World Conservation Society
About WCS
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) was founded over a century ago as the New York Zoological Society. It is dedicated to preserving the earth's wildlife and ecosystems. Unique among conservation organizations, the society combines scientifically based conservation efforts in the field with the captive propagation of endangered species, wildlife management and health services, and environmental education for local, national and international audiences.
WCS currently oversees more than 300 conservation projects in 53 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. WCS field staff; the largest of any international conservation organization in the United States, is helping to save diverse habitats across the globe. By training local wildlife staff and students in research methods, WCS ensures that there is a permanent local capacity for conservation and management. The society also promotes local public awareness of endangered species and habitat loss.
WCS works in cooperation with local and national governments and conservation organizations by providing information based on its long-term field studies to decision-makers involved in conservation policy and action. As a result of these initiatives, WCS has helped establish more than 100 wildlife parks and reserves across the world.
The history of WCS research in India dates back to the 1960's, with the first-ever scientific study of wild tigers in central India by George Schaller. Thereafter, following a break of two decades, Ullas Karanth initiated the present WCS-India program as a single tiger research project at Nagarahole in 1986. Since then, WCS-India has blossomed into a comprehensive portfolio of activities that encompass the major global conservation strategies of WCS: scientific research, national capacity building, policy interventions, site-based conservation and developing new models of wildlife conservation. Acting synergistically, all these initiatives have contributed significantly to wildlife conservation in India and the rest of the world during the last three decades. WCS-India Program focuses on charismatic endangered mega fauna in protected reserves as the most appropriate social tactic for saving biodiversity.
We are delighted to have the support of Enduro India and look forward to a long partnership to aid us in our work to save the forests and wild places of India.
How Enduro India's support can help save tigers in India:
WCS believes that there are three key elements in successful tiger conservation. The first is having a biological vision of what can be achieved in a particular landscape. The second involves identifying and implementing the actions for achieving the vision. The third element involves going out and actually measuring the numbers of tigers, their prey and condition of habitats, including human impacts on these variables, using the best possible science. Recently WCS tiger scientists and conservation partners enunciated an institutional vision for saving wild tigers. WCS has set a long-term vision of a world harbouring 100,000 wild tigers at the end of this century.
WCS promotes tiger conservation in India across its long term sites in India through the following actions:
Implementing a biological strategy centred around saving large clusters of breeding female tigers in selected long-term tiger landscapes and addressing key threats to tiger population viability at these landscapes through on ground action.
Integrating a social strategy of deeply involving nationals of tiger range countries in conservation, building their capacity, and empowering them to act effectively as conservation leaders at these long-term landscapes to save tigers.
Periodically and objectively evaluating the successes (or weaknesses) of our tiger research, training and conservation projects in order to develop and demonstrate increasingly effective models of tiger conservation based on adaptive management principles. To achieve this goal by conducting and promoting a sound research and monitoring program that brings the best available science to the task.
WCS-India program has been engaged in supporting long-term research and monitoring of tiger populations in Western Ghats sites like Nagarahole, Bandipur, Bhadra. The program works through several capable local NGOs: Centre for Wildlife Studies, TREE, Kudremukh Wildlife Foundation, Bhadra Wildlife Trust and SWIFT as well a the proactive advocacy group Wildlife First. Their on ground tiger conservation activities include improving tiger protection through conservation monitoring of key populations by key local conservation leaders, actively promoting voluntary resettlement of people away from critical tiger habitats on their own or in collaboration with the government, conducting local community education and outreach as well as if necessary advocacy and litigation activities that are permitted under Indian laws. Similar conservation models are being developed for a set of key tiger sites in Maharashtra, Central India in association with other partners.
Ms. Andrea Heydlauff WCS
For more information: www.wcsindia.org