Op-Eds and Blogs

The conservation community in Belize recently celebrated ratification of the Fisheries Resources Act. The new legislation incorporates mechanisms to counter overfishing via inclusive management by all stakeholders established through an Advisory Body

The tigers in Thailand's Huai Kha Khaeng reserve show us what the species is capable of when we take the pressure off. If we can continue to do that, in as many tiger source sites as possible, we will save Asia’s great cat.

Ebola and Covid-19 have taught us that we cannot continue with "business as usual." We must change our eating habits and scale down the trade in bushmeat as much as we can. To do that, we need support from the global community.

A greater understanding of the zoonotic-disease risk from wildlife is critical to mitigating future risks of a global disease outbreak. The most cost-effective action governments can take is to ban the commercial trade of wild birds and mammals for consumption.

To a list that includes trade enforcement, habitat loss, hunting, and conflict with humans must now be added global pandemic among the conservation challenges to the protection of elephants and other species in Africa.

Writing from Colombia during the COVID crisis, WCS's Catalina Gutiérrez notes that "while there remains a general feeling of uncertainty, our commitment towards nature conservation and its sustainable use in Colombia continues to be strong."

Whether or not scientists identify the origin of COVID-19, we can build on the abundance of available evidence showing that wildlife markets continue to pose danger to human health and wellbeing.

Zoonotic spillover is much more likely to occur in urban markets that sell live or fresh wildlife sourced hundreds or thousands of miles away from where indigenous peoples and local communities need to feed their families.

In a new commentary for Medium, WCS's Cristina Mormorunni argues that our commitment to the ecological and cultural restoration of bison embodies a new and much needed conservation model.

In a new op-ed for Devex, WCS’s Aili Kang argues that while a vaccine might help prevent a further #COVID19 outbreak, only effective conservation can prevent the next unknown zoonotic epidemic.

In a new blog, WCS Madagascar's Morgane Cournarie says it's clearer than ever that effective conservation needs a multi-sectoral approach that respects people’s rights and livelihoods, and seeks common solutions to shared problems.

A major research project from the University of Alberta co-authored by WCS Canada's Hilary Cooke outlines pockets of Canada's boreal forest that may give wildlife more time and space to adjust to a changing climate.

In a new op-ed for The Revelator, WCS EU's Arnaud Goessens notes that while the new EU biodiversity strategy represents hope for people and wildlife, and can be a model for governments, it still lacks critical funding to carry out its goals.

In a new commentary for Mongabay, WCS's Jeremy Radachowsky argues that Honduras's Bakinasta territory, already under severe threat due to invasions by land grabbers, is being devastated economically by COVID-19.

Though fully one quarter of the shark fin trade is now regulated under the world’s premier wildlife conservation convention, the importance of maintaining enforcement pressure remains high.

Local nearshore closures are a key part of actions needed for fisheries sustainability and must be integrated into the most heavily fished seascapes to deliver the food security critical to the poorest nations, argues WCS's Tim McClanahan in a commentary for World Oceans Day.