Conservation 101 guide to go online in Singapore and elsewhere

Victoria Vaughan Straits Times 6 Nov 10;

TOP conservation experts have come up with the world's first free online textbook on the subject, in the hope that greater public knowledge can help save plant and animal life.

Conservation Biology For All, a 101 guide, edited by Professor Navjot Sodhi of the National University of Singapore's Department of Biology, will go online in January.

It can then be accessed through Prof Sodhi's website www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/staff/sodhi.htm and through a link on the Oxford University Press website.

By launching the project, the authors hope to address complaints from conservationists in developing Asian countries, such as the Philippines, India and Thailand, about the lack of related information.

'We are in dire straits in terms of biodiversity. We have to give people basic knowledge on how to conserve, as most of the biodiversity is in poor countries,' said Prof Sodhi, 48. 'We wanted to bring the best knowledge, get the best guys in the field to contribute to this charitable project,' he said, adding that he hoped the big names involved in the project would generate interest.

The book has 16 chapters and is written by 75 leading scientists.