Conservation Around the Worm

and delight, the entire wealth of diverse animals and plants,' said Dr Anton Rupert in his presidential address at the second annual general meeting of the SA Wildlife Foundation. A number of prominent business and other leaders attended the meeting which was held at Stellenbosch on 1 May 1970. Members were pleased to note that encouraging progress had been made by the Foundation since its inception in June 1968.*

The nature conservation programme of the Founda- tion already includes meritorious undertakings such as the sponsoring of a Chair in Wildlife Management at the University of Pretoria; transferring an earmarked donation from the USA to the SA National Parks Board for the building of the Engelhard Dam in the Kruger National Park; a grant towards the salary of a full-time lecturer in Nature Conservation at the University of Stellenbosch; sponsoring a research programme concerning marine turtles along the south- east African coast; grants towards nature conservation and the maintenance of animal protection societies; financial aid towards relocating White Rhinos'~ in the Kruger National Park and in the game reserves of Mozambique, etc.

Nature conservation projects in neighbouring countries, which have already attracted much attention and provoked interest in the work of the SA Wildlife Foundation, comprise the following: the enlargement and development of the Mlilwane Game Sanctuary in Swaziland,$ providing road-building units to Botswana and Malawi for the construction of patrol-roads and fire-breaks, and equipment for a Wildlife Research Unit in Malawi.

The Board of Trustees of the SA Wildlife Foundation decided to support the following projects in the course of the current year:

1. The Development of the first National Park in Lesotho.**

2. Conservation programme for our marine turtles. 3. A conservation and research programme for

South African coastal birds. 4. Black Rhino rescue campaign in Rhodesia.

J. E. M. VERWEY, Director, South African Wildlife Foundation, P.O. Box 456 Stellenbosch, Republic o f South Africa.

* Cf. Biol. Conserv., 2(1), p. 63, October 1969. t See the account and photo which we published last year (Biol. Conserv., 2(1), p. 17, October 1969).--Ed. $ See the account by Mr Verwey in our second-ever issue (Biol. Conserv., 1(2), p. 184, January 1969), and the subse- quent follow-up on page 232 of that same volume.--Ed. ** See this issue, p. 67.--Ed,

ZERO POPULATION GROWTH, INC. : PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

71

History ZPG is an action organization whose aim is to

bring about human population stability in the United States and to reduce environmental degradation. It was founded in Old Mystic, Connecticut, in December of 1968, as a result of a meeting held at Yale University in the autumn of that year. Actually it is mainly the brain-child of three concerned and dedicated indivi- duals who have been involved in this area of work for a number of years: Professor Paul R. Ehrlich of Stanford, Professor Charles L. Remington of Yale, and Attorney Richard M. Bowers.

It was determined at the time when the Corporate Papers were filed, that ZPG should not become a tax- deductible entity inasmuch as ZPG would concentrate its efforts on education and political action. Political organizations are not entitled to a tax-deductible status. It was felt at the time that there was a clear-cut need to bring this issue into the political arena as well as to the attention of the general public.

In May of 1969, ZPG held its first annual meeting and elected its officers and Board of Directors. Paul Ehrlich was elected President, Don C. Shaw Vice- President, Richard M. Bowers Secretary and Executive Director, and Mrs Carol Fessenden as Treasurer.

Also in May of 1969, while ZPG was being organized on the East Coast of the United States, plans were being made to organize activities on the West Coast. After considerable correspondence between Richard M. Bowers, Paul Ehrlich, and the undersigned, it was decided that a chapter structure would be desirable. The undersigned agreed to organize that structure.

What started out as a local chapter in Los Altos, California, exploded into several chapters in the immediate Bay Area. After that, chapters were put together elsewhere in the nation, and by September of 1969 ZPG had thirteen chapters and approximately 700 members, the great bulk of them being in Califor- nia. In September of 1969, an office was opened in Los Altos, staffed by volunteers, and actively function- ing. Because of this development, along with the heavy concentration of members in California, it was decided at the Board of Directors' meeting in September of 1969, to move the National Office to Los Altos, and the undersigned was elected Executive Director.

