A Vice-President of the FPS, Dr Curry-Lindahl has long experience as a scientist studying wildlife in the field, especially in Africa, as adviser on ecology and conservation to African governments, as a Council member of IUCN and as a staff member of both UNESCO and UNEP. This analysis of the ways in which technical assistance is deployed by the international organisations leads him to answer his title question with a firm ‘yes’. This address was given to the FPS at the Annual General Meeting in London on July 4.