Covers the key steps in the attempt to develop guidelines for using wild species.

This pioneering book explores the influence of human values on the willingness of individuals to pay for the conservation of individual wildlife species (and classes of these), to be for or against their survival, and to favour or oppose their harvesting.

In recent years, some policymakers and conservationists have argued that natural resources will be protected only if economic benefits accrue to those who are responsible for caring for the resources. Such commercial consumptive use of wild species (CCU) provides an economically viable alternative to more ecologically destructive land uses, and could help accomplish the overall goals of biodiversity conservation. Yet many questions remain: Will the harvest of wild species be sustainable? Will habitats be protected? What tradeoffs are implied for the populations and ecosystems under management? While this debate goes on, researchers and managers are confronting an array of real-world problems in managing harvested populations of wild species. Wild Species as Commodities presents a balanced, scientifically rigorous consideration of the link between CCU and biodiversity conservation. The outgrowth of a four-year World Wildlife Fund study, the book is both a synthesis of findings and a practical guide. Topics examined include: forestry, fisheries, sport hunting, and nontimber forest products the economics of wild species use social and institutional frameworks required for sustainability ecological impacts biodiversity consequences of ecosystem specialization conservation benefits of wild species use management principles and guideline. Wild Species as Commodities provides a primer on the CCU-biodiversity link, and an interdisciplinary analysis of the major economic, social, and ecological factors involved, along with guidelines for incorporating biodiversity conservation into commercial harvesting programs. It is a highly accessible source of information, concepts, and management approaches for professionals in resource management and wildlife conservation, and academics in conservation biology, environmental and ecological economics, and environmental studies.

The relentless exploitation and unsustainable use of wildlife, whether for food, medicine or other uses, is a key concern for conservationists worldwide. Indeed, wildlife conservation and sustainable use have recently become centrepieces in conservation and development research. Assessment, interpretation and ultimate action in a scientific study of exploited species must consider numerous factors: from the biology, habitat requirements and population dynamics of the species in question to the relationships that people have with their environment and the species within it. Any long-term management plan must ensure that people and wildlife can coexist - otherwise it is doomed to failure. Conservation and Sustainable Use provides a practical and integrated approach to carrying out research on the conservation of exploited species. It is relevant to both tropical and temperate biomes and is applicable to all exploited species, including mammals, fish and plants. It describes both the practical (field) and theoretical (modelling) techniques for obtaining and interpreting information, integrating biological, social, economic and institutional analyses. It also demonstrates how to translate information into effective action through appropriate interventions, from legislation to changing people's attitudes. This is the first time that all these issues have been covered together in a single, practically-orientated volume. This book will be essential reading for graduate level students and researchers in conservation biology, human ecology, sociology and resource economics. It will also provide an important reference for anyone who is interested in carrying out a scientifically-based conservation programme for an exploited species, including field biologists, wildlife managers and practitioners in the fields of conservation and international development.

The general interest and attention paid to the use of the renewable natural resources of the world have increased greatly during the last decades. This is due to the environmental dilemma into which mankind has got itself by the total disregard of ecological facts and laws, the underprizing of natural resources and the overemphasis on economic develop ment, coupled with unimpeded rapid population growth and the preponderance of material istic consumption-oriented attitudes. The management and use of natural resources such as forests, grasslands, rivers and lakes were formerly considered purely in a financial context, whereas latterly, a consciousness of their social function and the indirect economic benefits which can be derived from them has developed. Thus, as regards these traditional resources, multi-use concepts comprising eco nomically oriented utilisation as well as recreational, educational and social use have be come widely accepted. Conservation of natural resources for sustainable consumptive as well as non-consumptive uses has been recognised as a key element for maintaining eco nomic development all over the world. Fortunately, the industrialised countries have started to apply this principle themselves and in their technical and financial aid to the developing Third World countries. This is manifest from policy documents such as the World Bank Policy on Development of Wild Lands, issued in 1987.

In Harvesting Wild Species Curtis Freese draws together a diverse group of authorities to discuss the conditions under which commercial use may serve as a conservation tool. Presenting fifteen case studies from around the world - in areas ranging from fisheries and forestry to non-timber forest products and trophy hunting - the authors explore the link between sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. Based on a study commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Harvesting Wild Species aims to raise among environmentalists, policy makers, funding agencies, students, and researchers an awareness of the role of economic incentives in conservation efforts.