News

(July 09, 2019) Here is our latest turtle paper just published today. The article is very brief but describes growth in a large Northern River Terrapin held for many years in Bothataung Pagoda Pond here in Yangon. We also discuss the dire conservation situation for this species in Myanmar (only two females now survive in Myanmar).Batagur baska (Platt et al. 2019).pdf

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(May 17, 2019) Elephants are “ecosystem engineers” that impact other species of plants and animals by changing the environment. For example, browsing elephants remove trees causing grasslands to expand, dung left in wetlands has an important fertilizing effect, and seeds passed through the digestive tract are more likely to germinate. Elephants also deliver benefits to smaller fauna; browsing damages trees and creates cavities used by geckos as hiding places, and dung piles provide a home (and foo...

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(August 20, 2018) By Kyaw Thinn Latt “It used to be quite easy to catch enough fish to feed my family and for me to sell the surplus in the market,” laments Mr. Than Zaw Htay, a coastal fisher in the Kyeintali area of Myanmar, “but these days it is harder and harder to catch enough.” This situation reflects a growing global trend - where overfishing, rising seas, warming waters, pollution, and poor ocean management, combined with increasing demand for fish, are quickly diminishin...

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(June 21, 2018) Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time, with statistics showing that there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050. To change the future, we all need to play our part. Whether it is a bottled soft drink, a bag and fishing gear trash (ghost nets), single-use plastic has become embedded in our daily lives. The low cost, convenience and lightness of these products have revolutionized the packaging of goods. However, the catastrophic environmental c...

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(June 20, 2018) Following the publication of the MECAP, and the Voices for Momos campaign, there has been greater focus and awareness around Elephant poaching. The CID (Criminal Investigation Department) was directly assigned by the Ministry of Home Affairs. They organized a team to trace illegal wildlife trade and they traced the source from the killing of Elephants in Ayeyarwady Division. The Police have done investigation and taken coordinated action in 3 separate Divisions in the last week. Six men have be...

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(May 22, 2018) The Republic of The Union of Myanmar is a golden country, blessed with natural resources, unique ecosystems and biodiversity richness. However, in recent decades, increase in population, unsustainable overexploitation of natural resources had led to steady decline of natural resources. To prevent such deplorable situations, Forest Department, under the administration of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, established protected areas to conserve precious natural resource...

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(May 22, 2018) A species that has greatly benefited from conservation efforts is the Big-headed Turtle (Platysternon megacephalum). Native to the hills and mountains of eastern and southern Myanmar, the Big-headed Turtle is subject to increasing demand from wildlife markets in southern China. Indeed, it appears that most of the illegally collected turtles are destined for alleged “turtle farms” operated by unscrupulous Chinamen who use these operations to launder wild-caught turtles, passing them o...

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(May 22, 2018) Myanmar is very rich in freshwater biodiversity. The inland water ecosystem of Myanmar is associated with four major rivers, the Ayeyarwady, Chindwin, Thanlwin and Sittaung. Freshwater and wetland biodiversity and ecosystems provide essential ecosystem services to the Myanmar people. Sadly, many freshwater species and habitats are rapidly being degraded and destroyed, due to several threats. Some species face habitat lost and dramatic population declines due to human activities. Conservation i...

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(April 25, 2018) An exchange visit was organized for 17 Myanmar government officials, community members, and WCS field staff to visit Cambodia, and learn from their experience with community-based approaches to conservation. Two back-to-back visits saw Department of Agriculture officials and community members visit the Ibis Rice field site, a grassland conservation area and flooded forest, and the SRP pilot site, where they met directly with farmers and officials implementing a conservation agriculture pilot pr...

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(February 19, 2018) Press ReleaseThe government takes decisive action to ensure future of Myanmar’s elephantsNaypyitaw (15th-16th February 2018)The Myanmar Elephant Conservation Action Plan (known as the MECAP) was launched today at a ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw. The MECAP will guide efforts by the Government, civil society, wildlife biologists and conservationists to create the social, economic, and biological conditions that allow elephants to co-exist with humans in the same landscapes.The purpose of the MECAP...

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(January 08, 2018) Participatory mapping is an approach used to document the land resources of rural communities in Myanmar. This toolkit describes procedures and tools that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Myanmar Land Tenure Project (LTP) team developed and tested in 11 village tracts across the country. The project conducted pilot site activities to demonstrate how articles of the National Land Use Policy (NLUP) could be implemented on the ground.LTP created this toolkit for an aud...

