Wildlife management and conservation usually require case-by-case studies because populations - not species - should in most cases be the management unit. In Brazil, the lack of a specific professional career such as the north American wildlife biologist makes the implantation of wildlife management programs difficult. Urban prejudice against the use of wildlife as a renewable resource, the abuse of captive breeding programs, and the feeling that the country is unable to implement effective control systems over harvest programs prevent the establishment of biologically sustainable, economically viable, and socially justifiable use of wildlife. This can only be changed by adequate training of professionals,decentralized research, and the use of existing infrastructure of extension for the implantation of a wildlife service. In this paper, elements usually related to the success of economic wildlife programs are presented, and real cases of crocodilian management and conservation programs around the world are discussed as examples.
wildlife management; sustainable use; caiman; management systems; society