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.

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 …

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.

Between 1966 and 1969 17 chimpanzees, which had all been captured in the wild and had spent various amounts of time in European zoos, were released in Rubondo Island National Park in Lake Victoria, Tanzania. Now there is a healthy population of at least 20 chimpanzees, and it is likely that there is now a second generation of Rubondo-born animals. The author, who has been recording sightings of the chimpanzees since 1978, discusses this early rehabilitation experiment, sets it in the context of others and examines the problems of how best to cope with those animals that are confiscated while enforcing the laws prohibiting the capture of wild chimpanzees.

When the author visited Belize in 1983 and 1984 to survey the turtle fauna of that country, to which the Oryx 100% Fund contributed £500, he was able to collect some information on the three marine turtle species that nest on Belize's beaches and forage along the coast. All three species are exploited in the country and, although there is a degree of legal protection, the ban on egg-collecting is widely ignored, turtles are taken for their meat in the closed season, and tortoise-shell jewellery and curios still find a ready market among tourists from abroad.

Papua New Guinea takes insect conservation seriously, and for 10 years now has involved hundreds of villagers in an innovative butterfly farming scheme, which benefits both people and wildlife. Angus Hutton, who was National Co-ordinator for the project at its inception, describes this successful integration of conservation with development.

London has far fewer ponds than it had 100 years ago. In some parts 90 per cent of ponds have been lost since 1870, although the creation of gravel pits and lakes has compensated to a small extent. Such declines have made those ponds that are left of supreme importance for nature conservation, but many are neglected and harbour only remnants of their once rich flora and fauna. In 1984 Thomas Langton carried out a survey of London's ponds and other areas of standing water with the aim of identifying which ponds needed saving and managing for wildlife. This much needed work was made possible by the Greater London Council, which gave a grant to the FFPS for the purpose.