Protected Areas

Protected areas are an important means of ensuring longterm conservation success.  There are currently more than 100,000 protected areas throughout the world comprising over 20 million km2. However, many of these parks are protected in name only, and are threatened by hunting, logging and other resource exploitation, human encroachment, and a lack of management. Many protected areas also remain isolated, limiting the longterm viability of the wildlife populations they harbor. The challenge for the conservation community as a whole is to ensure effective schemes of protected area design and management, and adequate resources to maintain these wild areas for future generations. WCS works with national governments, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), IUCN, and other agencies to support the development, effective management, and long-term sustainability of parks.   

WCS and Protected Area Development

Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda was designated a national park in 2004.

At the regional level, WCS is working closely with governments to designate and manage protected areas and habitat corridors. Based on years of on the ground biological monitoring and research, WCS conservationists have informed the development of protected areas in a number of countries, including the recent creation of a nationwide system of 13 national parks in Gabon. This work also extends to freshwater and marine protected areas, which often present a different set of challenges and management issues. We continue to work closely with local communities to develop community managed areas that incorporate policies based on sustainable resource use. Using Human Footprint analysis, we are collaborating with local institutions to develop range-wide priority setting tools to advise on the creation of corridors and protected area policy.