The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), established in the United States in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society, is a US-based, private, nonprofit conservation organization that saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. With long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes and seascapes, presence in over 50 countries, and experience helping to establish, expand, or manage over 550 protected areas across the globe, WCS applies its biological knowledge, cultural understanding, and partnerships to ensure that wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and partner governments, that knowledge is applied to address threats to species, habitats, and ecosystem services, and issues critical to improving the quality of life of local people whose livelihoods often depend on natural resources. WCS has identified a global portfolio of Nature’s Strongholds, representing the landscapes and seascapes with exceptional biodiversity and the highest ecosystem integrity. Our goals for global conservation include helping to conserve at least 50% of the world’s terrestrial and marine biodiversity across these strongholds and reducing the key drivers causing the loss of wildlife and wild places globally.
Since establishing our office in Guangzhou in 2007, WCS China's Counter Wildlife Trafficking (CWT) program has emerged as a world-leading team in combating wildlife trafficking, with a mission to address the global nature of this critical issue. Our work is rooted in Southern China and extends globally, recognizing that wildlife trade is a complex, international phenomenon with sources and impacts spanning the entire planet, with China being one of the most important players.
The CWT team of 10 is predominantly composed of women, each bringing a diverse range of backgrounds and expertise, including experience in environmental policy, international relations, biology, management science, agriculture, and sociology. We are a dynamic and self-motivated team, believing that our work is supported by the collective goodwill of people around the globe who share a deep concern for wildlife and a vision for a better world. We are committed not only to saving and protecting wildlife but also to building a more just, safe, and nature-friendly human society.
Since 1998, WCS has been working in Northeast China where, in collaboration with many partners, we have developed successful Amur tiger conservation programs. Joint wildlife surveys by WCS and local forestry teams were instrumental in the initial creation of Hunchun Nature Reserve in 2001, the most important stronghold for tigers in China. Since the reserve’s creation, WCS has assisted in improving conditions for tigers, including extensive snare removal programs and improving anti-poaching patrol efficiency. We have also been a leader in tiger science and have offered training on how best to address human-tiger conflict.
These efforts culminated with the creation of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in 2017, the largest tiger-leopard reserve in the world. Since then, while maintaining our focus on population dynamics, we have expanded our efforts to prioritize community involvement and mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
Since 2018, WCS has transferred its West China Program from Tibet to Sanjiangyuan, Qinghai Province, with a focus on capacity building for our partners in this snow leopard landscape.