Message to Readers 



FA O Regional Office for Africa - Natural Resources/ Fisheries/ Forestry Technical Team' 



Thematic News 



This is a special edition of Nature & Faune magazine. We have heard news in recent months (August and 

 September 2008) of governments of Cameroon and Nigeria providing new conservation support to 

 Cross river gorillas. Rwanda and Burundi also came together to sign an agreement to safeguard the 

 largest remaining block of mountain forest in East Africa inhabited by endangered primates such as 

 chimpanzees, rare-owl faced monkeys, and other species found nowhere else on earth. Are wildlife 

 conservation and sustainable utilization explicitly taken into account in the design and implementation 

 of management plans for these forest ecosystems and others in different parts of Africa? Were these 

 positive steps incidental? Whichever the case we need to consolidate gains achieved and make new 

 advancements. 



Focus 



Although the broad idea conveyed by this special edition of Nature & Faune magazine is putting wildlife 

 management squarely into forest management in Africa, this theme expands to include topics such as 

 collaborative efforts between wildlife and forestry practitioners. It reviews what is going on in Wildlife 

 and Protected Areas management in Africa and how this relates to forest management; as well as 

 appraisal of the extent of involvement of rural people in conservation. In addition, we have in the menu a 

 special feature on Rethinking West African Forest Management with a Regional Approach. As themes 

 are often interpreted in diverse ways regardless of the original intent we received quite a bevy of 

 manuscripts from which we are publishing those that are related on a deeper, more abstract level. 



In focussing on Morocco in this Issue, a virtual conversation with Dr. Moulay Youssef Alaoui on 

 Morocco's efforts in managing its forests to develop its wildlife is presented. 



Articles 



Traditionally Nature & Faune carries only 4 articles. In this issue, however, we are offering our readers 

 ten articles which make this a special edition! The articles shine the spotlight on both moist and dry forest 

 ecosystems and explore how wildlife conservation and sustainable use are integrated into management 

 plans of forest concessions of the Congo Basin in central Africa sub-region. The use of landscape 

 approaches to improve the integration of wildlife in forest management plans and managing production 

 forests for biodiversity are also examined. Community based actions have not been left out as portrayed 

 by the experience in Tayna Natural Reserve in Democratic Republic of Congo. Studies to determine the 

 financial potential of big games in tourism and establishing the maximum and minimum exploitation 

 values for these big games give you an idea about the financial gains that could accrue from big game 

 based tourism. 



A summary of the CBD Technical Series publication "Conservation and Use of Wildlife Based 

 Resources: The Bushmeat Crisis" (Nasi et al., 2008) is included in this Issue. It presents a number of 

 policy recommendations to improve the sustainability of wildlife-based resources use in tropical forests, 

 including strengthening national ownership of bushmeat in a way that provides long-term local and 

 national benefits. Another article presents a different type of bushmeat - aquatic bushmeat. The authors 



'raft Natural Resources - Fisheries - Forestry, (RAFT NR-FI-FO), FAO Regional Office for Africa, R O. Box 1628 

 Accra. GHANA, Tel: 233-2 1 -675000 Ext. 3 1 94, 233 2 1 70 1 930 ext. 3 1 94;/ax.- 233-21-668 427 



Nature & Faune Vol. 23, Issue 1 vil 



