• 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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  • New sanctuaries for dolphins and whales

    New sanctuaries for dolphins and whales

    In Bangladesh

    Tracking the movements of dolphins and whales allowed WCS to advise the government of Bangladesh where to establish the nation's first coastal and marine protected areas.
    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
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  • WCS balances growth with conservation

    WCS balances growth with conservation

    In the Rocky Mountain West

    With WCS training citizen scientists helped identify and protect critical wildlife habitat in over 40% of the city of Fort Collins.
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  • WCS shows that sustainable ranching can halt deforestation

    WCS shows that sustainable ranching can halt deforestation

    In Paraguay

    In the first two years of conservation work with WCS all but one rancher had stopped clearing forest on his land, the other reduce deforestation to less than half the national average.
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  • 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
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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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  • 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.
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  • Indigenous partners reduce deforestation

    Indigenous partners reduce deforestation

    In the Bolivian Amazon

    A trusting partnership between WCS and the Tacana indigenous people secured title over their territory, protected their cultural identity, and kept deforestation lower than surrounding areas.
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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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • Avoiding deforestation and securing livelihoods

    Avoiding deforestation and securing livelihoods

    In Makira, Madagascar

    By co-managing Makira National Park WCS is reducing global carbon emissions, conserving endemic forest plants and animals, and protecting the cultural identity and wellbeing of our local community partners.
    Read the story  
  • Absent for 80 years, bears once more roam
  • New sanctuaries for dolphins and whales
  • Chimpanzees living in the corridors forests of the Murchison-Semliki Landscape
  • WCS balances growth with conservation
  • WCS shows that sustainable ranching can halt deforestation
  • Tacana indigenous people benefit from protecting caiman
  • Dramatic recovery of Southeast Asia’s waterbirds
  • Protecting indigenous rights reduces deforestation
  • Trophy turkeys encourage forest conservation
  • Indigenous partners reduce deforestation
  • Mining company pays for conservation
  • Locally managed marine areas increase fish abundance
  • Payments for conservation work for wildlife
  • Communities Restore Degraded Reefs
  • Avoiding deforestation and securing livelihoods

Protecting Habitat

Monitoring changes in the extent, distribution and quality of habitat for our wildlife targets over time is key to evaluating the impact of our conservation efforts. For terrestrial systems, mapping with satellite images is the most cost-effective approach for tracking habitat change because it can be undertaken relatively cheaply at an appropriate spatial and temporal scale. Coral reef and sea grass cover is typically monitored within WCS coral seascapes during the same 50m diver transects used to monitor fish and sea floor species.

Copyright 2019-2021 by Wildlife Conservation Society

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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