Over the last 50 years there has been increasing use of charismatic large mammals and birds as ‘flagship species’ to raise funds and promote the ethos of conservation. However, species chosen to appeal to donor and membership groups may not necessarily be considered popular among local communities. A growing recognition of the need to engage local communities in conservation makes them an increasingly important audience for information about conservation. In such situations an awareness of the local perception and value of different species is central to choosing effective flagships. Emphasising this, we propose 10 criteria for the selection of flagship species. We then describe three examples of local flagship species and assess their use against these criteria: the Asian elephant Elephas maximus for the conservation of landscapes in Aceh, Indonesia, the flying fox Pteropus voeltzkowi for forest protection on Pemba Island, Tanzania, and the ceiba or kapok tree Ceiba pentandra for the conservation of forests in Belize.

Bushmeat is a large but largely invisible contributor to the economies of west and central African countries. Yet the trade is currently unsustainable. Hunting is reducing wildlife populations, driving more vulnerable species to local and regional extinction, and threatening biodiversity. This paper uses a commodity chain approach to explore the bushmeat trade and to demonstrate why an interdisciplinary approach is required if the trade is to be sustainable in the future.

The Choiseul 1995 project spent 6 months studying the Chiroptera of Choiseul, one of the least disturbed and most poorly known islands in the Solomons. Among the results were: the rediscovery of a member of the Megachiropteran genus Pteralopex, which had been thought possibly extinct; a new record of another endemic pteropodid with a limited distribution; and evidence of a decline in the ‘commonest’ member of the family in the archipelago. The threats, present and future, to these animals and the forests of the island are discussed. An overview of the status of Pteralopex spp. in the Solomons provides an insight into the need for conservation action in the country as a whole.

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