Six ‘Fontainebleau Veterans’

Six ‘Fontainebleau Veterans’

Chapman: Conservation of Island Ecosystems in the South-West Pacific Nepean. Phillip, although scheduled as a forest reserve, is almost devoid of vege...

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Chapman: Conservation of Island Ecosystems in the South-West Pacific Nepean. Phillip, although scheduled as a forest reserve, is almost devoid of vegetation owing particularly to the ravages of rabbits which were introduced there by officers of the former convict garrison on Norfolk Island. Of its three endemic plants, one, Hibiscus insularis, is reduced to a few specimens and another, Streblorrhiza speciosa, is probably extinct (Dr R. Melville in litt., 1968).*

Samoan Islands The Western Samoan group (Fig. 1) consists of four main islands: Population (1961) Upolu 1,115 sq km 82,479 Savaii 1,697 sq km 31,948 Manono 2.82 sq km 941 Apolina 1.02 sq km 83 There are five small off-shore islets, each of only a few hectares, and whether any one is worthy of conservation will require further study.

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stacks, and they number approximately 500. All of these islands are regarded as important from a wildlife viewpoint, and the policy has been to preserve as many as possible in their natural condition. Quite a few contain endemic plant and animal species. The islands have been divided into 4 categories: Series A (see Table I1) 42 islands or groups, considered to be of major importance. Many of these islands have on them rare species of plants and animals. In some cases they form the only known breeding places of particular species or subspecies of birds. On many of the islands there are, or were, some form of pests. On some of these the pests have been eliminated by the New Zealand Wildlife Service, whilst on others there is some provision for a measure of pest control. Series B 43 islands of lesser importance. Series C 41 islands.

New Zealand Islands Besides some other groups of which we have no pertinent data as yet, there are all the numerous offshore islands around New Zealand. These vary in size from Stewart Island (670 sq miles) to individual rock * See Dr Melville's account of 'The Endemics of Phillip Island' elsewhere in this issue.--Ed.

Series D The remainder. These have either not been investigated or are only of minor value so far as conservation is concerned. It is clear that New Zealand has recognized the importance of island conservation and, so long as the status of any island is not reduced, provision can be regarded as adequate.

Six 'Fontainebleau Veterans' These six prominent men from different nations met at Unesco House in Paris on 10 September 1968 to observe the twentieth anniversary of the founding of what is now the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The 'Fontainebleau

Professor Jean-Paul Harroy, of Belgium, first SecretaryGeneral of the International Union for the Protection of Nature (which later became IUCN) and author of the above article on its 'Origine et Constitution'. All six men were among some 300 delegates from more than sixty countries, plus international organizations, who attended the Intergovernmental Conference of Experts on the Scientific Basis for Rational Use and Conservation of the Resources of the Biosphere at Unesco House during 4-13 September 1968. IUCN was one of the several international organizations that cooperated with Unesco in the Biosphere Conference, and was by far the best-represented. Photo by courtesy of Ren6 Morrell, Head of the Photographic Section, Radio and Visual Information Division, Unesco, Place de Fontenoy, Paris 7% France.

veterans' are, from left to right: Professor Reino Kalliola, of Finland, Mr H. E. A. Flon, of France, Dr Harold J. Coolidge, Jr, of the United States, present President of IUCN, Dr F. Fraser Darling, of Britain, a Vice-President of IUCN, Mr Johannes Goudswaard, of Holland, and

Barren-ground Grizzlies Oryx (vol. IX, No. 4, May 1968) remarks with seeming relief that 'Protection for the barren ground grizzly bear in the Canadian Northwest Territories, which was removed in 1963 against the advice of the Canadian Wildlife Service and the protests of conservationists all over the world, including the FPS', has been restored. Yet as recently as 1947 your Editor on more than one occasion saw several specimens of Ursus richardsoni in a single day while pursuing his ecological investigations about the forest limits in the vicinity of the Horton River and, in the Barrens, northwards towards Cape Bathurst, N.W.T. The species is listed in the IUCN Red Data Book.