February 2012: The February edition of the Species e-Bulletin, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC), features an article on the efforts by IUCN’s Viet Nam office to establish two new protected areas to offset the environmental impacts of the quarrying operations of Holcim Viet Nam Ltd (HVL), among other articles.

The e-Bulletin also reports that the Tapir Specialist Group developed its Strategic Plan 2012-2014 during the Fifth International Tapir Symposium held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2011. The plan includes 53 action steps the Group will put into practice over the next three years, up until the Sixth International Tapir Symposium to be held in Brazil in 2014.

The Antelope Specialist Group announces the launch of the latest edition of its newsletter, Gunsletter, which features an article that highlights that saiga numbers in Kazakhstan have quintupled over eight years.

The e-Bulletin reports on the Canid Specialist Group news, including the publication of its Strategic Planning for Ethiopian Wolf Conservation. The document includes a detailed species status review and a blueprint for the conservation of the wolf.

Other articles in the e-Bulletin address: threatened marine species in tropical eastern Pacific; the increase in the sale of elephant meat and resulting threats to elephants in Central Africa; France’s joining “Save our Species” (SOS), a global conservation fund initiated by IUCN, the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF); and the creation by Niger of the largest protected area in Africa. [Species e-Bulletin, February 2012] [Gunsletter, Vol 30, nº1, February 2012]