This monthly Bulletin, as a supplement to SPECIES, SSC’s published newsletter, is to keep staff, members and the wider IUCN network up-to-date with news and announcements from the Commission.

Previous issues: visit the archives

In this issue:

IUCN GUIDELINES FOR AFRICAN ELEPHANT RE-INTRODUCTION AND TRANSLOCATION AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
African elephant translocations and re-introductions are becoming increasingly common tools in elephant management and conservation. The issues surrounding translocations are extensive and complex requiring consideration of a number of technical factors yet surprisingly little technical information is available to guide those planning such moves. This lack of guidance has often resulted in poorly planned translocations with adverse consequences to elephants, humans and the environment. A document produced jointly by the SSC African Elephant and Re-introduction Specialist Groups is the first attempt to fill the technical vacuum by providing a series of guidelines on the translocation of African elephants for re-introduction, enhancement or management purposes. The guidelines are available for public review and comment until 27 May 2003 at: http://www.iucn.org/afesg/tools/pdfs/TnsGdlDft.pdf Please send comments to Leo Niskanen, Programme Officer, African Elephant Specialist Group, Email: afesg@ssc.iucn.org

AUSTRALIAN NETWORK FOR PLANT CONSERVATION (ANPC) RECOVERY WORKSHOP
“Recovery: A decade towards a biodiverse future” was the theme of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation’s Fifth National Conference and Conservation Techniques Workshops held in Victoria, Australia recently. The ANPC also acts as the SSC Australasian Plant Specialist Group. Over 160 delegates from Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the UK discussed current issues and developments in the recovery and conservation of Australia’s threatened plants, communities and populations. A previously thought to be extinct species, Geranium Sp 1, received a greatly increased profile in the local and broader conservation community alike, as the feature species of the conference. A series of Conservation Techniques Workshops were held which provided an unprecedented injection of expertise into the region, enabling members of community groups to learn practical skills and the latest cutting-edge science. The name of the ANPC newsletter has changed from “Danthonia” to “Australasian Plant Conservation: Journal of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation”. For more information contact Jeanette Mill, Email: jeanette.mill@ea.gov.au http://www.anbg.gov.au/anpc

SSC INPUT TO THE FIFTH WORLD PARKS CONGRESS
SSC will be providing significant input to the Fifth World Parks Congress which takes place in Durban, South Africa, September 2003. As well as being involved in several of the workshop streams, the meeting offers the chance for the Commission to showcase its products and activities. There will be an SSC display featuring demonstrations, publications and a series of posters highlighting SSC’s work as it relates to protected areas and their management. In the run-up to the Congress, the IUCN communications team will be highlighting a series of protected area stories on the IUCN website, as well as in other outlets such as electronic bulletins. We urge Specialist Groups to send in news of their activities relating to species and protected areas (including Marine Protected Areas) to be included in the various communications activities. Stories that demonstrate the benefits of protected areas, and examples of sustainable use activity relating to protected areas are welcome. Please send your news to Anna Knee, Email: alk@iucn.org and for more information on the Congress see: http://www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/wpc2003/

RE-INTRODUCTION SPECIALIST GROUP CD-ROM
The SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group (RSG) has produced a resource CD which includes an introduction to the RSG, 22 issues of RSG’s newsletter (November 1990 – January 2003), RSG Guidelines, SSC and other conservation policies and reports, Re-introduction Practitioners Directory, Specialist Group Bibliography, and RSG and SSC Strategic Plans. The CD was produced to fulfill the objectives of the RSG and SSC Strategic Plan. It provides access to RSG literature for the wider conservation community and especially for those who may have little or no Internet access. For more information contact: RSG Executive Officer, Pritpal S. Soorae, Email: PSoorae@erwda.gov.ae

AWARD FOR IUCN/SSC PLANT CONSERVATION COMMITTEE MEMBER
SSC congratulates Dr David Bramwell MBE, member of the SSC Plant Conservation Committee on his recent receipt of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas Ninth International Award of Excellence. Dr Bramwell is a leading authority on the plants of the Canary Islands and on island plants in general, and has been Director of the Canary Islands Botanic Garden since 1974. Under his leadership, the garden has assumed major significance in global efforts to conserve plant diversity. Dr Bramwell has written more than 110 papers on subjects such as plant taxonomy, biogeography, conservation, and the modern role of botanical gardens.

SSC STAFF CHANGES
The Species Programme welcomes Camille Soulié who replaces Isabelle Weber as Finance Assistant. Camille has dual Swiss and French nationality, she holds a business school degree and brings with her diverse experience. Before joining SSC, she worked as manager's assistant for the European Patent Office in the Netherlands. Camille is fluent in French and English and has some knowledge of German.

SUSTAINABLE USE SPECIALIST GROUP CHANGES
The office of the Sustainable Use Team that supported the work of the SSC Sustainable Use Specialist Group has now closed. Based at the IUCN offices in Washington DC, Ruth Barreto and David Beamont provided several years of dedicated guidance to the group, helping to build it into IUCN's main vehicle for promoting understanding of sustainable use, and SSC is extremely grateful to them. Dr Jon Hutton recently took over as Chair of the Group and is based in Cambridge, UK. He is widely recognized as an authority on many aspects of international wildlife conservation policy including CITES and wildlife trade, protected area management, community based conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. He is keen to restructure the Group and is currently engaged in discussion with the regional Chairs.

EUROPEAN INVERTEBRATE SPECIALIST GROUP MEETING
The inaugural meeting of the European Invertebrate Specialist Group will be held on Monday 8 September in Cardiff, UK and will coincide with meetings of the Bern Group of Invertebrate Experts and the European Invertebrate Survey. A two day colloquium on the theme of Red Listing European invertebrates hosted jointly by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the National Museums and Galleries of Wales is being held alongside these meetings. Further details are available at: http://www.jncc.gov.uk/INCardiff2003.

If you would like more information on any of the items included in this issue or wish to submit an item to future issues, please contact Anna Knee at alk@iucn.org tel: +41 (0)22 999 0153.