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Tag: Wildlife Conservation Society

  • Urgent Message from WCS as the Avian Influenza Virus Threatens Wildlife Across the Globe

    Urgent Message from WCS as the Avian Influenza Virus Threatens Wildlife Across the Globe

    New York, January 15, 2024 – The Wildlife Conservation Society is issuing the following statement about H5N1 Avian Influenza due to ongoing wildlife die-offs across the world:

    Said Dr. Chris Walzer, WCS Executive Director of Health: 

    “With the frightening die-off of animals across the globe due to avian influenza, WCS is calling for governments internationally to treat this growing crisis with the urgency it demands. As we continue to monitor the death of innumerable species and track the movement of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) into mammal populations, we must strengthen the focus on integrating the surveillance of emerging influenza clades in wild birds and mammals to support critical vaccine libraries.

    “H5N1 now presents an existential threat to the world’s biodiversity. It has infected over 150 wild and domestic avian species around the globe as well as a dozens of mammalian species. The bird flu outbreak is the worst globally and also in U.S. history, with hundreds-of-million birds dead since it first turned up in domestic waterfowl in China in 1996. Bird flu is highly transmissible, spread through droplet and feces-borne infections, and exacerbated by climate-change-altering migration schedules for birds and its repeated re-circulation in domestic poultry. 

    “Globally, HPAI H5N1 has now infected many mammals—including foxes, pumas, skunks, and both black and brown bears in North America. Some 700 endangered Caspian seals died from HPAI near Dagestan in 2023. Additionally, outbreaks in mink farms in Spain and Finland that serve as potential mixing vessels for reassortment have also been documented. HPAI H5N1 has arrived in Latin America with devastating consequences, afflicting multiple countries that include WCS land- and seascapes in Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Argentina. 

    “More than 95 percent of the Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) pups born along 300 km of the Patagonia coastline died at the end of 2023. It’s the first report of massive elephant seal mortality in the area from any cause in the last half century. The sight of elephant seals found dead or dying along the breeding beaches can only be described as apocalyptic. This 2023 die-off contrasts starkly with the 18,000 pups born and successfully weaned in 2022.  

    “As the virus continues to spread through mammal populations, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on public health officials to prepare for a potential spillover of H5N1 to people. The “R naught” value—or the number of people infected by a single infected person—for COVID initially ranged from 1.5 to 7. For H5N1 among birds, it is around 100. It is imperative that we take a collaborative One Health approach to identifying emerging strains of bird flu across the globe to support the development of specific and universal vaccines that can quickly treat infection in people to prevent another pandemic.

    “The cost of inaction is already causing major devastation to wildlife. As we work to help affected populations recover, we must remain vigilant against the spread of this deadly pathogen to people before it’s too late. 

     

    Background

    Wildlife Conservation Society Health Program

    In the last few decades, it has become increasingly evident that conservation, our own health, and the health of wild and domestic animals are all inextricably linked. A single pathogen can wipe out the last populations of an endangered species and, in turn, threaten the stability of local human populations. Thus there is an urgent need to simultaneously address the health of people, animals and the environment recognizing that disease poses challenges to both conservation of the planet’s biodiversity and efforts to improve the quality of human life.

    Additional Background: Global leaders in wildlife and human health issued 10 principles – The Berlin Principles – with an urgent call to governments, academia, and civil society that all sectors need to break down barriers to ensure a united effort to prevent the emergence or resurgence of diseases that threaten humans, wildlife, and livestock.

     

    Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

    WCS combines the power of its zoos and an aquarium in New York City and a Global Conservation Program in more than 50 countries to achieve its mission to save wildlife and wild places. WCS runs the world’s largest conservation field program, protecting more than 50 percent of Earth’s known biodiversity; in partnership with governments, Indigenous People, Local Communities, and the private sector. It’s four zoos and aquarium (the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and the New York Aquarium ) welcomes more than 3.5 million visitors each year, inspiring generations to care for nature. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society, the organization is led (as of June 1, 2023) by President and CEO Monica P. Medina. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org. Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: +1 (347) 840-1242. Listen to the WCS Wild Audio podcast HERE.

