In a new essay for PBS Nature as she prepares to depart WCS for the New York Hall of Science, Laura Monges-Velazquez describes her work as the Youth Engagement Assistant Coordinator for the Education Department at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo. "As I learned nearly two decades ago, running barefoot through cow patties," she writes, "a connection to nature isn’t something you can simply teach—it has to be felt."

"Wolverines exemplify the rugged and wild character of Alberta," writes WCS Canada's Matt Scrafford in a new essay for the Edmonton Journal. "We should strive towards informed and sustainable management of harvest and habitats," adds Scrafford, "rather than relying on risky and scientifically unsound policies."

"We still have a window of opportunity to decouple economic growth from fossil fuel combustion, but the evidence is clear that our window is closing," writes WCS's Dan Zarin in a new essay for The Hill as we approach UN Climate CoP29. That window, notes Dan, will require "not only decarbonization but unprecedented investment in the protection and strengthening of the Earth’s natural buffers against the impacts of the climate crisis: our forests, peatlands, grasslands and marine ecosystems."

In a new essay for Medium, WCS's Chris Walzer argues that "the health of a living being cannot truly be adequately analyzed and understood without considering the health and wellbeing of other living beings and the systems they share.”

For Bat Week, the Wild Audio podcast talked to WCS's Cori Lausen about white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungus that’s wiping out bats across North America. New research makes the case that it’s having a direct negative impact on human health, too. But WCS Canada has an innovative solution to address the problem.

In our 3rd and final essay for PBS Nature exploring the critical goals and priorities at stake in the 16th Conference of the Parties to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD CoP16), WCS's Stacy Jupiter and Emily Darling address the challenges of protecting our oceans for the marine biodiversity and people who rely on them.

There have recently been signs that even in the EU and other rich countries are wavering in their political support for meaningful environmental action, notably on biodiversity, writes WCS's Janice Weatherley-Singh in a new op-ed for Euractive. If these countries now waver in protecting their own biodiversity and cut back on their financial commitments to poorer countries, it is unclear how we will protect the last remaining ecosystems that we all depend on."

Although 17% of all forest carbon and 39% of global lands in good ecological condition are managed or governed by Indigenous Peoples, just a tiny fraction of climate and biodiversity financing gets directed to them. Most of the funding seems to evaporate in webs of institutions before reaching communities. "To meet biodiversity and climate goals," writes WCS's Sushil Raj in a new essay for Mongabay with Minnie Degawan and Rony Brodsky, "a deeper transformation in partnerships between multilateral funders and Indigenous Peoples and local communities is urgently needed."

"Peace with nature," writes WCS's Catalina Gutierrez Chacon in an opinion essay for PBS Nature, "advocates for a profound shift in the relationship between human societies and the natural world. This approach promotes sustainable development that respects planetary boundaries and fosters environmental justice."

This month, the world’s governments, intergovernmental and international organizations, the conservation community, Indigenous Peoples organizations, business and industry representatives, and others will convene in Cali, Colombia for the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD CoP16). "The conference arrives as we confront three global existential crises caused by human actions—biodiversity collapse, climate change, and global health and pandemics," writes WCS's Sue Lieberman in a new essay for PBS Nature. "No one country can solve this problem alone—and multilateralism can drive action in ways that individual national-level actions cannot."

When the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity meet in Colombia next week at COP16, the U.S. is expected to have a significant presence. Over the years, the U.S. government has been successful at driving ambition in policy, action, and nature finance pledges. In our 3rd episode exploring the themes of the coming CBD COP, Wild Audio checked in with WCS's Kelly Keenan Aylward to learn more.

Cali, Colombia will soon play host to the biennial gathering of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The theme of this important international meeting will be “Peace with Nature.” WCS will have a significant delegation on the ground. For our 2nd episode highlighting the CBD’s 16th Conference of the Parties, or COP, WCS Wild Audio caught up with a few critical members of that delegation to hear their thoughts on the coming meeting and what WCS’s priorities will be.

In a new commentary for The Conversation, WCS's Iain Caldwell and his colleague Joshua Cinner argue that no-take zones punch above their weight. "Of the fish biomass attributable to protection efforts," they write, "about 20% comes from just 3% of sites in no-take zones. This proportion would be even higher if illegal fishing in no-take zones was stamped out."

The 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity—or CBD COP16—convenes in Cali, Colombia beginning on October 21. More than 14,000 participants are expected to attend, representing national governments, NGOs, Indigenous groups, the private sector, and others. In the first of a three-part series on the coming COP, WCS Wild Audio spoke with CBD Deputy Executive Secretary David Cooper to learn more about what brings the conservation community to Latin America and what they hope to achieve there.

In Part 2 of our podcast series exploring the themes of New York Climate Week, we look at a new initiative being piloted by the WCS Forests and Climate Change program to attract investment in large tropical areas with healthy ecosystems. The High Integrity Forest Investment Initiative, or HIFOR, say WCS's Ashley Camhi and Tom Evans, provides a novel approach to compensate nature and its protectors for the services they provide.

How do we study wildlife in extreme environments? The premiere of the One Wild World podcast's Season 2 features a conversation with WCS's Joel Berger, who provides his expert perspective on challenges in conservation, the importance of public engagement, and some tips on daily actions we can take to support wildlife conservation.