Pteropus livingstonii, P. voeltzkowi, and P. rodricensis are three critically endangered fruit bats from western Indian Ocean islands for which multidisciplinary conservation programs have been established that include environmental education programs (EEPs). We describe these EEPs in terms of the strategies used to achieve them and evaluate the educational and conservation outcomes and impacts of the programs. Educational outputs (including posters, stickers, videos, lesson plans, and workshops), primarily linking human needs to the ecosystem services provided by bats, were delivered to schools and community groups, and local environmental educators were trained to further develop the EEPs. Outcomes included increased local awareness about the bats and their conservation, training of environmental educators, inclusion of bat conservation and environmental issues in the school curricula, and establishment of community-based environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Extensive prior planning, presentations in local languages, distribution of outputs through existing networks of educators, training of local educators, establishment of local environmental NGOs, and local capacity-building were all associated with these EEPs achieving their goals in the under-resourced island locations where these bats are found. The EEPs were also important in the development of other components of their respective conservation programs, such as population monitoring programs. Although long-term conservation impacts, particularly tackling habitat loss, are slow to materialize and social and economic issues need to be addressed, these EEPs have already had important outcomes and have established the foundation for future conservation actions. ‡ ‡ ‡Current address: Action Comores (International), The Old Rectory, Stansfield, Suffolk, CO10 8LT, United Kingdom, email will.trewhella@ nottingham.ac.uk § § §Current address: 76 Fruit Bat Education Programs Trewhella et al. Resumen: Pteropus livingstonii, P. voeltzkowi, y P. rodricensis son tres especies de murciélagos frugívoros en peligro crítico en islas del OcéanoÍndico Occidental para las que se han establecido programas multidisciplinarios de conservación que incluyen programas de educación ambiental (PEE). Describimos estos PEE en términos de las estrategias utilizadas para llevarlos a cabo y los evaluamos en relación con sus resultados e impactos educativos y de conservación. Productos educativos (incluyendo carteles, calcomanías, videos, planes de enseñanza y talleres), principalmente relacionando necesidades humanas con los servicios ecológicos proporcionados por murciélagos, fueron entregados a escuelas y grupos comunitarios, y se capacitó a educadores ambientales locales para desarrollar los PEE. Los resultados incluyeron incremento en la percepción local sobre los murciélagos y su conservación, capacitación de educadores ambientales, inclusión de temas de conservación y ambientales en el currículo de escuelas y el establecimiento de organizaciones no gubernamentales (O...

Data from a Badger sett survey undertaken in the mid-1980s were used to calculate the effects of past persecution and land-use changes on Badger numbers. The current British Badger population was estimated to be 41,894 4404 social groups; if the effects of past persecution were eliminated, the population could be 43,437 f 4731 social groups, an increase of 3.7%. Most of this increase relates to persecution in Norfolk and Suffolk last century. In Britain the Badger population is largely confined to those areas which are intensively managed, and the numbers and distribution of Badgers reflect patterns of agricultural activity, However, over-intensive use of the landscape is detrimental to Badger numbers. To quantrfy the impact of land-use changes on the British Badger population, a number of habitat features favourable to Badgers were identified; 1-km squares that contained five or more such features had significantly higher mean Badger densities. If all the 1-km squares were managed to include five or more of the habitat features favoured by Badgers, and the effects of persecution were eliminated, the Badger population could be 58,284 5640 social groups, an increase of 39%. The absence of ~emi-~tural broadleaved woodlands in a 1-km square had the greatest effect in reducing Badger numbers, and tree-planting schemes may be beneficial in providing potential new sett sites. However, Badgers are poor colonists, and the construction of artificial setts and the translocation of displaced social groups of Badgers will &ready facilitate the colonization process. The value of such an approach for predicting the effects of future land-use policy on Badgers and other species, and for managing the British wildlife resources, is discussed.

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Pteropus livingstonii is one of the world's most endangered fruit bats, with a small population limited to two of the Comoro Islands (western Indian Ocean), Surveys carried out in 1992 and 1993 suggest that the population numbers around 150 individuals. Loss of habitat through deforestation is the major threat to this species. Old World Fruit Bats: An Action Plan for their Conservation recommends captive-breeding of this species as one of 20 priority projects. The FFPS helped fund both the preparation of the Action Plan and the field projects described in this paper.