     

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    Wildlife Conservation Society

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  • In Papua New Guinea, Inaugl Tribe Members Commit to Legally Protect More Than 12,000 ha (46 square miles) of High Biodiversity Forest

    In Papua New Guinea, Inaugl Tribe Members Commit to Legally Protect More Than 12,000 ha (46 square miles) of High Biodiversity Forest

    Newswise — Today, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Indigenous landowners of the Inaugl tribe have joined their neighbours in the Bismarck Forest Corridor to commit to legally protecting 12,241 hectares (46.3 square miles) of forest under a conservation deed. The deed protects this high integrity forest from logging, while allowing for sustainable use of natural resources within marked zones.

    “This conservation deed, which is agreed by all five clans of the Inaugl tribe, meant that the people put aside their differences and are united to work together for common good,” said clan leader, John Kamb Sande.

    The Wildlife Conservation Society PNG program (WCS PNG), with support from the European Union-funded Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme and the USAID PNG Lukautim Graun Program, has been working with the Inaugl tribe members from Gembogl District, Chimbu Province, to empower Indigenous stewardship over their tenured lands. The lands are managed under the oversight of KGWan, a community-based organisation made up of representatives from each of the Inaugl tribe’s five clans, and monitored by local rangers or “Wasman,” who will be trained in GPS software tools to record wildlife sightings and breaches of management rules. Offenders can be prosecuted under village or state courts. Under the SWM Programme and Lukautim Graun Program, local magistrates and the Conservation Management Committee have received training on penalties and mediation processes to enforce conservation deeds.

    WCS PNG Country Director, Jennifer Baing, said that legally binding conservation deeds as community-led governance mechanisms are proving to be effective for sustainable wildlife management and conservation in PNG.

    “This community led approach is effective because it incorporates both social and environmental safeguards, such as rigorous processes of obtaining local Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). Through the process of developing conservation deeds, customary landowners are empowered to make decisions on the use of their own resources based on traditional knowledge and the community’s own needs. This is achieved by utilising information on local threats to their natural resources, food security and culture,” said Baing.

    H.E. Jacques Fradin, Ambassador of the European Union to PNG, proudly extends heartfelt congratulations to the Inaugl tribe’s clans for their collaborative efforts in signing a groundbreaking conservation deed.

    “The signing of this historic agreement is a testament to the spirit of cooperation between the local communities, whose ancestral lands are graced with unique and diverse ecosystems. The European Union is proudly supporting the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme and other initiatives committed to fostering sustainable development, enhancing environmental protection, with deep respect for local traditions and knowledge. This milestone serves as a tangible example of how protected areas supported through conservation deeds are proving to be a useful tool to achieve sustainable management of wildlife and natural resources. The European Union is committed to continue the Government of Papua New Guinea, the provincial administrations, local communities, and international partners in advancing sustainable practices and preserving the natural wonders that grace this astonishing country,” said H.E. Jacques Fradin.

    As part of the management plan the community has designated zones within the conservation area to support sustainable traditional hunting. In addition, to increase the supply of protein, two hundred households will receive chickens to set up village backyard poultry farming.

    Jenny Steven, speaking on behalf of women from the Inaugl tribe, said, “Conservation will not be fully achieved in PNG unless people’s livelihoods are integrated.” This integration is a core component of both the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme and Lukautim Graun Program.

    Chief of Party for the USAID-funded Lukautim Graun Program, Tom Pringel said, “Papua New Guinea, land of 840 language and culture is living through a time of environmental degradation which is not only resulting in biodiversity loss, but loss of cultural identity associated with traditional bilas, folklores, songs, areas of cultural significances, loss of water sources, loss of herbal medicine, loss of useful plants, animals, and insects. All living and non-living things in the natural environment are interconnected and form various elements of the ecosystems life supporting systems. With the increase in human population and demand for more resources there is now a greater need to promote biodiversity conservation and environmental protection in PNG. USAID funded Lukautim Graun Program promotes and supports biodiversity conservation efforts by providing alternative solutions to promote biodiversity through livelihood programs, capacity building and training. Additionally, gender equality in PNG is rated as one of the lowest out of the 159 countries, therefore the Lukautim Graun Program also supports and promotes equal participation for girls and women in biodiversity conservation programming and livelihood activities. On this occasion we are proud to be part of the achievement and celebrate a milestone achievement with the Danbalg Community who have taken the initiative to setup the Inaugl Natural Resource Management Area. Congratulations to the Danbalg Community, WCS and everyone who has been part of the journey in creating the Conservation Area.”

