As conservationists grapple with unprecedented levels of coral reef bleaching in the world’s warming oceans, scientists in the Indian and Pacific Oceans used the most recent El Nino of 2016 (the warmest year on record) to evaluate the role of excess heat as the leading driver of coral bleaching.

The following congratulatory statement was released by Dr. John Robinson, WCS’s Executive Vice President for Conservation and Science:

Wilderness areas, long known for intrinsic conservation value, are far more valuable for biodiversity than previously believed, and if conserved, will cut the world’s extinction risk in half, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.

WCS announced that an international team of biologists made an important discovery, something that had not been seen in more than 40 years: the nest of a globally-endangered Nordmann’s greenshank (Tringa guttifer). 

The fate of the saiga, a prehistoric antelope species, found on the windswept steppes of Central Asia, will be decided as CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) gathers for its 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) August 17-28 in Geneva. The saiga is on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered and is vital to the ecosystem of Mongolia’s steppe.

he largest study ever conducted of its kind has identified where and how to save coral reef communities in the Indo-Pacific, according to an international group of scientists from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and other conservation NGOs, government agencies, and universities. The study outlines three viable strategies that can be quickly enacted to help save coral reefs that are threatened by climate change and human impacts.  

WCS Indonesia expresses its high appreciation to the Government of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) for establishing a Wetland Essential Ecosystem Area (KEE) as the habitat for the Roti Island snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordi) in Rote Ndao District on June 18, 2019.

The Government of Bangladesh announced the declaration of the Nijhum Dwip Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the northern Bay of Bengal to safeguard critical spawning grounds for the country’s most valuable fish species and some of the world’s largest populations of endangered dolphins, porpoises, sharks, rays, and marine turtles.

Cutting-edge research carried out by scientists from Wildlife Conservation Society India (WCS-India), in collaboration with the Forest Department, Assam, is paving the way for reliable estimation of Asian elephant populations.

WCS congratulates the Indian government for expanding protected areas in the wildlife-rich Western Ghats region to safeguard populations of endangered lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus), critically endangered Kolar leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros hypophyllus), and other species.