are becoming a significant threat to both them and their natural resources.

The author examines the age structure of captive orang-utans in zoos and institutions. He shows that, unless breeding success can be achieved with captive-born animals – which so far no zoo in the world has done – zoo numbers will continue to decline, with little hope of replacement from the wild now that the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species is in operation. John Perry is Assistant Director for Conservation at the National Zoo in Washington, and a Vice-Chairman of the IUCN's Survival Service Commission.

As global environmental pressures grow, the need for delivering relevant and sustainable capacity building in conservation has never been greater. Individuals, organizations and communities need the skills, knowledge and information that allow them to address environmental issues at a variety of spatial scales and in diverse contexts. Capacity is currently built through a range of activities, including tertiary education, training courses, online learning, mentoring and continuing professional development. However, a significant proportion of the current capacity-building provision is non-strategic, project-based and reactive. The conservation sector still lacks a coordinated approach to capacity building linked to broader conservation goals. Without an assessment of current capacity-building provision and future capacity needs, the delivery of capacity building in conservation will remain fundamentally ad hoc. The need for strategic conservation capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa has been identified and here we report on the first collation of online material to assess current conservation capacity provision in Kenya (the country with the greatest online capacity-building presence). We reviewed a total of 177 capacity-building initiatives delivered during 2014–2019 and recorded 55 separate metrics for each initiative. We present: (1) a broad overview of the data collation methods developed, (2) examples of data that will support strategic capacity-building strategies, and (3) the lessons learnt from this assessment.

Training plays a central role in the pursuit of conservation goals, and it is vital to know if it is having the desired effect. However, evaluating the difference it makes is notoriously challenging. Here, we present a practitioner's perspective on overcoming these challenges and developing a framework for ongoing evaluation of a conservation training programme. To do this, we first created a theory of change, describing the pathway of change we expect from training delivery to conservation impact. This provided the clarity and structure needed to identify indicators of change in the short, medium and long term. For data collection, we utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a more complete understanding of the change expected and capture any that might be unexpected. However, the more time that passes since a training event, the more difficult it becomes to attribute results; in response, we shifted predominantly to the use of qualitative methods to understand the long-term results achieved. After 3 years of implementation, this framework has enabled us to measure the difference our training makes to individuals and their work, and to provide evidence for the contribution it makes to achieving conservation impact. We believe that the lessons learnt can be used to improve the evaluation of training activities across the conservation sector and maximize the impact they achieve.

A questionnaire survey to investigate the grass snake's status in Britain showed that, while in some areas it was still abundant, in others it had declined and continued to do so, mainly through habitat destruction and collecting. The author concludes that, because of its special habitat requirements, this snake could easily become an endangered species in Britain, unlike the adder which can occupy many marginal habitats.

Bilkis gazelle Gazella bilkis was first described in 1985 from material collected in Yemen in 1951. No new information about the species has been forthcoming since then and the animal's current status is uncertain in two respects. First, it is difficult to establish the taxonomic relationship between G. bilkis and a possible subspecies of the Arabian gazelle, G. gazella erlangeri, which also occurs in the south-west Arabian peninsula. Secondly, uncontrolled hunting and the general lack of conservation measures in Yemen mean that, if it does still survive, its continued existence is far from assured. Systematic field surveys and taxonomic research are urgently needed to clarify the status of this animal and draw up conservation measures.

Brazil is the largest country in South America in both population and area, and ranks fifth largest in the world at 8,511,965 km2. Lying mainly in the tropics, its immense variety of habitat types ranges from the vast, luxuriant Amazon rain forests in the north to the Atlantic coastal forests in the east, the savannas of the central plateau and the Brazilian pine forests and flat, almost treeless pampas of the south; its great diversity of animal species includes some found nowhere else in the world.

Rees (2005) states in his critical review of the EC Zoos Directive that ‘zoos have no incentive to undertake conservation research because they can legitimately ignore this requirement providing they carry out an alternative conservation measure. Zoos therefore can comply with the EU Zoos Directive by doing nothing.’ Zoo conservation took a major step forward when the Council of EC Environment Ministers agreed in 1998 to an EC Zoos Directive to strengthen the conservation role of zoos. The Directive came into force in 1999 and requires that all Member States set up national systems for the licensing and inspection of zoos. The Zoo Licensing Act 1981 already implements many of the measures in the Directive, including the provision of proper accommodation and care for the animals, keeping up to date records, and taking appropriate measures to prevent escapes. But the requirements that zoos participate in conservation and education activities are new. Although many zoos already participate, the new legislation has made this a statutory requirement. Each European country is now responsible for enforcing the EU Directive with their national zoos. The Directive needs to be general because it applies to animal collections of very different sizes and structures. It cannot be expected that the Directive sets standards higher than is achievable for its smallest members.

The three species of lion tamarins face extinction as the last remnants of Brazil's coastal forests are whittled away. The Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust has been directly involved in captive breeding of the golden lion tamarin and its Zoological Director is an elected member of the seven-person International Management Committee for the species. He visited Brazil in 1983 to see the conservation work being carried out and describes attempts that have been and are being made to save these spectacular New World primates.

Coastal vegetation includes unique species with adaptations to the specific conditions of this environment, and in the Mediterranean region urban development of coastal areas has severely affected coastal ecosystems. Astragalus berytheus Boiss. & Blanche is a narrow endemic plant of the eastern Mediterranean coast, occurring in Lebanon and Palestine/Israel; its Red List status has not been previously assessed. As a result of the effects of urban sprawl in coastal areas A. berytheus is one of the most threatened plant taxa in Lebanon. We assess the conservation status of this taxon and propose conservation measures. Only one population of A. berytheus is extant in Lebanon, in the Tyre Coast Nature Reserve. We recommend that A. berytheus should be categorized as Endangered globally and as Critically Endangered at the national level in Lebanon. Unless adequate conservation measures are implemented A. berytheus is likely to go extinct in Lebanon in the near future.