Present The National Office remains in Los Altos, but in

February 1970 a Washington, D.C., Office was opened and staffed for the purpose of lobbying. Our member- ship now in the middle of 1970 exceeds 23,000, and we have 250 chapters across the nation, Until recently,

72 Biological Conservation

our major thrust has been in gaining new members, and that has been our primary activity. We are now engaged in political activity, with Californians taking the lead in working for political can- didates who possess dedication and vision relative to the population crisis. In both the Washington and California Offices, staffmembers write legislation, often on the request of members of the State Legislature in California, or of members of the Congress, for introduc- tion. The National Office is currently helping groups of chapters in California and other states to form state- wide federations, in order that they can become viable political action groups. The National Office is pro- viding the direction for lobbying in State Legislatures and is supporting political candidates. At the same time, our chapters are recruiting new members and establishing speakers' bureaus, organizing seminars, etc., for the purpose of educating the general public.

Future Based on our modest success of the past year, it is

estimated that we will, with a major drive, have approximately I00,000 members by the end of 1970. In addition to a major membership drive this summer and autumn, the National Office is organizing a major fund-raising drive. We will continue all of our present activities, and work for political candidates through the November elections. It is our hope, however, that by the end of the year, we will have sufficient members and funds to be a meaningful political organization in this nat ion-- to support candidates on a much broader scale, work for repeal of all anti-abortion and anti-contraception laws, and launch a major educa- tional programme that will reach the general public.

Our long-range goal is to be in a position to make the primary issue of the 1972 Presidental election that of over-population and environmental deterioration.

ZPG- - ln ternational ? There has been considerable debate concerning

whether ZPG should become an international move- ment. The general feeling among the Board of Direc- tors has been that while this is desirable, it somehow would not be proper for an American organization to take the initiative in other countries. However, a trend seems to be developing that, whether or not we become actively engaged on an international level, we will be developing 'sister affiliates' in other countries. A National ZPG organization has developed in Canada, and will follow our organizational procedures fairly closely, adhering to our purposes and goals; but they will tailor their methods and activity to Canadian standards, and of course to Canadian political processes.

We have also found that there is interest in India in duplicating ZPG--i .e. in setting up a national organi- zation with chapters located in various cities. Several Indian citizens have expressed a desire to start 'chapters', and have sought our advice and help.

We are hearing a few rumors about England and France, but nothing really concrete so far. In fact none of the above is concrete enough at this stage to provide detailed information. Canada is firming up, as they already have several chapters and are in the process of filing formal papers with the Canadian Government. At present this effort is being led by Professor R. C. Plowright, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

SHIRLEY L. RADL,

Executive Director, Zero Population Growth,

367 State Street,

Los Altos,

California 94022, USA.

CONFERENCES & MEETINGS

NINTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF GAME BIOLOGISTS, Moscow, USSR, 15-19 SEPTEMBER 1969

The International Union of Game Biologists, constituted in the 1950s, holds a major Congress every two years to discuss important problems of wildlife management, to exchange knowledge on game management practices, and to report on the further development of scientific research in this field. As the Union has no regular staff, no fees, and no permanent headquarters, its activities during each biennium are in the hands of the country in which the next Congress is to be held, which does all the spade-work

for the ensuing Congress and finally publishes its Trans- actions.

The preparation and administration of the IX Interna- tional Congress of Game Biologists were carried out by the USSR National Organizing Committee under the Chair- manship of Mr B. N. Bogdanov, Chief of the Department of Nature Conservation, Nature Reserves, and Wildlife Management, USSR Ministry of Agriculture, with Profes- sor A. G. Bannikov as Secretary-General.

More than 700 scientists and administrators from 32 countries took part in this Congress held in Moscow, among them being many of the most prominent game biologists