James Burton has recently assumed the Chair of the Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group. He earned a degree from Bristol University and Masters in Conservation Biology from Manchester Metropolitan University. His PhD study was on the population genetics and conservation of dwarf buffalo (Anoa) from Sulawesi Island, Indonesia (University of Edinburgh & Roslin Institute). Since 2004 he has continued to develop projects on genetics and conservation of these buffalo and other Sulawesi species in collaboration with Indonesian and European partners. This includes building strong links between in situ and ex situ conservation. The AWCSG is structured in three Working Groups. Information collated by the Saola Working Group led to the recent update of the Saola Red List Status from 'Endangered' to 'Critically Endangered' since Saola was first described by science in Vu Quang (Vietnam) in the early 1990s. Members of the Working Group are focusing efforts on field conservation actions proposed at the first international Saola workshop in Vietnam in 2004, both in Vietnam and Lao PDR. The effectiveness of this Group is due to the collaboration between multiple NGOs and both national governments.

Increasing the activities of the Large Bovini and the Dwarf Buffalo Working Groups is an important goal for the coming years. The Group’s highest priority is the completion of the first AWCSG Status Survey and Action Plan before the end of this quadrennium.