News Releases

New York, NY | May 21, 2020

New Study Finds Access to Education and Markets Vital for Coastal Fishing Communities Adapting to a Warming and Changing World

A new study investigating the links between coastal communities and coral reefs in Kenya and Madagascar has found that access to education and markets can help mitigate acute vulnerabilities for communities struggling with poverty and reliant on ecosystems degraded by overfishing.

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KOH KONG, CAMBODIA | May 19, 2020

Twenty-Three Royal Turtles hatch on Cambodia's Sre Ambel River – more than the three previous years combined

Twenty-three Royal Turtles hatched from nests on the Sre Ambel River this year. This is more than the total number hatched in the previous three years combined.

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Suva, Fiji | May 15, 2020

Strong Sharing Networks Can Help Communities Rebound From Crises

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.

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New York, NY | May 13, 2020

Good Governance Needed to Build Support for Fishing Restrictions

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.

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Bozeman, MT | May 07, 2020

New Large-Scale North American Study on Wild Bison Identifies Genetic Diversity Concerns and Solutions for Ensuring their Long-Term Conservation

In a new large-scale study of wild bison genetics, a team of scientists funded by the U.S. National Park Service and led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has identified practical actions to maintain the genetic health of bison herds on federal lands, setting a foundation for the successful long-term conservation of wild bison. Findings indicate that increasing the actual or effective size of existing herds, establishing large herds, or the careful exchange of individual bison between herds, is needed to maintain the genetic diversity of wild bison.

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NEW YORK, N.Y. | May 05, 2020

Study in Nature Ecology and Evolution Says Australia’s Devastating Wildfires Were Made Worse by Logging

Logging of intact, native forests increases the risk and severity of fire, and likely had a profound effect on the recent, catastrophic Australian bushfires, according to new research published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution by a team from the University of Queensland, ANU, Macquarie University, and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

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NEW YORK, N.Y. | April 29, 2020

A Reality Check for Biodiversity Offsetting: New Study Says Massive New Development Projects Don’t have the Space to Compensate for the Full Extent of their Biodiversity Losses

A research team studying the use of offsets to achieve No Net Loss (NNL) of biodiversity to address negative impacts of development projects found a disturbing trend: we are running out of land for offsetting. The results are published in the journal Nature Communications.

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Petén, Guatemala | April 28, 2020

Howling Planet: A Baby Howler Monkey is Rescued from Fire-Ravaged Guatemala

A Planet in Trouble: Humankind’s fractured relationship with nature is on the face of this Guatemalan black howler monkey.

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New York, N.Y. | April 27, 2020

Can Big Data Save the Planet?

A new paper in Nature Communications says that the “big data” revolution, which encompasses techniques to capture, process, analyze and visualize large datasets in a rapid timeframe, could beneﬁt the planet if tightly coupled with ongoing sustainability efforts.

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New York, N.Y. | April 24, 2020

Climate Surprise: Climate Change May Push Some Species to Higher Elevations – and Out of Harm’s Way

A new WCS-led study reveals that mountain-dwelling species fleeing warming temperatures by retreating to higher elevations may find refuge from reduced human pressure.

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