WASHINGTON (June 20, 2012) — Today, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Programs approved an FY13 appropriations bill that would slash critical funding for some of the world’s most threatened species, including rhinos, tigers, elephants, great apes, and marine turtles. The subcommittee mark up of the bill recommends a cut of 21 percent below the FY12 enacted level for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) programs. Among the conservation programs that wo...

No elephants are immune from increased poaching in the Republic of Congo. WCS advocates doubling the number of guards monitoring the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park and surrounding areas, one of the few safe havens where elephant numbers have remained stable.

NEW YORK (June 7, 2012)—The loss of 5,000 forest elephants to poachers in northern Republic of Congo over the past five years makes protected areas for Africa’s dwindling wildlife more important than ever, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. Conservationists recommend that guard strength in northern Congo’s Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, where elephant numbers have remained stable, should be doubled immediately to protect the park’s estimated 2,300 individuals. In addition, protecti...

Gland, Switzerland, 5 June, 2012 (IUCN) — Increasing alarm for the fate of the two rarest rhinoceros species, and growing concern over the increased illegal hunting of rhinos and demand for rhino horn affecting all five species, has prompted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia to declare 5 June 2012 as the start of the International Year of the Rhino. President Yudhoyono took this step at the request of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and other conservation orga...

More Than 10 Million Sold Since September Debut Stamps May Be Purchased at Post Offices Nationwide and USPS.com Fiscally Responsible Bill Supported by Senate International Conservation Caucus Co-Chairs WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21, 2011) – The Wildlife Conservation Society applauded today’s Senate introduction of a bill to reauthorize the Save Vanishing Species postage stamp.The stamp features an illustration of a tiger cub and supports efforts to save species like elephants, tigers, and great ape...

New book underscores importance of protected areas and long-term conservation monitoring Book documents changes in climate, habitat, wildlife, and conservation in globally important region spanning five countries The Ecological Impact of Long-Term Changes in Africa’s Rift Valley is published by Nova Publishers (https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=19950) NEW YORK (May 3, 2012) – A new book produced by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Albertine Rift Conservat...

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) Recognized as “Champion of the Forests” World Forestry Day Commemorates the Importance and Benefits of Forests WASHINGTON (March 22, 2012) – Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Executive Vice President of Public Affairs John F. Calvelli advocated for greater protection of the world’s forests by funding the U.S. Forest Service Office of International Programs (FSIP) during testimony before the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. In a celebration of World Fores...

MONDULKURI PROVINCE, CAMBODIA (March, 20, 2012) A vulnerable ethic minority village inside Cambodia’s remote Seima Protection Forest today became one of the first in Cambodia to receive a collective land title, which will help villagers fend off threats to their land and culture while also strengthening conservation goals.The Senior Minister for Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, H.E. Im Chhun Lim, visited the ethnically Bunong village of Andoung Kraloeng village to mark this hist...

State-of-the-art park headquarters inaugurated in wildlife-rich Boma National Park Conservation and wildlife tourism seen as a cornerstone to stabilize once war-torn region Some of the world’s largest wildlife migrations take place in South Sudan NEW YORK (March 13, 2012) – The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) joined officials from the Republic of South Sudan and U.S. Government on March 8th to inaugurate Boma National Park Headquarters in Jonglei State in South Sudan, home to some of the wor...

Illegal orangutan owner and trader prosecuted in Sumatra NEW YORK (February 23, 2012) – The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) announced today Sumatra’s first ever successful sentence of an illegal orangutan owner and trader in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.The seven-month prison sentence is only the third for Indonesia, despite orangutans being strictly protected under Indonesian law since 1924. Although there have been over 2,500 conf...