Tag: WCS

5 Countries Join Global Commitment to Protect Climate-Resilient Coral Reefs, Bringing Total Signatories to 20

Stuart Mitchell

At the 11th Our Ocean Conference (OOC11) in Mombasa, Kenya, 5 new governments signed the High-Level Climate-Resilient Coral Reef Commitment, the first global pledge to protect the world’s climate-resilient coral reefs – reefs with the greatest potential to survive climate change and serve as the foundation for future reef recovery.  The new signatories bring the total coalition to 20 reef countries across all coral regions, expanding a movement first launched at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France in June 2025. WCS was invited to take the stage at the official…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More