Bat conservation: Past, present and future

Abstract

The critical event by which bat conservation is progressed in a country is the establishment of a dedicated NGO. This allows long-term conservation projects to be carried out and provides a mechanism for recruiting and harnessing the enthusiasm of volunteers. Such organisations, whose aim is to conserve bats, have been established in most European countries, as well as in those comprising North, Central and South America; Australasia and parts of Asia. The rest of the world-most of Africa, parts of South and Southeast Asia, all of Central Asia and much of the Russian Federation-remains a conservation void so far as bats are concerned, although there are individuals working in isolation in some of the countries concerned. The opportunities that have facilitated the development of bat conservation organisations are reviewed in the hope that they may now be pursued in some of the countries where such conservation is non-existent.