WCS Wild Audio

This month between March 23-29, governments from around the world will gather in Campo Grande, Brazil, for the triennial conference of parties to the Convention on Migratory Species, or CMS.

It’s a treaty focused on animals that cross borders—birds, whales and sharks, big cats, freshwater fish—that no one country can conserve alone.

As the meeting approaches, WCS Wild Audio spoke to CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel about the state of the world’s migratory species — and what’s at stake at this year’s conference.

Reporting: Nat Moss

Guest: Amy Fraenkel

Across the Amazon Basin, the search for gold has unleashed a crisis both environmental and human. Illegal and small-scale gold mining depends on mercury to separate gold from stone. That mercury seeps into rivers, the air, and the food people eat, poisoning ecosystems and communities alike. This week, WCS Wild Audio has the story of how—from Ecuador to Bolivia —conservationists and Indigenous leaders are fighting back.

Reporting: Nat Moss

Guests: Sebastian Valdivieso, Óscar Loayza

Peatlands don’t get the attention they deserve. Worldwide, these wetlands provide crucial ecosystem services. They are vital for Indigenous livelihoods and as carbon storage powerhouses. Canada has some of the world's largest remaining intact peatlands. Now, WCS Canada has a new national strategy to safeguard them before it’s too late. 

Reporting: Dan Rosen

Guest: Victoria Goodday

Coral reefs are facing unprecedented pressure from overfishing, pollution, and climate change. But scientists are finding that some reefs are more resilient than others — and that protecting those reefs could shape the future of coral conservation worldwide. The Wildlife Conservation Society has developed a new strategy focused on identifying and safeguarding those places of resilience. 

Reporting: Nat Moss

Guest: Emily Darling

As we launch this new coral reef conservation strategy, WCS would like to thank Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, and The Tiffany & Co. Foundation for their longtime partnership with the WCS Coral Reef Program. Their support, in addition to several other dedicated donors and multilateral partners, has helped us to propel this work.

Sharks and rays are some of the ocean’s most iconic species, but they are in crisis. At the upcoming CITES COP20 meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, governments will decide on dozens of proposals to regulate global trade in wildlife and wildlife products. That includes whether or not to give certain shark and ray species the highest level of international trade protections—a full ban. 

Reporting: Dan Rosen

Guests: Luke Warwick, Dana Tricarico