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To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00469.x Byline: JOHN G. ROBINSON (*) Abstract: Abstract: In the 20 years since Conservation Biology was launched with the aim of disseminating scientific knowledge to help conserve biodiversity and the natural world, our discipline has hugely influenced the practice of conservation. But we have had less impact outside the profession itself, and we have not transformed that practice into an enterprise large enough to achieve our conservation goals. As we look to the next 20 years, we need to become more relevant and important to the societies in which we live. To do so, the discipline of conservation biology must generate answers even when full scientific knowledge is lacking, structure scientific research around polices and debates that influence what we value as conservationists, go beyond the certitude of the biological sciences into the more contextual debates of the social sciences, engage scientifically with human-dominated landscapes, and address the question of how conservation can contribute to the improvement of human livelihoods and the quality of human life. Abstract (Spanish): Conservation Biology y la Conservacion en el Mundo Real Resumen: En los 20 anos desde que fue lanzada Conservation Biology con el objetivo de diseminar el conocimiento cientifico para ayudar a conservar la biodiversidad y el mundo natural, nuestra disciplina ha influido enormemente en la practica de la conservacion. Pero hemos tenido menos impacto fuera de la profesion misma, y no hemos transformado esa practica en un cometido lo suficientemente grande para alcanzar nuestras metas de conservacion. Cuando miramos los proximos 20 anos, necesitamos hacernos mas relevantes e importantes para las sociedades en que vivimos. Para ello, la disciplina de la biologia de la conservacion debe generar respuestas aun cuando se carezca de conocimiento cientifico, estructurar investigacion cientifica en torno a politicas y debates que influyen en lo que valoramos como conservacionistas, ir mas alla de la certitud de las ciencias biologicas hacia los debates mas contextuales de las ciencias sociales, comprometerse cientificamente con paisajes dominados por humanos y abordar la pregunta de como puede contribuir la conservacion al mejoramiento del sustento y de la calidad de vida de los humanos. Author Affiliation: (*)Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, U.S.A., emailwildcons@aol.com Article History: Paper submitted January 4, 2006; revised manuscript accepted February 27, 2006.

A conceptual framework based on a general model of a conservation project and a research agenda for a conservation science that uses the principles of adaptive management are presented for solving the issues related to effective conservation. The practice of conservation can become successful by overcoming challenges of defining clear and practical measures of conservation success, determining sound guiding principles for the strategies related to conservation, and developing the required knowledge and skills in individuals and organization for practicing conservation.

Decline in tropic tiger populations and prey may suggest ongoing global extinction, largely through poaching and loss of habitat. A study accounted for genetic, behavioral, demographic and ecological factors for each tiger population studied, including 159 conservation units on three bioregions. Significant conservation efforts require stopping poaching, increasing protected areas, and such areas must be linked and buffered by natural habitats.

The article advocates a role for conservation biology beyond academics, structuring research around policy objectives.

The editorial examines the inflexibility surrounding the term 'park,' both in the conventionally held beliefs of what defines a park, and the management policies used to govern them. Greater flexibility would allow both human and environmental needs to be met.

Different approaches are employed by various conservation organizations to conserve biodiversity. A conceptual map of 21 approaches implemented by 13 conservation organizations is provided. It is found that only with explicit understanding can the conservation community and its supporters compare these approaches and come to a consensus.

A study of the Jaguar species as a model, which forms the basis for large-scale conservation planning and for their survival across the entire geographic range and through political boundaries while recognizing the variety of ecological roles the species plays in different habitats is discussed. The results show that the known, occupied range of the jaguar has contracted to approximately 46% of estimates of its 1900 range, but over 70% of the area where the jaguar's are thought to still occur was rated as having a high probability of supporting their long-term survival.

The Wildlife Conservation Society, with a view to protecting and preserving wildlife, awarded several grants in 1950 for the study of wildlife. In 1966 biologists such as George Schaller, Thomas Struhsaker and Roger Payne undertook studies of different species of animals in various parts of the world. Governments have approached the Society to formulate projects such as Rwanda's Nyungwe and Uganda's Kible forests, Congo's Nouabale-Ndoki region and Central America's Pasco Pantera program.

The New York Zoological Society's international program, The Wildlife Conservation Society, has a commitment from the 1950s to help conserve the African elephant. The Society has a three-pronged strategy including direct conservation, exploratory surveys and detailed studies of the ecological role of the elephant in the forest and savannah. Some countries in south Africa claim that a liberalized ivory trade helps the local economies without harming elephant populations, but it is too early to tell. The worldwide trade ban on ivory has effectively halted poaching and is helping herds to recover.

Author(s): John G. Robinson [1]; John Thorbjarnarson [1] Sustainable Use of Hawksbill Turtles: Contemporary Issues in Conservation by N. Mrosovsky Key Centre for Tropical Wildlife Management: 2000 . 107 pp. [...]

It is becoming clear that hunting in tropical forests cannot be maintained at current levels. In many tropical forests, harvested populations are showing constant falls in density, while some species have been wiped out altogether. This is a particular problem in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, West Africa and the Philippines. Much of the hunting in tropical forests is not managed at all at present, and there is now an urgent need to address this problem.

Hunting of wildlife needs to be managed if the local extinction of species is to be prevented and the loss of an important natural resource for many people in the tropics is to be averted. According to available data and the use of simple sustainability models, there is a limited supply of wildlife due to the relatively low annual production of large mammals in tropical forests. Meanwhile, there is rising demand as the accessibility of tropical forests to hunters increases, human population densities grow, sedentary lifestyles become more prevalent and traditional hunting practices evolve. The growing demand is also due to the commercialization of the meat trade and the expanding demand in urban areas for wild meat.