More about the Specialist Group

The focus of the Specialist Group are Asia's nine wild cattle species — lowland and mountain anoa, banteng, gaur, kouprey, saola, tamaraw, wild water buffalo and wild yak — and their habitats.

The AWCSG has the following objectives:

• Compile and synthesize information on the conservation status of all Asian wild cattle species across their range, with particular emphasis on species which are threatened
• Act as the IUCN Red List Authority for the Asian wild cattle species
• Develop or update conservation strategies (including education and research priorities) working with range state government agencies, NGOs, IUCN, and CITES
• Build capacity through the exchange of information and technical expertise both within and outside the group
• Catalyse and contribute to conservation efforts of selected projects

Approach

The AWCSG uses a range of approaches to work towards achieving its mission. To achieve the Assess and Plan phases, a Participatory Conservation Planning Workshops approach is used. This allows stakeholders to provide the most detailed information on status and threats, as well as plan appropriate actions to address the threats and knowledge gaps. This applies to the Strategic Conservation Planning Process that has been promoted by the IUCN SSC Species Conservation Planning Task Force.

To achieve the Act phase, the Asian Wild Cattle SG works with relevant stakeholders identified during the previously described planning phase. We apply the One Plan approach to conservation that integrates in situ conservation and conservation breeding (ex situ, as a back-up) into a single programme, where appropriate.