Peatlands cover just three percent of the world’s land surface, yet they store more carbon than all of the world’s forests combined, notes WCS’s Kemen Austin. To keep global warming under control, she say, it’s critical to keep ALL of the carbon stored in those peatlands out of the atmosphere.

This week, the Wildlife Conservation Society welcomes a new president and CEO, Monica Medina. She arrives from the US State Department, where through this April she served as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, and was the nation’s first Special Envoy for Biodiversity and Water Resources. WCS is thrilled to have at its helm a new leader with vast experience and a passion for conservation. Wild Audio recently caught up with her as she steps into her new role.

"By respecting and protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and amplifying their voice in conservation policies, practices, and governance structures, " writes WCS's Sushil Raj in a new essay at PBS Nature celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, "WCS Global is travelling the best and necessary pathway to equitable, just, and durable conservation.”

"Every day at the Bronx Zoo I see children on school trips enjoying sea lion feedings or making funny faces at the residents of Congo Gorilla Forest," writes Andy Juele in a new essay for PBS Nature celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, adding, "It reminds me of myself as a kid realizing that I could make a connection to wildlife right in the backyard of my house. I strive to help each visitor make that same connection at our parks and in their own backyards, wherever they may be."

The species extinction crisis is growing, with the UN now estimating that more than 1 million species are at risk . Experts suggest the crisis is both unprecedented and presents many potentially dangerous cascading impacts. For Endangered Species Day on May 19, Wild Audio's Dan Rosen talks to WCS’s Elizabeth Bennett about the nature of the crisis and what we can all do to stop it.

For the Energi Talks podcast, WCS's Lorna Harris—scientist and program lead, Forests, Peatlands and Climate Change for · Wildlife Conservation Society Canada—discusses a report co-authored with Dr. Kelly Biagi, “A Review of Suncor’s McClelland Lake Wetland Complex Operational Plan for the Fort Hills Oil Sands Project” for the Alberta Wilderness Association.

The health of coral reefs, our most biodiverse ocean ecosystem, is fundamentally interconnected with human health. We need urgent global action to tackle the pollution crisis to protect both, say WCS's Stacy Jupiter, along with her colleagues Bodhi Patil and Christopher Corbin.

As we face more droughts, floods, fires, and warming, the global discourse has now shifted towards “nature-positive solutions,” with increased recognition of the role played by Indigenous Peoples in the conservation of nature, as well as a push for direct funding to Indigenous Peoples on the ground. Now, writes WCS's Sushil Raj for PBS Nature, we must work to secure a meaningful shift that can be truly transformative and lasting.

Invest in our planet. It’s the theme of Earth Day for 2023 — and for good reason, notes WCS's John Calvelli. "There could be no more urgent goal now than to find sustainable financing to address the growing challenges to nature," writes John in a new op-ed for the New York Daily News. A bill now moving through Congress—the U.S. Foundation for International Conservation Act—aims to do just that.

In November 2021, the Wildlife Conservation Society launched a new campaign to address the crisis of climate change called Framing Our Future. The effort was premised on partnerships with a wide range of civic, cultural, and academic institutions across the United States. One of those partners, the Bronx’s Fordham University, has embraced the campaign as part of its own Green Plan to live out the inspirational call to protect nature found in Pope Francis’s 2015 Laudato si’ encyclical. This week, WCS Wild Audio spoke with WCS's John Calvelli and Fordham President Tania Tetlow to learn more.

Conservation challenges currently afflict many species of cranes all of the globe. Two species of particular concern are the Red-Crowned and White-naped cranes of southeast Asia. To learn more about the plight of these two species and the efforts currently being made to preserve their dwindling populations, the WORT News podcast spoke with WCS's Eugenia Bragina, who recently published an article in the Journal of Ornithological Science on this topic.

Ray Victurine leads Wildlife Conservation Society's Business and Conservation Program, which is part of the markets team that engages with businesses and governments to support policies and practices that seek to balance conservation objectives with development interests. He recently spoke with the Change Makers and Their Stories podcast to discuss why applying this concept is vital both for nature and for global business practices.

Subsistence fishing has long been a staple of Malagasy culture. The rich biodiversity that makes Madagascar so famous also underpins local economies, providing not only food, but income through for-profit fishing and tourism. However, a host of threats are not only putting pressure on ecosystems, but the very communities who are so intrinsically tied to them. WCS's Ravaka Ranaivoson believes that the solution lies in supporting “natural capital” – training communities to identify and manage natural resources for healthy, sustainable economies.

According to scientists, 30,000 species per year are being driven towards extinction and 50% of all species could be extinct by 2050 because of climate change. For the Unseen Upside podcast, WCS's John Calvelli discusses how conservation can help to change this trajectory.

In an essay at PBS Nature celebrating Women's History Month, WCS's Executive Director for Federal Affairs & Policy Kelly Aylward writes, "Twenty years of conservation policy work has taught me that a strong foundation in the law coupled with an active network and a passion for cultivating the next generation is a game plan for success."

It’s time we recognize the role of women in Belize’s small-scale fisheries sector and provide a space for them to discuss the challenges and opportunities they face. That’s what Dr. Sandra Grant had on her mind when she approached WCS Belize's Ralna Lewis in 2017 to seek WCS’s support in convening Belize’s first Women in Fisheries Forum (WIFF).