SOUTHEAST ASIAN PRIMATES: SOCIO-ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

Primates and rainforests in Southeast Asia are declining rapidly. Over 40 years their ecology and behaviour have been documented, along with the loss of forests. Conservation needs to embrace protection of key habitats, especially watersheds, and sustainable management of large areas, so that 50% of the land area can be kept forested. Shifting cultivation and selective logging have roles to play, but monocultures are a real threat. Translocation and reintroduction have increasing roles to play in preventing extinction. Education of peoples, locally and globally, and of governments, are crucial.