IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
© IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group

Volume 8 Pages 1 - 47 (February 1993)

IUCN/SCC OSG Group
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From the Chairman's Desk

The Otter Specialist Group is now facing its biggest challenge since the development of our Action Plan, the reality of translating this plan into real conservation fiction. Now that our Action Plan has been in print for two years, it is time for another stage of development to begin. As you know, our document, "Otters, an Action Plan for their Conservation" did a reasonable job of showing the state of our information (or lack of it!) about the status of otter populations in most countries worldwide. Although this is a useful reference book, it is difficult to translate this document into fundable proposals to initiate further conservation action.

Accordingly, in 1993, I would like to focus our efforts on developing particular and well-designed proposals to generate the funding necessary for our work to continue and expand. These projects, to be successful, need an interdisciplinary focus, with conservation and with other taxa that share our otter habitats. To this end, I am working on forging closer ties for our group with other related IUCN Specialist Groups, including those concerned with marine mammals, river turtles, crocodilians, other small carnivores, as well as with the Wetlands Programme and Ramsar.

Your help is needed individually to insure the success of this effort. As a goal, we need to develop a few interdisciplinary proposals for each of our regions that are designed around the conservation needs and funding sources for these areas. The IUCN/SSC Sir Peter Scott Fund has made a small amount of funding available to us to develop these regional proposals and locale funding for them. In the upcoming months, your regional coordinators and 1 will look to all of you for your ideas for projects, your suggestions for possible funding sources and for your help in taking the Otter Specialist Group to its next stage of development.

I hope to see many of you in South Africa in September where we can work together to shape the future of our group and the species and habitats we represent worldwide. If you cannot attend this meeting, your input is still very valuable to all of us. Your regional coordinators and I look forward to hearing from you and to working closely with you in 1993.

Dr Pat Foster-Turley,
Chairman, IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group
Marine World Foundation
Marine World Parkway
Vallejo, CA 94589
USA

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