The Wildlife Conservation Society, founded in 1895, is operating in China since 1996 to combat illegal trade of endangered species, to encourage co-existing of wildlife and local residents in the Tibetan Plateau, and to develop a safer habitat for the Siberian Amur tiger.
Currently WCS China has four field offices (Beijing, Guangzhou, Lhasa and Hunchun), with a team of 19 talented professionals driven by their passion for nature conservation and holding a Master's or higher degree (10) or a scientific background in biology/ecology (10).
WCS is a nonprofit tax-exempt organization with over 500 conservation projects in 60 countries supported by private and corporate donors, partner NGOs and foundations worldwide.
Our work in China
a) Combating illegal wildlife trade
Since 2008 WCS is playing an increasing role in stemming wildlife trafficking through capacity building training and on-demand technical support to law enforcement agencies, regular market monitoring and consumers' awareness campaigns. We are now developing an innovative mobile phone based tool (Wildlife Guardian) to overcome the technical capacity bottleneck and enable anybody to contribute with monitoring, identification and reporting of wildlife trade in Chinese markets.
b) Biodiversity conservation in Western Tibetan Plateau
WCS has been a major contributor to the creation of the Changtang National Nature Reserve, the second largest terrestrial protected area in the world. Nowadays we continue working to support anti-poaching of endangered species such as the Tibetan antelope and wild yak. Through community-driven conservation initiatives, WCS is stimulating a sense of ownership in local herdsmen towards this still untainted land and actively involving them in regular monitoring and patrolling activities.
c) Conservation of the Amur Tiger in Northeast China
Since 1998, when only 20 Amur tigers were left in China, WCS has actively researched on viable conservation solutions and promoted both community education and outreach projects to revert the habitat loss in Northeast provinces. Along with anti-poaching capacity training, regular campaigns to move snare-biggest threat to tigers and their prey, currently we are also promoting initiatives to get more government agencies and local communities involved in patrolling activities and conservation projects.
d) Wildlife Guardian Action
Every year, WCS celebrates wildlife conservation champions in China, generating significant media coverage to raise public awareness about poaching and illegal trade in endangered species and to encourage public support in these endeavor. Monetary and in-kind incentives are provided to outstanding contributors within enforcement agencies, NGOs and the media.
