David Western is senior conservationist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and chairman of the African Conservation Centre. He was formerly director of Kenya Wildlife Service and chairman of the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya and IUCN's African Elephant and Rhino Specialist Groups. He is the editor of Natural Connections.
Both realism and justice demand that efforts to conserve biological diversity address human needs as well. The most promising hope of accomplishing such a goal lies in locally based conservation efforts -- an approach that seeks ways to make local communities the beneficiaries and custodians of conservation efforts.
Natural Connections focuses on rural societies and the conservation of biodiversity in rural areas.