The conservation quandary: can wildlife NGOs save Africa's animals?

Last year Cambridge University zoologist Dr Ian Craigie and his colleagues released a report called ‘Large mammal population declines in Africa's protected areas'. The paper, published in Biological Conservation, analysed 78 protected areas from southern, East and West Africa and concluded that Africa's large mammal populations had declined by 59 per cent over the past 40 years. Large primates are the big losers, as are lions, African wild dogs and cheetahs. That's hardly news - a growing number of studies have highlighted these trends - but these figures also apply to many ungulate species we may regard as common. Wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, hartebeest, eland and giraffe - they are all there too. Moreover, as the survey excluded national parks and reserves in remote locations, as well as wilderness areas falling outside formal protection, the wider situation is likely to be far worse.

These declines have occurred despite the endeavours of an entire industry,...

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