Conservation measures will only be effective when based on sound science. Consequently, the dissemination and evaluation of existing knowledge is extremely important if globally threatened species are to be identified and conserved.

The IUCN/SSC Action Plan series assesses the conservation status of species and their habitats, and specifies conservation priorities. The series is one of the world's most authoritative sources of species conservation information available to nature resource managers, conservationists and government officials around the world.

Pheasants: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan 2000-2004 edited by Richard A. Fuller and Peter J. Garson covers the pheasants, a group of 50 Asian and one African ground-dwelling birds, found within Asia from the Caucasus in the west, through the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas to eastern China and Japan. They also occur through South-east Asia to Flores, east of Java. Pheasants are largely dependent on forested habitats, making them highly vulnerable to deforestation and habitat degradation. As large ground-dwelling birds they are also widely hunted for food, plumage and the live bird trade - consequently, many species are threatened. This Plan reviews the conservation status of pheasants and highlights recent conservation achievements. It also documents the nature and extent of threats to all pheasant species, and outlines a new set of priority tasks for implementation during the period 2000-2004. See the executive summary.

Megapodes: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan 2000-2004, edited by René W.R.J. Dekker, Richard A. Fuller and Gillian C. Baker, covers the megapodes, a group of Australasian ground-dwelling birds comprising 22 species found from the Nicobar Islands in the west, through Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia, to Polynesia in the east. Their habit of nesting on or near beaches, often on small islands, makes them vulnerable to disturbance and egg collecting and several species are greatly threatened. This Plan identifies the most threatened species within this group and prioritises the conservation actions needed to protect them by outlining project briefs for the most urgent cases. See the executive summary.

Edited by Richard A. Fuller, John P. Carroll, and Philip J.K. McGowan, Partridges, Quails, Francolins, Snowcocks, Guineafowl, and Turkeys: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan 2000-2004 covers a group of nearly 150 ground-dwelling gamebirds found in every continent apart from Antarctica. They live in a wide variety of habitats from tropical forests, and open country of various kinds, to desert environments. Several species are considered to be at grave risk of extinction with the greatest threats to these fascinating birds being habitat loss, hunting of wild populations, and disturbance. This Action Plan is aimed at conservationists, politicians, policy-makers, government officials, educators, planners, donors and all those in a position to help. See the executive summary.

Grouse: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, compiled by Ilse Storch, is the 56th Action Plan to be published by SSC. Grouse have long attracted and fascinated people. Their display behaviour and particularly their traditional communal mating grounds or "leks" have inspired poetry and folklore as well as scientific theories on sexual selection and the evolution of mating systems. In many parts of their range, grouse hunting still plays a major role in the culture, economy, and subsistence of local communities. This first Grouse Action Plan provides an overview of the distribution, status, and threats to all 17 grouse species worldwide and identifies the most immediate conservation needs. It is a product of the joint expertise of the Grouse Specialist Group (GSG), a voluntary network of grouse professionals, and other grouse experts worldwide. The Plan is primarily written as a reference guide for decision makers, agency officials, resource managers, funding organisations, but also scientists and students who share the CSG's goal of securing viable populations of all species of grouse in the wild. See the executive summary.

Cracids (curassows, guans and chachalacas) are the most threatened family of Neotropical birds, occurring in south Texas, Trinidad and Tobago, and all Latin American mainland countries except Chile. They are a primitive, ancestral family of gamebirds (Galliformes) that play an important role in the regeneration of tropical forest through seed dispersal and predation, yet half of all species are threatened by habitat destruction and hunting. The five most critically endangered species are the horned guan, Alagoas curassow, Trinidad and black-fronted piping-guans, and highland guan.

Cracids are important not only for their role as seed dispersers, but also as biological indicators of the environment, as a major protein source for indigenous people, and as an important focus for ecotourism. The scarcity of information in many regions for many species makes it difficult to conserve them, so it is hoped the Curassows, Guans and Chachalacas: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan compiled by Daniel Brooks and Stuart Strahl, will encourage further studies of the cracid family. Concerted field work and the development of sound conservation measures are critical to secure a future for these birds. See the executive summary.