Abstract
TROPICAL forests are among the most seriously threatened terrestrial environments, and while biologists and conservationists argue for preservation, the plunder continues virtually unabated1. In Sri Lanka (Ceylon), for example, the southern rain forests and montane forests contain a rich assemblage of endemic animals, but despite the protestations of the local conservationists, deforestation is rapidly destroying these habitats. One reason for govenment inaction in Sri Lanka, as elsewhere, may be the inability of conservationists to make an objective case for the value or uniqueness of these forests. In this paper, we propose some new approaches to this old problem.
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SENANAYAKE, F., SOULÉ, M. & SENNER, J. Habitat values and endemicity in the vanishing rain forests of Sri Lanka. Nature 265, 351–354 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/265351a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/265351a0
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