Marine Programs

©WCS

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Global Marine program develops and implements innova­tive solutions to the most challenging threats facing Coral Reef Seascapes and Ocean Giants through research, capacity building of local individuals and organizations, and policy action. WCS maintains a long-term commitment to priority species and sites in 15 countries worldwide, recognizing that true conservation requires sustained on-the-ground efforts over decades.

Conserving Coral Reef Seascapes

The widely published decline of coral reef ecosystems world wide has been attributed to a range of pressures from climate change to overfishing. WCS addresses these threats with a science-based, on-the-ground ap­proach, working closely with governments and communities in Belize, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Madagascar, and islands in the broader western Indian Ocean. Our role is to create a balance between the con­servation needs of ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems and the needs of local people. This often involves the establishment and management of marine protected areas and the development of policies to sustain these areas. The hallmarks of the WCS approach are using sound science as the basis of man­agement, working closely with decision-mak­ers at all scales, and making long-term com­mitments to seascapes and the communities dependent on them. Across our global network of sites, WCS synthesizes ecological, biological, and social science in teams led by their premier con­servationist scientists. Our trans-oceanic re­search agenda ranges from resilience to cli­mate change to the adaptive capacity of local communities and is designed to pull together expertise, lessons learned, and a global data­set from our long-term sites to give a clearer picture of the state of coral reefs around the world and priorities for effective conserva­tion action.

Protecting Ocean Giants

The world’s oceans once supported large and thriving populations of large marine vertebrates, what we term Ocean Giants. WCS is helping Ocean Giants flourish once again by developing conservation strategies and approaches to protect these icons of wild, healthy oceans. Our species conservation ini­tiatives focus on whales, dolphins, elephant seals, sea turtles, manatees, and sharks in key habitats across the Gulf of Guinea, western Indian Ocean, south Atlantic, Caribbean, and Indo-Pacific seas. WCS brings a science-based strategy, a commitment to training and capacity-building for emerging scientists and managers, and experience in developing sound policy instruments to support good management for these species. Underlying this work is a keen understanding of the need to achieve effective conservation while meet­ing human needs. Each focal species strategy draws on many tools, from community in­volvement to tracking movements of these migratory species using cutting-edge tech­nologies to our important contributions to management policies, to address the highest priority conservation needs of the oceans’ most iconic species.

Integrating Land/Seascape Conservation

Leveraging WCS’ multi-decade commitment to coastal landscapes, several “summit to seas” efforts are currently protecting large adjacent tracts of both land and sea. Off Patagonia, the “Sea and Sky” program con­nects open ocean conservation with coastal and terrestrial protected areas to conserve a range of species includ­ing elephant seals, petrels, penguins and a number of associated fisheries. In Ga­bon, WCS serves as techni­cal advisor to the National Parks Service’s management of terrestrial, coastal, and marine protected areas that boast some of the planet’s most dramatic wildlife aggregations. Loango National Park, for instance, is one of the few locations on Earth where tropical Africa's great terrestrial icons—elephant, buffalo, hippo, gorilla, and leopard—come down to the shore to meet the world's marine icons—humpback whales and leatherback turtles.

The WCS Approach

Our seascape and ocean giant conservation strategies involve working on multiple scales, while pursuing on-the-ground practical application and inves­tigation of new scientifically tested approaches and results. Our goals are:

1. Conserving Living Seascapes: Ultimately, we hold ourselves accountable for the long-term conservation and protection of living seascapes and species of global importance, basing new marine protected areas and other conservation actions on our field research and commitment to sites and species.

2. Ecological and Social Scientific Investi­gation: Science-based research to inform conservation action is central to WCS’s ap­proach.

3. Building Capacity, Strong Partnerships, and Local Engagement: Our long-term commitment to the sites where we work allows us to build critical relationships with the key people and partners at those sites to build support for marine conservation and enhance the skills of local managers and scientists.

4. Monitoring and Evaluation for Long-Term Success: WCS works closely with local communities and management authorities to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of management plans and revise them, as necessary.

5. Addressing Emerging Global Challenges: Conservation leadership in a changing world demands that our work is relevant across a number of emerging global chal­lenges. WCS is working closely with part­ners around the world to develop innovative solutions to the chal­lenges posed by climate change, pressures on resources to sustain hu­man livelihoods, natural resource extrac­tion, and the spread of disease and other health-related threats.

The Next Decade

With the effects of serial overfishing and cli­mate change on the world’s oceans becoming starkly clear, the next decade may be a turn­ing point for coral reefs, sea turtles, whales, dolphins, and sharks. Though we have more scientific and management tools on hand than ever before, the challenge of applying these tools in the most effective way is signif­icant. WCS brings to this challenge a proven track-record in delivering results around the world that are based on sound science and tailored to succeed in the local context. By 2020, WCS aims to:

• Leverage regionally the conservation suc­cesses of at least ten priority seascapes, starting with our current sites in Fiji, In­donesia, Papua New Guinea, Belize, and Madagascar.

• Ensure adequate science, governance, and economic incentives are in place to save and ensure the long-term viability of at least five important populations of prior­ity marine wildlife species.

WCS’ long-term investment in sites, species, and people gives us the perspective and expe­rience to lead conservation efforts that deliver top-quality scientific results, a new generation of conservation leadership, and conservation impact in the places where we work.

Links
Niarchos Fellowsip
Glover's Reef Research Station
News
Fish Spawning Aggregations