IUCN Publishing

This small but important work is the child of the Odonata Specialist Group, itself the child in 1980 of the late Sir Peter Scott. This report is a cogent reminder of how much support the Odonata have gained in the last decade throughout the world, a testament to a small group of dedicated supporters. This is only the 2nd report of this nature to be published on an invertebrate group, the other being for Swallowtail Butterflies. When you realise that more than two thirds of the 39 reports done for the IUCN so far have been on mammals and that only the insects of all the invertebrates have any reports about them at all it is a cogent reminder of how much work there is to be done bringing the plight of the many disappearing invertebrates to authorities in the conservation world. "The little things that run the world" as Wilson called insects, a statement which if not entirely true for insects alone certainly is true for invertebrates as a whole, have yet to have their pivotal role in the ecology of this planet appreciated.

Well that's enough of my hobby horse. This work is excellent and will be essential reading for all Odonata friends and workers as well as for conservation biologists in general. It contains much useful information and is truly global in its scope. Ultimately it is promoting the establishment of protected areas (i.e. Nature Reserves etc ), and the modification of agricultural, forestry and industrial practices to prevent the current habitat destruction. The conservation of Dragons and Damsels will obviously, though inadvertently bring about the conservation of many other invertebrates, particularly those with a strong aquatic bias to their ecologies which are generally not covered by the conservation umbrella of the Lepidoptera, and its emergence into the light is greatly to be welcomed.

Contains sections on: Dragonfly Diversity and Classification; Why should Dragonflies be Conserved; Are Dragonflies Threatened; A Strategy for Conserving Dragonflies; Priorities; Priority Action Recommendations. Also includes several pages of references, and an Appendix of Key Contacts.
Highly Recommended