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(December 22, 2017) In December, the WCS/TSA Turtle Team was occupied with two major conservation projects. The first project involved the translocation of Burmese Star Tortoise eggs from the assurance colony to natural sites in Minzontaung Wildlife Sanctuary. Although egg translocation is a technique widely used in sea turtle conservation, to our knowledge this is the first application of this strategy to tortoise conservation. Translocating eggs is relatively straightforward; freshly deposited clutches are excava...

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(December 13, 2017) Saltwater Crocodile or Estuarin Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) was kept in mini-Zoo for long time in Dawei since juvenile. This mini-Zoo is not suitable to keep any other animals and illegal facilities. Forest Department has been taken action since 2011 and force to shut down but some people are still visiting and 200kyat per person for entrance fees. This crocodile is about 10feet long. Forest Department and WCS Myanmar team are working together to release this crocodile near Bokepyin Township...

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(December 07, 2017) Main aims of this field trip were to join the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Reserve (RYER) warden in inspecting the patrol elephant team and the upgraded guard post on the Kyeintalie stream. The visit provided an opportunity to provide refresher training for existing staff and basic training for the new community guards. The park warden supervised improvements including new water management and installation of solar panels, radio and antenna mast to make the guard-post more effective. There was then a g...

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(December 07, 2017) Main aims of this field trip were to join the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Reserve (RYER) warden in inspecting the patrol elephant team and the upgraded guard post on the Kyeintalie stream. The visit provided an opportunity to provide refresher training for existing staff and basic training for the new community guards. Training with patrol teams at Kyeigarkhon Guard-post for 4 days starting form 1st - 4th December. Before the training, on 30th Nov, the team visited, with RYER warden, U San Win, to Kya...

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(December 06, 2017) During November 27 – December 1, WCS initiated training on marine spatial planning to 20 representatives of Myanmar’s inter-agency National Coastal Resource Management Committee (NCRMC). In collaboration with trainers from the GIZ-supported Blue Solutions Initiative, the training workshop introduced participants to key blue planning concepts through case studies, presentations, discussions, and participatory exercises. Co-hosted by the Department of Fisheries and Forest Department, p...

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(October 29, 2017) • Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has actively collaborated with Forest Department and UNESCO for the World Heritage Site nomination process for Hkakabo Razi Landscape. As the world heritage process is lengthy and complex, WCS has sympathized with indigenous peoples and local communities on their worries and concerns for the potential negative impacts on customary land tenure and tradition natural resource use practices.• WCS has practiced Participatory Land Use and Resource Use Ma...

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(October 10, 2017) The Burmese star tortoise was almost history.By the early 2000s, the natives of central Myanmar’s deserts had dwindled to such low counts in the wild that ecologists declared them functionally extinct. About the size of a football when mature, the animals sported yellow polygon patterns across their shells that helped them camouflage in dry grasses but also made them attractive as exotic pets, smuggled for thousands of dollars to the United States, Europe and other parts of Asia.Now, it ap...

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(September 27, 2017) Geochelone platynota - Captive propagation (2017).pdf

(September 26, 2017) Batagur trivittata - dichromatic coloration (2017).pdf

(June 24, 2016)   -   Through DNA testing scientists at WCS and NUS have made a surprising discovery that could subvert the significance of traditional criteria used for species classification.

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(March 09, 2016)   -   Experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) say that a tiger killed on Feb 25th in Myanmar came from a protected area in neighboring Thailand that currently hosts between 60 and 70 tigers.

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(December 29, 2015)   -   An Investigation on Facebook Leads to the Arrest of Two Suspects in Connection to the Theft of Critically Endangered Burmese Star Tortoises

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(October 19, 2015)   -   Myanmar’s protected areas are facing critical funding shortages, with several unable to cover the costs of essential equipment, maintenance, and operational activities, in addition to needing more dedicated staff with increased technical capacities. A new report offers an assessment of the financial status, constraints, and opportunities for financing of these areas.

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(September 17, 2015)   -  

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(August 23, 2015)   -   The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is pleased to announce that the 10th Annual John L. Behler Turtle Conservation Award has been presented to Kalyar Platt, Turtle Conservation Coordinator in Myanmar for the Turtle Survival Alliance.

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(April 09, 2015)   -   p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; direction: ltr; line-height: 120%; text-align: left; widows: 2; orphans: 2; page-break-after: avoid; }p.western { font-size: 11pt; }p.cjk { font-size: 11pt; }a:link { color: rgb(0, 0, 255); } 60 Myanmar roofed turtles - a species once thought extinct - are released into their native habitat around the village of Linpha in Myanmar.

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(March 05, 2015)   -   Jerdon’s babbler (Chrysomma altirostre) had not been seen in country since July 1941. After missing from Myanmar for 73 years, WCS has rediscovered it once again.

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