The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit
The planet’s human population increases by more than 200,000 people every day. At the same time, global consumption and inequality are rising. As a result, our planetary footprint is unsustainable, with ever more severe and intensifying pressure on finite natural resources throughout the world. The resulting environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change destroys nature and impacts human well-being. The mission of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) is to achieve practical solutions to conservation problems through original scientific research. Our research is used worldwide to advise environmental policy-makers. The need for our efforts is greater than ever.
Part of the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology, WildCRU is a pioneering, inter-disciplinary research unit in a world-class academic centre. We underpin solutions to conservation problems through primary scientific research of the highest calibre. Our approach is empirical, interdisciplinary and collaborative, seeking to include all four elements of our “Conservation Quartet” research to understand and address the problem; education to explain it; community involvement to ensure participation and acceptance; and implementation of long-term solutions.
Video narrated by Prof David Macdonald. Created by, and used with the kind permission of United for Wildlife: www.unitedforwildlife.org/
News
New paper highlights the need for a nuanced approach to wildlife trade
July 31, 2020
Calls to ban wildlife trade have gained momentum recently, as the coronavirus causing COVID-19 is commonly thought to have emerged in a wildlife market in China. However, a ... Read full story
COVID-19 impacts on wildlife conservation and the need for new conservation models
July 31, 2020
A new paper out in Nature Ecology and Evolution, whose authors include WildCRU’s Amy Dickman and Peter Tyrrell, highlights the devastating impact of the current ... Read full story
Research findings on the accuracy of spoor surveys as a method of calculating carnivore populations
July 31, 2020
A study led by Dr Egil Dröge, WildCRU’s Lead Tutor for the Recanati-Kaplan Centre Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice, in collaboration with researchers from ... Read full story