Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Why the link between long-term research and conservation is a case worth making
- 2 Links between research and Protected Area management in Uganda
- 3 The use of research: how science in Uganda's National Parks has been applied
- 4 Long-term research and conservation in Kibale National Park
- 5 Monitoring forest–savannah dynamics in Kibale National Park with satellite imagery (1989–2003): implications for the management of wildlife habitat
- 6 Long-term studies reveal the conservation potential for integrating habitat restoration and animal nutrition
- 7 Long-term perspectives on forest conservation: lessons from research in Kibale National Park
- 8 Health and disease in the people, primates, and domestic animals of Kibale National Park: implications for conservation
- 9 The importance of training national and international scientists for conservation research
- 10 Community benefits from long-term research programs: a case study from Kibale National Park, Uganda
- 11 Potential interactions of research with the development and management of ecotourism
- 12 The human landscape around the Island Park: impacts and responses to Kibale National Park
- 13 Conservation and research in the Budongo Forest Reserve, Masindi District, Western Uganda
- 14 Long-term research and conservation in Gombe National Park, Tanzania
- 15 Long-term research and conservation in the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania
- 16 The contribution of long-term research by the Taï Chimpanzee Project to conservation
- 17 The Green Corridor Project: long-term research and conservation in Bossou, Guinea
- 18 Long-term research and conservation of the Virunga mountain gorillas
- 19 Long-term research and conservation of great apes: a global future
- 20 Long-term research and conservation: the way forward
- Index
- References
1 - Why the link between long-term research and conservation is a case worth making
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Why the link between long-term research and conservation is a case worth making
- 2 Links between research and Protected Area management in Uganda
- 3 The use of research: how science in Uganda's National Parks has been applied
- 4 Long-term research and conservation in Kibale National Park
- 5 Monitoring forest–savannah dynamics in Kibale National Park with satellite imagery (1989–2003): implications for the management of wildlife habitat
- 6 Long-term studies reveal the conservation potential for integrating habitat restoration and animal nutrition
- 7 Long-term perspectives on forest conservation: lessons from research in Kibale National Park
- 8 Health and disease in the people, primates, and domestic animals of Kibale National Park: implications for conservation
- 9 The importance of training national and international scientists for conservation research
- 10 Community benefits from long-term research programs: a case study from Kibale National Park, Uganda
- 11 Potential interactions of research with the development and management of ecotourism
- 12 The human landscape around the Island Park: impacts and responses to Kibale National Park
- 13 Conservation and research in the Budongo Forest Reserve, Masindi District, Western Uganda
- 14 Long-term research and conservation in Gombe National Park, Tanzania
- 15 Long-term research and conservation in the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania
- 16 The contribution of long-term research by the Taï Chimpanzee Project to conservation
- 17 The Green Corridor Project: long-term research and conservation in Bossou, Guinea
- 18 Long-term research and conservation of the Virunga mountain gorillas
- 19 Long-term research and conservation of great apes: a global future
- 20 Long-term research and conservation: the way forward
- Index
- References
Summary
In 1871 Charles Darwin feared for the future of great apes. “At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries,” he wrote, “the anthropomorphous apes … will no doubt be exterminated” (Darwin, 1871, p. 891). While Darwin's prognostication might seem gloomy, to those concerned with the conservation of great apes Darwin seems optimistic to have anticipated extinction in centuries rather than decades. The contemporary threats to tropical forests are so numerous and intense that most conservationists would be delighted if they could be assured that orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus), and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) would all still survive in the wild in 2100. Unfortunately, however, even such a modest hope may be unrealistic. The three most threatened species, orangutans, bonobos, and gorillas, are widely considered as candidates for global extinction within the next 100 years (Beck et al., 2001; Miles, 2005). If they go, so will large numbers of other animals and plants.
The problem would be bad enough if the scale of the threats to which tropical forests are currently exposed were to continue unchanged in the near future. All indications are, however, that the challenges of maintaining forests are going to grow enormously. This means that, if the tidal wave of forest destruction is ever to be turned back, a critical question is how much will be lost before then. What we do now will substantially affect the answer.
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- Science and Conservation in African ForestsThe Benefits of Longterm Research, pp. 1 - 8Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
References
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