Tag: WCS

WCS Launches Global Strategy to Secure the Future of Coral Reefs in a Changing Climate

Stuart Mitchell

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today launched its 2025–2030 Coral Reef Conservation Strategy, a landmark plan to conserve the world’s most climate-resilient coral reefs. Rooted in more than 40 years of WCS experience and new cutting-edge science, the strategy places high integrity climate-resilient coral reefs (HICOR) at the heart of global conservation action. Coral reefs are biodiversity hotspots and lifelines for coastal communities, covering less than 1% of the ocean but sustaining more than 25% of marine species and supporting nearly 1 billion people. Yet, they are among the ecosystems…

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Grassroots Movement Protects 200 km² of Puerto Rico’s Ocean Ecosystems

Stuart Mitchell

After 16 years of grassroots efforts, local communities in northern Puerto Rico are celebrating the creation of a new marine protected area (MPA) – Jardines Submarinos de Vega Baja y Manatí. The newly-established MPA encompasses 202.7 km² (77 square miles) of coastal coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds home to more than 14 endangered species, including the Greater Caribbean Manatee. The area also hosts vibrant small-scale fisheries and a local ecotourism industry, and communities hope that new efforts to formally co-manage Jardines as an MPA will allow its waters to…

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Endangered Sumatran Tigers On Path To Recovery in UNESCO World Heritage Site

Stuart Mitchell

A new scientific publication from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park Authority looks at the effectiveness of the park’s protection zone and finds that the density of Sumatran tigers has increased despite the continued threat of living in an ‘In Danger’ World Heritage Site. Living only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Critically Endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is the only extant sub-species of ’Island tigers’, which includes the now-extinct Javan and Bali tiger. This sub-species is genetically distinct from the other six…

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