Asia

From the vast forests of Papua New Guinea's Crater Mountain region to the sweeping grasslands of China’s Chang Tang Nature Reserve, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has worked for decades to help protect wildlife and wild lands.

Across Asia, ancient cultures and religions evolved with a deep respect for, and dependence on, the natural world. But today, as burgeoning populations and expanding economies lead to dwindling natural resources, many species spiral toward extinction. The Asian medicine trade preys on bears for their gall bladders, tigers for their bones, and rhinos for their horns. Logging demands destroy forest habitats that are home to countless rare wildlife species, and local agriculture draws from watersheds, sucking them dry. Working to reverse these trends, WCS has supported decades of conservation work throughout continental Asia, India, Indochina, and the South Pacific.

Naturalist William Beebe set the pace for many of the society’s exploratory surveys by cataloging eastern Asian pheasants in 1909. WCS has since pioneered hundreds of studies on wildlife, including pandas in China, tigers in Thailand, and monkeys in Malaysia. In the late 1990's, researchers working in Southeast Asia documented several mammal species previously unknown to Western science, and rediscovered a type of pig thought extinct for 100 years.

With research and training projects now underway in 21 Asian countries, WCS continues to expand the body of knowledge on Asian wildlife and conservation. Using a variety of cutting-edge research methods, WCS field staff gather information on a particular region to illustrate a need for its protection. By conducting wildlife surveys, scientists assess an area’s biological diversity. They discover how species use their habitat through in- depth ecological studies that include long-term monitoring techniques. Field researchers also document how people use the land to assess human impact. Computerized satellite geographic information systems help them map the topography of an area and better understand the landscape as a whole. WCS collaborates with many levels of Asian governments to determine guidelines for national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and surrounding "buffer zones".

To date, WCS has helped establish dozens of Asian protected areas, comprising millions of acres. However, the Society's presence continues long after authorities declare parks and reserves. WCS ensures long-term monitoring of a selected region or species by funding ongoing graduate projects. In other cases, WCS teaches management and monitoring procedures to in-country wildlife professionals and protected area staff, or trains and hires local research biologists.