Dubai, Dec. 9, 2023 -- The following statement was issued today as ministers at the UN Climate Conference, COP28, signed a watershed “Joint Statement on Climate, Nature and People.” The joint statement was launched by the UAE UNFCC COP28 Presidency and the People’s Republic of China CBD Presidency. The statement calls for adopting a synergetic approach, aligning national climate and biodiversity plans and strategies, to support the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-M...

Dubai, Dec. 9, 2023 – The following statement was issued today by Daneil Zarin, Executive Director of Forests and Climate Change at the Wildlife Conservation Society: “With just a few days left in the negotiations, here is what we need ministers to do at COP28 in Dubai.: Use the Global Stocktake to align all countries with 1.5C targets Commit their own countries to implement their "Nationally Determined Contributions" (NDCs) with 1.5C targets no later than 2025 ...

Dubai, December 8, 2023 - The following statement was issued from the UN Climate Conference, COP28,  today by Joe Walston, Executive Vice President of WCS Global at the Wildlife Conservation Society: “We welcome the launch of the country package partnerships for the Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea,  Democratic Republic of Congo and the National Ambition plan for Colombia. ”The Country Packages are an articulation of the governments’ priorities for the protec...

Dubai, Dec. 8, 2023 – The following statement was released by Monica Medina, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society on reflection of Nature Day which will be recognized on December 9 at the UN Climate Conference, COP28. “The world won’t address the climate crisis without safeguarding and investing in nature—technological solutions simply won’t be enough. Forests, our ocean, wetlands, and mangroves help sequester an immense amount of the carbon tha...

DUBAI, December 8th, 2023 – The formation of a new Jurisdictional REDD+ Technical Assistance Partnership, JTAP, was announced today at COP28. The initial group of partner organizations, Conservation International, Climate Law and Policy, Environmental Defense Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Winrock International’s Ecosystem Services Unit, are actively seeking to engage additional partners including forest country governments and local organizations to further stren...

Dubai, UAE,  Dec. 7, 2023 – The Honduran government has unveiled a transformative initiative this week at COP28 in Dubai to rescue and conserve the country’s largest forest, the Moskitia, which is one of Mesoamerica’s Five Great Forests and Central America’s second largest rainforest. The new initiative aims, in part, to put an end to deforestation and illegal cattle ranching in the Moskitia forest. “Putting a stop to illegal cattle ranching driving deforest...

Washington, DC, Dec. 5, 2023 – The following statement was issued today by the Wildlife Conservation Society on the introduction of the FOREST Act (Fostering Overseas Rule of Law and Environmentally Sound Trade Act of 2023) in the US Senate and US House of Representatives. Said John Calvelli, WCS Executive Vice President of Public Affairs: “The Wildlife Conservation Society applauds Senators Brian Schatz and Mike Braun and Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Brian Fitzpatr...

Dubai, Dec. 4, 2023 -- Recognizing the importance of ecological integrity to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services, including climate regulation, the Government of the Republic of Congo, represented by the Ministry of Forest Economy, and WCS have initiated a new program to attract investment in the conservation of high-integrity tropical forests. This joint commitment to developing pilot investment projects in high-integrity forests is demonstrated by the signing of a Memorandum of...

Dubai, Dec. 3, 2023– The following statement was issued by Sushil Raj of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Dr. Myrna Cunningham Kain of the Pawanka Fund, and Roberto Múkaro Agüeibaná Borrero of the Inclusive Conservation Academy: “We come from nature, depend on nature, and return to nature. Nature is central to our collective humanity, various cultures, identity, and future as human beings. Many Indigenous Peoples reflect this clearly through their ways of life, knowledge, and be...

Dubai, Dec. 3, 2023 – The Wildlife Conservation Society applauds Ghana, Costa Rica and LEAF Coalition members for signing landmark agreements for high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+ carbon credits. As the first forest governments to reach Emissions Reductions Purchase Agreements (ERPAs) for the sale of high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+ emissions reductions and removals credits to major corporate buyers in the LEAF Coalition, Ghana and Costa Rica will receive over $60m for national eff...