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
Putting a price tag on the priceless: Real-world property values in Kenya aid conservation decisions
September 9, 2021
Wildlife is priceless, but wildlife conservation is far from free. Being able to assess the value of land is vital to the success of land conservation. In an ... Read full story
Optimal flight altitude to minimise acoustic drone disturbance to wildlife
August 20, 2021
We are now in a golden age of technological advances and are able to remotely monitor and track wildlife via a variety of electronic sensors. Unmanned aerial vehicles ... Read full story
New research from Tanzania sheds light on globally important yet little-known cheetah stronghold
August 9, 2021
By Paolo Strampelli
New research provides some of the first insights into the population status, distribution, and habitat use of cheetahs in Ruaha-Rungwa. Although it is believed that ... Read full story