The proposed pandemic agreement being negotiated at the World Health Organization (WHO) represents a critical opportunity for the global community to prevent future pandemics – including through coordinated multi-sectoral surveillance across human, animal, and environmental health data. As WHO member states gather in closed meetings over the next few week, WCS's Sarah Olson, Michel Masozera, and Manoly Sisavanh present field-based evidence that such a surveillance approach is critical to prevent pandemics.

This spring, the inaugural WCS-curated REEL WILD New York Film Festival comes to Manhattan. Taking place April 4-5, this two-day event showcases award-winning natural history films and offers a unique chance to hear directly from the filmmakers and experts behind the stories. In the first of a 3-part series on the festival, the WCS Wild Audio podcast looks at one of those films, the 2022 Oscar-nominated documentary “Haulout,” which explores the impact of climate change on walrus habitat in the Arctic.

The Bronx Zoo’s Herpetology Team cares for a number of venomous snakes at the zoo’s World of Reptiles. As professionals, they know what they’re doing. Just in case, though, as WCS's Kevin Torregrosa tells WCS Wild Audio, the zoo team keeps antivenom on site and a thorough plan in place to address any potential emergencies. Fortunately, it hasn’t been needed any time in recent memory. Instead, that antivenom, and the team, are helping to save lives outside the zoo through an impactful partnership with nearby NYC Health and Hospitals–Jacobi.

Moveable beasts have been part of human history for a long time, as animals were purposefully transported to places where they never previously occurred. Those movements, says WCS's Joel Berger and his Colorado State University colleague Forest Hayes, were typically carried out to establish food security or provide trophies of “heroic” gamesmanship. In that context, species little known to anyone but big game hunters were brought to the most unlikely of remote places. Now, decades later, some of these forced emigrants to faraway lands of wind and tundra have been returned to their original ranges, where they augment the persistence of their native cold-adapted relatives.

"When I was younger," notes WCS's Cayla Turner in a new essay at PBS Nature for Black History Month, "I struggled to feel like I could be a changemaker, but now I have the power to be the role model I needed back then. Empowering youth advocates is achievable when we embrace a diverse set of voices and let them know that they belong in the conservation field. I am looking forward to watching this cycle continue as seeds are planted for the growth of a new generation of leaders."

Thomas Nicolon is a French National Geographic photographer and explorer documenting wildlife conservation worldwide. Recently he has worked with the WCS Congo program to document elusive species in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park using high resolution camera traps. He recently spoke with Richard Bernabe for the Beyond the Lens podcast.

In the face of head-spinning political times, says WCS Canada's Justina Ray, cutting ‘red tape’ and doubling down on resource extraction won’t help wildlife — or humans.

The khulan—a species of wild equid—is a true nomad, covering distances unmatched by any other land mammal. Yet, their survival in Mongolia’s harsh Gobi desert is a constant battle. Populations already strained by overhunting and harsh winters – exacerbated by climate change – are now facing a growing threat from rapid road and railway construction, which fragments the landscape and cuts them off from essential resources. This week, WCS Wild Audio explores innovative solutions WCS is exploring that benefit both this vital species and the local communities that share its habitat.

WCS Canada's Dr. Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne explains how Canada can expand protected areas to maximize biodiversity protection

In a new essay, WCS's Maricruz Jaramillo explains that the WCS Health Program has been researching how land use change can affect bats and rodents, the pathogens they carry, and how these pathogens could jump from one species to another.”“If we can work together with local communities and institutions to conserve ecological integrity," writes Maricruz, "we will not only benefit bats and biodiversity, but we will also conserve healthy ecosystems.”

"My journey—from growing up in NYCHA housing to working in the State Senate and now, in conservation—is a testament to what is possible when passion meets opportunity," writes WCS's Tiara Davis in a new commentary at PBS Nature for Black History Month. Tiara says she'd like "young Black girls, especially those from under-resourced communities, to know that they, too, can break into spaces where they may not have traditionally been represented." She add that "conservation, like policy, needs diverse voices advocating for change Black women are leaders, advocates, and changemakers. Our voice matters and deserves to be part of the movement shaping a better world for future generations."

Highly pathogenic avian influenza is having an unprecedented and devastating impact on wildlife. WCS Wild Audio's Dan Rosen speaks with WCS Executive Director for Health Chris Walzer for the latest on its path and where it may be headed, including whether or not it could pose an even bigger threat to humans.

The federal government must step into a leadership role, recognizing the essential services that peatland ecosystems provide for communities, climate, biodiversity, and water security, write WCS Canada's Victoria Goodday and Laura Tanguay.

"We believe it is the role of large international conservation organizations to help governments realize the inter-connectedness of human rights and conservation, of people and natural places, and to steadily push national policy and dialogue towards greater voice and agency for Indigenous peoples and local communities," write WCS's Sushil Raj and Sharanya Kanikkannan in a new commentary for Mongabay. "At times," they continue, "the challenges may appear to be daunting, but with long-term commitment and greater alignment towards a common vision, we can translate human rights principles into practical reality across the conservation sector for the benefit of both people and wildlife."

In a new episode of the WCS Wild Audio podcast, Hannah Kaplan talks to WCS's Alexa Montefiore and Yahaira Urbina, along with Rohit Singh from WWF. Rangers are the frontline guardians of conservation efforts, they explain, regularly putting their physical and mental health at risk to protect our planet. But they can't do it alone—they need more support and resources to stay safe and effective in their vital work. That’s where URSA, the Universal Ranger Support Alliance—which supports the International Ranger Federation and counts WCS among its members—steps in to ensure they get the backing they deserve.

“Perhaps the most important threat to this ecosystem is the growing use of intense and extensive fires by landholders to improve pasture quality," writes WCS's Rob Wallace in the fourth installment in his blog series on the Llanos de Moxos expedition in Bolivia. Says Rob, "“Visiting this area, generating more robust data, and publishing a summary document will hopefully further encourage local actors to take formal steps toward protecting it.”