The world of the conservation biologist is nothing if not challenging. Continually limited funding, a depressing litany of habitat and species losses, a burgeoning human population that does not seem to grasp the relevance or depth of our problems, and a complex natural world with few easy and clear answers are just a few of the challenges that we face daily. Despite that, we continue on, confident in the knowledge that we are doing the right thing and hopeful that the global situation will improve with our help. We have little choice but to forge ahead if we truly believe that what we are doing is correct and necessary, so we persevere against evermounting odds.

Based on field research in the Central African Republic, this article discusses several social and economic challenges to conservation programmes that include community development components. These interrelated challenges include immigration as people elsewhere are attracted to economic opportunities, the lack of tenure of land and natural resources, diversification of economic and subsistence strategies, ethnic diversity and the lack of a conservation ethic. Addressing these challenges requires fundamental socio-economic change.

The Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Area was established in September 1995. At 3.44 million hectares it is one of South America's largest protected areas. The tropical dry forest of the Chaco, which this reserve protects, is Bolivia's most threatened major lowland habitat type. With the creation of this reserve the protected-area coverage of the Gran Chaco increased to 4.7 per cent. With at least 69 species of mammals (the Chiroptera have not yet been surveyed), it is one of the richest Neotropical sites for this taxonomic group. The Kaa-Iya park is being administered by the Izoceño-Guaraní Indian organization, the Capitanía del Alto y Bajo Izozog, and puts community-based conservation into practice. Threats to the park include encroachment by colonists, ranchers and farmers; the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline; and hunting.

Pegasid fishes (sea moths) have only entered the arsenal of traditional Chinese medicine within the past few decades, but are now used in southern China and Hong Kong to treat respiratory ailments and cancers. Brief trade surveys suggest that millions of individuals of two pegasid species are used each year, and that they cost relatively little compared with other ingredients. Most pegasids are apparently a bycatch of trawl fishing, which has recently intensified near China. Trade and use of these fishes is expanding – they have been sought in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam – and should be monitored, particularly because the biology of pegasids makes these fishes vulnerable to exploitation.

The Choiseul 1995 project spent 6 months studying the Chiroptera of Choiseul, one of the least disturbed and most poorly known islands in the Solomons. Among the results were: the rediscovery of a member of the Megachiropteran genus Pteralopex, which had been thought possibly extinct; a new record of another endemic pteropodid with a limited distribution; and evidence of a decline in the ‘commonest’ member of the family in the archipelago. The threats, present and future, to these animals and the forests of the island are discussed. An overview of the status of Pteralopex spp. in the Solomons provides an insight into the need for conservation action in the country as a whole.

St Helena is a small Atlantic island with an unusual and remarkable flora and fauna but with a legacy of ecological destruction typical of oceanic islands. The efforts of the island's governmental Endemic Section in the conservation of the flora and fauna is examined alongside the objectives of the section as listed in its current business plan. The worthy level of progress that is evident (including the rediscovery of species, habitat restoration and a high level of environmental awareness) is attributed to local ownership, an emphasis on education, and pragmatism and flexibility. The problems that limit the section's long-term effectiveness are funding, limited baseline ecological information and limited technical understanding.