Of the top five countries in the world most at risk to disasters, three are Pacific Island nations. Yet time and time again, Pacific Islanders exhibit marked abilities to quickly recover. Part of the reason may be due to strong social networks that help to distribute resources to those most in need, say marine scientists from the University of Hawaiʿi, National Geographic Society and WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) in a new study.

Good governance appears to be a prerequisite for local support of strong fisheries restrictions, the key finding in a recently published study of 16 fishing villages in East Africa that are struggling to achieve fisheries sustainability.

The following are excerpts of remarks given today by WCS President and CEO Cristián Samper at the Celebration of World Wildlife Day 2020, on the theme of “Sustaining all life on earth.”

A  year-round acoustic study of marine mammals in the northern Bering Sea is providing scientists with a valuable snapshot of an Arctic world already under drastic pressure from climate change, according to WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), Columbia University, Southall Environmental Associates, and the University of Washington.

While many conservation plans focus on only environmental indicators for success, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)’s coral reef program is trying a relatively new approach: focusing on both social and ecological processes and outcomes to ensure a long-term future for coral reef systems, according to a newly published study.

The new study by WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), the University of Miami, and Universidad de Puerto Rico have detected a decrease in the average size of adult queen conch (Lobatus gigas), possibly the result of fishers using shell length rather than thickness as a reliable indicator of age.

As conservationists grapple with unprecedented levels of coral reef bleaching in the world’s warming oceans, scientists in the Indian and Pacific Oceans used the most recent El Nino of 2016 (the warmest year on record) to evaluate the role of excess heat as the leading driver of coral bleaching.

Sustainable seafood and perfect wine pairings were featured at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s seventh annual Sip for the Sea – a benefit that showcases and celebrates WCS’s marine conservation and education work at the New York Aquarium and around the globe.

The following comments were released by: Jason Patlis, Executive Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Marine Conservation Program; and Jon Forrest Dohlin, WCS Vice President and Director of the New York Aquarium: 

The following congratulatory statement was released by Dr. John Robinson, WCS’s Executive Vice President for Conservation and Science: