This paper presents the current results of a continuing survey of the distribution, status and biological importance of Tanzanian coastal forests. The Frontier-Tanzania Coastal Forest Research Programme has shown that at least 34 locations, and possibly another eight, support important coastal forests. There are probably 350–500 sq km of forest remaining, with most sites smaller than 20 sq km. Most sites, and 75–85 per cent of the total area, are located in Forest Reserves. Coastal forest supports many endemic taxa and many individual forests support species and subspecies known from nowhere else. All these forests are severely threatened and effective conservation action is a priority. The Frontier-Tanzania project findings are contributing to conservation programmes co-ordinated by the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania and the World Wide Fund for Nature (Tanzania).

Blanford's fox Vulpes cana has been considered as one of the rarest mammals in south-west Asia. Recently it has been discovered in several locations in the Middle East. The authors conducted a survey of Blanford's foxes in the mountainous desert regions of Israel and found that they are common in Israel, but restricted to a specific habitat. Additional surveys in other Middle Eastern countries are essential for the conservation of this species.

In late December 1991 and January 1992 the authors surveyed tourist shops selling fur and other animal products in Kathmandu, Nepal. Comparing the results with a study conducted 3 years earlier showed that the number of shops had increased, but indirect evidence suggested that the demand for their products may have decreased. There was still substantial trade in furs, most of which appeared to have come from India, including furs from species that are protected in India and Nepal. While both Nepali and Indian conservation legislation are adequate to control the illegal wildlife trade, there are problems in implementation: co-ordination between the two countries, as well as greater law enforcement within each country, are needed

This paper describes a preliminary field survey of bushy-tailed cloud rats Crateromys spp. and slender-tailed cloud rats Phloeomys in the Philippines in April and May 1990. Brief visits were made to all islands/locations known to support these animals and also to neighbouring areas considered likely to do so. Comparing the results with information from previous surveys suggests that both genera, particularly Crateromys, are more widely distributed than formerly believed, but that some forms are threatened. Three of the four known species of Crateromys are known only from their holotype specimens, one of which awaits description. Another is extinct in its type locality on Ilin Island but may survive on neighbouring Mindoro. These preliminary findings indicate that thorough surveys are required to establish the status of certain species, to investigate the possibility that new species remain undiscovered and to develop conservation plans to reduce the likelihood of further extinctions occurring.

In the spring of 1992 a group of zoologists completed a faunal survey of Sibuyan Island, a small mountainous island in the central Philippines. This island, which is oceanic in origin and during the Pleistocene at least was not connected to any other island mass, has an exceptional amount of intact primary forest, including lowland forest, a habitat that has all but been destroyed in the Philippines. The mammalian fauna of Sibuyan Island is exceptionally high in endemic species and also contains many other species that are threatened throughout the Philippines. Current logging operations severely threaten the remaining areas of lowland forest on the island. With forests of the Philippines under intense pressure, the most realistic hope for conservation lies in the protection of forests on islands where the population and political pressures are less intense. Sibuyan Island is an excellent candidate for such initiative.

The Malabar and brown palm civets, Viverra civettina and Paradoxurus jerdoni, are both endemic to the Western Ghats of south-west India. Little is known about them and in 1990 a survey was conducted in three parts of the Western Ghats to assess their status. This revealed that isolated populations of Malabar civet still survive in less disturbed areas of South Malabar but they are seriously threatened by habitat destruction and hunting because they are outside protected areas. The brown palm civet is not immediately threatened because there are about 25 protected areas within its distribution range. Recommendations have been made for conservation action to ensure the survival of these animals.

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.

The main range of the cherry salmon Oncorhynchus masou is the Sea of Japan and adjacent areas, with most populations migrating to spawn in streams in Korea, Japan, the Kuril Islands and the south-west tip of Kamchatka. Landlocked forms of the cherry salmon also occur, among them a relict population in the mountains of Taiwan. This population has declined in recent years and efforts are being made to save it.

The snake Chironius vincenti (Colubridae) is endemic to the West Indian island of St Vincent, and for many years herpetologists considered the species to be extinct. Recent field work has indicated that it still survives but that it is restricted to primary and secondary rain forest (at elevations between 275 and 600 m) primarily on the leeward side of the island and that it probably occurs at low population densities. The range of C. vincenti appears to overlap widely with that of the endangered St Vincent parrot (Amazona guildingii) and the snake will gain significant, direct benefits front the protection afforded the parrot.

The elusive and nocturnal clouded leopard is seldom seen but information collected in the course of a 6-year primate survey revealed that it still occurs in the forests of the state of Assam in India. The species has not been recorded in any of the state's protected areas, however, and it is threatened by deforestation.

Thailand has the best protected-area system in South East Asia, comprising 74 national parks and 34 wildlife sanctuaries. However, the integrity of these sites is far from assured: some are ‘paper parks’, which are being subjected to increasing human pressure. One site, Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, has suffered some of the most extreme degradation.

The Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola has the highest degree of biological diversity in the Caribbean. The country's wildlife service (Departamento de Vida Silvestre) carried out investigations at ecosystem and – for the vertebrate fauna – at species level in order to identify gaps in the representation of ecosystems within the nation's protected area system. As a result of this exercise 15 new areas have been proposed for protected status. The information presented here is a summary of the report La Diversidad Biológica de la República Dominicana, published by SEA/Departamento de Vida Silvestre in December 1990.

Traditional wildlife conservation has remained effective in Malawi for more than a century despite great cultural changes. The modern approach, based on a system of protected areas controlled by the government, has been less effective. It has failed to gain the support of local people and the result has been much illicit encroachment into protected areas. For the future, a solution needs to be found that integrates modern and traditional conservation with rural economic development.