STRATEGIC COLLECTION PLANNING - THEORY AND PRACTICE

Strategic collection planning is a relatively new concept for toes. Un til recently, personal preference, availability, and competition deter mined which species or subspecies were acquired. In the last few years , however, there have been attempts to employ systematic criteria for taxon selection that better serve conservation objectives. Planning cu rrently occurs at three levels: global, regional, and institutional. T he current planning process is reviewed and recommendations are made f or ways the process might be improved. An efficient, economical, and e ffective collection planning process is critical if modern, profession ally managed zoological institutions are to make a significant impact on wildlife and ecosystem conservation. Rather than selecting taxa sol ely on the possibility of a future reintroduction, serious considerati on should be given to the ability of a species or subspecies to contri bute to more immediate conservation goals, including public education, fund raising to support field conservation, and scientific research. Because resources are limited, perhaps toes should focus their long-te rm breeding programs primarily on flagship species-that is, those that have the potential to excite public attention and help to protect hab itat and other taxa-rather than on a broad array of species that are c urrently endangered. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.