Women with obstetric complications will seek hospital care if services are available. Government hospital services can be improved by building on existing resources. Obstetric CFR can be dramatically reduced. The need for safe abortion services, which are currently illegal in Sierra Leone, is demonstrated.

The project improved utilization of the PHUs by women with complications, indicating that once services are of acceptable quality, many women will use them. The contribution of the motivators was positive, though smaller than expected.

Contrary to neo-Malthusian assumptions population increase may not necessarily mean less biodiversity. More people may mean more care of the environment. Much depends on the circumstances through which local populations develop an awareness of, and practical involvement in, biodiversity management. This article considers two instances. In the first, an apparently pristine rain forest turns out on closer inspection to be heavy with the marks of past human occupance. This may have been quite good for some classes of biodiversity—the birds, for instance. In a second case, attention is paid to crop genetic resources in a densely populated agrarian landscape. Here genetic biodiversity may have been conserved through the activities of farmers selecting planting materials adapted to harsh physical conditions. Case-study material of this kind provides a basis for conservationists and community groups to develop mutual understanding.