• Absent for 80 years, bears once more roam

    Absent for 80 years, bears once more roam

    the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains and Great Basin

    WCS sound science helped reduce conflicts with people allowing bears to expand back into Nevada
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  • Tiger populations recovering under effective protection

    Tiger populations recovering under effective protection

    In Thailand

    WCS engagement has brought additional Government spending for tiger conservation, reduced threats and increased tiger numbers
    Read the story  
  • Ranger patrols save forest elephants

    Ranger patrols save forest elephants

    In Central Africa

    WCS led widllife surveys in areas with and without active ranger patrolling, demonstrated that well managed national parks are effective in protecting elephants, and great apes.
    Read the story  

  • Riverine communities are helping WCS monitor and protect turtle populations in the Lower Rio Negro Mosaic of the Brazilian Amazon
    Read the story  

  • WCS is supporting our indigenous communities partners to restore and protect river turtles in Yasuní National Park
    Read the story  
  • Chimpanzees living in the corridors forests of the Murchison-Semliki Landscape

    Chimpanzees living in the corridors forests of the Murchison-Semliki Landscape

    In Uganda

    Deforestation in corridors between national parks in Uganda is declining as farmers adopt WCS conservation farming practices
    Read the story  
  • Garbage company pays to protect people and bears

    Garbage company pays to protect people and bears

    In Montana

    To expand bear friendly lands beyond parks preventing them from getting a taste for trash makes life safer for people and bears.
    Read the story  
  • Tacana indigenous people benefit from protecting caiman

    Tacana indigenous people benefit from protecting caiman

    In Bolivia

    Selling sustainably hunted caiman skins to Gucci has increased the household income of the Tacana indigenous people of Bolivia over 530%, providing a tangible incentive to protect this once endangered crocodile
    Read the story  
  • Targeted patrols by park rangers are a lifeline for Grauer’s gorillas

    Targeted patrols by park rangers are a lifeline for Grauer’s gorillas

    In Eastern DR Congo

    Surveys show that WCS conservation efforts resulted in a 64% increase in gorilla numbers between 2000 and 2015.
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  • Dramatic recovery of Southeast Asia’s waterbirds

    Dramatic recovery of Southeast Asia’s waterbirds

    In Cambodia

    Offering secure jobs, WCS converted egg collectors into nest guardians increasing endangered waterbird numbers 15-35 fold in 10 years, creating the largest waterbird colony in Southeast Asia.
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  • Protecting indigenous rights reduces deforestation

    Protecting indigenous rights reduces deforestation

    In Cambodia

    Helping the indigenous Bunong people to secure legal title to their land prevented 140km2 of forest from being cleared, protecting habitat for endangered gibbons.
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  • Reducing livestock losses, reduces tiger poaching

    Reducing livestock losses, reduces tiger poaching

    In Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Indonesia

    Mitigating tiger-livestock conflict, improving wildlife crime intelligence, and expanding effective ranger patrols prevents poaching and stops retaliatory killing of tigers.
    Read the story  
  • Trophy turkeys encourage forest conservation

    Trophy turkeys encourage forest conservation

    In Guatemala

    Connecting communities in Guatemala to US sport hunters has allowed WCS to generate financial incentives for local families to protect the largest block of neotropical forest outside of the Amazon.
    Read the story  
  • Resettlement works for livelihoods and tigers

    Resettlement works for livelihoods and tigers

    In India

    Helping local people living uncomfortably with tigers to be justly compensated for their voluntary out-migration has protected tigers and substantially improve the wellbeing of participating families.
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  • Mining company pays for conservation

    Mining company pays for conservation

    In Mongolia

    A Private-Public-Partnership brokered by WCS will inject $50 million over 30 years to protected 80,000km2 of habitat for Khulan, goitered gazelle and bactrian camel.
    Read the story  
  • Locally managed marine areas increase fish abundance

    Locally managed marine areas increase fish abundance

    In Madagascar

    Securing the rights of local families to fish, exclusively, in their tradition waters, reduced destructive gear use, increased fish biomass, and secured the livelihoods of fishers.
    Read the story  
  • Payments for conservation work for wildlife

    Payments for conservation work for wildlife

    In Cambodia

    Knowing that PES has huge potential as an incentive for conservation, WCS tested three different schemes in Cambodia to evaluate their impact on conservation and human wellbeing.
    Read the story  
  • Communities Restore Degraded Reefs

    Communities Restore Degraded Reefs

    Along the Coast of Kenya

    By helping communities take control of their fisheries WCS is conserving Kenya's coastal reefs and increasing the wellbeing of local fisherman.
    Read the story  
  • Absent for 80 years, bears once more roam
  • Tiger populations recovering under effective protection
  • Ranger patrols save forest elephants
  • Chimpanzees living in the corridors forests of the Murchison-Semliki Landscape
  • Garbage company pays to protect people and bears
  • Tacana indigenous people benefit from protecting caiman
  • Targeted patrols by park rangers are a lifeline for Grauer’s gorillas
  • Dramatic recovery of Southeast Asia’s waterbirds
  • Protecting indigenous rights reduces deforestation
  • Reducing livestock losses, reduces tiger poaching
  • Trophy turkeys encourage forest conservation
  • Resettlement works for livelihoods and tigers
  • Mining company pays for conservation
  • Locally managed marine areas increase fish abundance
  • Payments for conservation work for wildlife
  • Communities Restore Degraded Reefs

Saving Species

To assess and report changes in the status and distribution of wildlife species, WCS measures occupancy – the presence or absence of a species within a landscape or seascape or across its geographic range. Monitoring species’ area of occupancy is the most cost-effective and most easily interpreted approach for tracking population trends in both terrestrial and marine species. WCS research shows a positive relationship between area of occupancy and abundance, and that conservation actions can positively influence area of occupancy. Advantages of applying occupancy methods are that they: 1) are scientifically defensible; 2) generate easily visualized and interpreted results; and 3) are methodologically agnostic, that is, with careful design, occupancy data can be generated from a broad range of data collection methods.

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WCS, the "W" logo, WE STAND FOR WILDLIFE, I STAND FOR WILDLIFE, and STAND FOR WILDLIFE are service marks of Wildlife Conservation Society.

Contact Information
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