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
Estimating the impact of farmland management on invertebrate welfare
June 24, 2022
In a new project with the Wild Animal Initiative, Ruth Feber and Paul Johnson will explore a model to quanitfy wild inseact health and wellbeing.
Wild ... Read full story
New study taps into existing data to reveal multi-species habitat associations in Africa’s largest TFCA
June 24, 2022
Over the years, WildCRU has amassed an impressive range of data thanks to the hard work of our field teams across the world. Although many of these datasets ... Read full story
Geraldine Werhahn summarises the Asian wolf’s evolutionary history
June 1, 2022
Wolves in Asia have been comparably little studied but merit more attention from science and conservation. A new study led by WildCRU researcher Geraldine Werhahn, in collaboration ... Read full story