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    Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme The SWM Programme is developing innovative solutions based on field projects in fifteen countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. This seven-year (2018-2024) initiative is funded by the European Union and implemented by a unique consortium of four organisations with expertise in wildlife conservation and food security: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). https://www.swm-programme.info/papua-new-guinea

    The USAID PNG Lukautim Graun Program (LGP) The USAID PNG Lukautim Graun Program (LGP) aims to protect Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) rich biodiversity, which is under increasing threat from industrial development, population growth, and other anthropogenic factors. “Lukautim graun” means “protect the environment” in Tok Pisin. The Program aims to improve the conservation of biodiversity and equity among genders in priority terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. www.pnglgp.org

    Wildlife Conservation Society

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  • Goats and Sheep Battle in Climate Crisis

    Goats and Sheep Battle in Climate Crisis

    Newswise — A new study from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Colorado State University, and the National Park Service indicates previously unknown high altitude contests between two of America’s most sensational mammals – mountain goats and bighorn sheep – over access to minerals previously unavailable due to the past presence of glaciers which, now, are vanishing due to global warming. 

    The study also points to other coveted resources such as desert water and shade in brutal environs from Africa, Asia, and North America; species in these extreme environments contest access to these biologically important resources but such interactions have not previously been catalogued by individual species, their size, or their status as ‘native’ or ‘exotic’. 

    “While humans continue to be justifiably concerned about the climate-induced havoc we’re wreaking planet-wide, much has remained unknown about species aggression among our mammalian brethren” said Joel Berger, the lead author and Senior Scientist for WCS and the Barbara Cox-Anthony Chair of Wildlife Conservation at Colorado State University. 

    The findings from this work were distilled from fragmentary information dating backwards some four decades and included species as different as marmots and baboons, oryx and elephants, and rhinos, along with wild (i.e., feral) horses which displaced native pronghorn, mule deer, and elk from desert waters.

    The study revealed that mountain goats with their saber-like horns emerged victorious over bighorn sheep in more than 98 percent of contests at three sites along a 900-mile gradient of above-treeline mountainous habitat from Colorado to Alberta, Canada. While mountain goats are a native species in northwestern North America, they are exotic in Colorado and Wyoming, including the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, where they were introduced. Concerns there and elsewhere have focused on the extent to which goats may displace or outcompete native bighorns. Although it remains unknown if interactions to access resources have increased over time as our climate degrades, human activity has both increased and decreased access by wildlife to restricted resources such as minerals and water through road building and by the creation of artificial water sources. 

    The study appears in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. Co-authors, Mark Biel, Chief biologist at Glacier National Park in Montana, and PhD candidate Forest Hayes at CSU, pointed out that high elevation aggression between species, whether passive or active, highlight the importance of limited resources, but it’s been well known that both bighorns and mountain goats will travel up to fifteen miles or more to access these limited resources.  Desert elephants travel distances even more impressive – up to 40 miles – to drink from distant waterholes in Namibia. 

    “It’s been exciting to gather data in wind, snow, and cold on goats and sheep in both Glacier and at Mt. Evans, Colorado, which reaches to more than 14,000 feet,” offered Forest Hayes where “our observations both at close range and from distances of more than a mile provided unique opportunities for detecting and understanding ecological interactions.” 

    Berger, Biel, and Hayes suggest a possible role of climate challenge through ground water depletion in desert areas but recognize humans may be a more immediate threat as water use for people increasingly jeopardizes the fragility of biodiversity in these systems.  “If we can’t offer species other than ourselves a chance, we’re just cooking our fates along similarly destructive paths” offered Berger. 

    Associated partners and funders for this project were Colorado State University and the Wildlife Conservation Society, Glacier National Park Conservatory, Denver Zoological Society, Denver Mountain Parks, and Frederick Dulude-de Broin at LaVal University. 

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    WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)

    MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.

     

    Wildlife Conservation Society

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