Africa

Over the last 30 years the African wild dog population has declined dramatically. Dogs have disappeared from 25 of the 39 countries in which they were previously found, and only 6 populations are believed to number more than 100 animals. Today it is believed that between 3,000 and 5,500 dogs remain in 600-1,000 packs only and most of these are to be found in eastern and southern Africa.

The objective of this bibliography is to provide an overview of available literature (up to January 1997) concerning non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in the tropical forests of Africa. With this publication, the Netherlands Committee for IUCN hopes to facilitate and encourage the work of government institutions, NGOs and others who wish to engage in studies or activities on NTFPs in tropical Africa.

First edited in English, this is the first fully comprehensive study of the current state of the tropical moist forests of Africa. African moist forests, containing well over half the continent's biological diversity, are disappearing at a rate of about 2 per year, the fastest in the world.

Wild caprinae, including sheep and goats, are an extremely valuable group of mammals. While most live in mountains, some inhabit desert grasslands, tropical forests or even arctic tundra. They range in size from the 30kg goral to the 350kg musk ox and display a variety of horn shapes and sizes as well as coat and body coloration. They are highly prized by hunters on account of their horns and their coats.

The findings of a survey of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) in six east/central African countries and Madagascar conducted from 1987 to 1989 are presented. The project was designed to give assistance to couontries that had started to use their crocodile resources and were looking to continue exploitation through ranching

Results of a study of the exploitation of the African monitors in various countries. It includes a look at the economic and ecological aspects of the problem.