State of the Wild: 2006-2007 Edition

WCS State of the Wild

A Global Portrait of Wildlife, Wildlands, and Oceans

A biennial production of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Island Press, State of the Wild is a collection of evocative essays featuring emerging issues in the conservation of wildlife and wild places. The book brings together international conservation experts and writers to analyze our time's most pressing environmental topics. Seeking to broaden awareness of major trends that are affecting the state of the wild across all continents, it also includes a catalog of the year's research, rulings, and events.

One World-One Health

Part of the 2008-2009 edition is devoted to a theme of growing significance: One World-One Health, the integration of wildlife health, ecosystem health, human health, and the health of domestic animals. The 23 essays also address key issues in the conservation of species and wild places and the art and practice of conservation itself.

Hear WCS President and CEO Dr. Steven E. Sanderson explain how wildlife conservationists are creating a new category of diplomacy.

Hear series editor Dr. Kent H. Redford's commentary on planning for our planet's ecological future by looking to its past.

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2006-2007 Edition
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2006-2007 Edition

In wild places where nature thrives, humanity prospers; our well-being is inextricably linked with that of the planet's web of life. In fact, one could argue that the state of the world can be measured by the state of the wild.

But how do we gauge the state of earth's wildlife, wildlands, and oceans? State of the Wild is a new series that brings together some of the world's most renowned conservationists and writers—George Schaller, Alan Rabinowitz, Sylvia Earle, Rick Bass, Bill McKibben, Tom Lovejoy, and many others—to assess wildlife and wilderness, and to provide insights into how humans can become better stewards of the wild.

This new series combines evocative writings with a fascinating tour of news highlights and vital statistics from around the world. One-third of each volume will focus on a topic of particular concern to conservationists working to protect wildlife and our last wild places. The 2006 edition explores the impacts of hunting and the wildlife trade through a range of essays: Ted Kerasote traces the history of hunting in North America; Carl Safina, Eric Gilman, and Wallace J. Nichols quantify the toll taken by commercial fishing on seabirds, turtles, and other marine species; James Compton and Samuel K. H. Lee explore the global reach of the wildlife trade for traditional Asian medicine.

Contributors also examine other pivotal conservation issues, from the reasons why one in eight of the world's birds are endangered, to the impacts of global climate change, to the complexity of conserving seals, flamingos, zebras, and other wide-ranging species. The book's closing essay, "The Relative Wild," considers what exactly it means for a place to be "wild," where even the most remote corners of the planet have been altered by human activities.

Uniquely structured with magazine-like features up front, conservation news in the middle, and essay contributions from eminent authors and biologists throughout, this landmark series is an essential addition to any environmental bookshelf.

THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, global conservation, education, and management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. WCS publishes an award-winning magazine, Wildlife Conservation, and partners with media outlets to cover pressing conservation issues.

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By the Numbers

550

cities will have populations of more than 1 million by 2015, and the world population is expected to be 10 billion by 2050.

58

percent of the 1,407 known human pathogens are zoonotic, which means they can jump between humans and animals.

371

people have been diagnosed with avian influenza as of March 2008, resulting in 235 deaths.

5000

western lowland gorillas have died from the Ebola virus over the past several years and 25 human cases were confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007.

More statistics >>