6 Great Websites for Wildlife Conservation News and Stories
If you are looking for a job in conservation, it is imperative that you know of the latest stories, debates and happenings in the conservation world. Conservation Careers Blogger Karen Sim Clerc shares her favourite websites for conservation news and stories.
Mongabay.com and Mongabay.org
Mongabay’s founder Rhett Butler started the site in 1999 (named after an island off Madagascar) out of his passion for nature and wildlife. It gained popularity very quickly and was named by Time Magazine in 2008 as one of the Top 15 Green Websites. Today it offers environmental news in several different languages, claims more than 1 million visitors per month and even includes a section for children.
Mongabay provides up-to-date news collated from a variety of sources including scientific journals, magazines and reports, as well as interviews. Since 2013, Mongabay has also – under its non-profit arm, Mongabay.org – been offering up delectable conservation stories that go in-depth on various topics written by its group of Special Reporting Initiatives Fellows. These stories go deep into the often numerous complexities to give us a balanced and more profound understanding of these specific environmental issues. The most recent story I read focused on Fiji’s trade in their endangered sea-cucumbers, and took me to a world I would never have known otherwise. I must have really enjoyed it as I realized afterwards that I had missed a good portion of the World Cup match I was watching that evening! That story here.
National Geographic is a familiar brand I have grown up with and naturally gravitate towards. While it isn’t specifically a conservation focused website, I do trawl through its daily news section as well as its Environment and Animal sections regularly because it’s dedication to caring about the planet means a good chunk of it’s information is, in some way or other, related to conservation.
A few days ago, a story on rangers on the front lines of anti-poaching wars deeply moved and outraged me to the point that I felt something ignited in me. Read it here.
It has made me think seriously about whether I could somehow focus my career on eliminating the atrocity of poaching. A tall order and crazy ambition maybe – but a sure sign that this story has succeeded in inspiring one of its readers!
Environmental Investigation Agency
EIA’s work focuses on environmental crime and often tackles it through undercover investigations. I have found their website to be one of the best online outlets for such latest news. Poaching and environmental crime hit a “soft spot” with me, but as it is one of the key factors driving the extinction of many species today, it is important that conservationists in general are aware of the seriousness of the issue.
IUCN and IUCN Red List
As one of the most authoritative conservation bodies, its knowledge and influence powered by almost 11,000 scientists and experts in 6 commissions, the IUCN is one environmental organization whose key activities every conservationist ought to be aware of. Their reports and findings often set the agenda in the conservation arena and guide action and policy-making. IUCN also publishes the Red List of Threatened Species that is used by conservationists globally as a barometer of the earth’s biodiversity. This year the Red List “celebrates” it’s 50th year and with the extra focus on it, I have found myself discovering more species that I had not known about. Another significant event on the conservation calendar this year is the IUCN World Park’s Congress in November. Since Protected Areas are critical to conservation, I will be keeping close tabs on this event!
BBC Nature
I head to the BBC news website at least once a day to read the news, and often while I am there, I make a quick hop onto the BBC Nature site. Although much of its nature news is admittedly focused on the UK, Scotland and Ireland, it is a surprisingly delightful collection of what I would like to call nature ‘tidbits’. Reading about extinctions, the rapid decline in biodiversity and poached rhinos can be depressing, so I do occasionally take a look at photos people take of wildlife in their backyard or read a short article on how to identify butterflies in my garden.
Wildlife Extra
Wildlife Extra is the official website of Wildlife Travel magazine. It was introduced to me by a fellow blogger, and I find it great for the latest news and the variety it offers. In particular I enjoy its Unusual Sightings section – the last story I read was of someone who found a 5 legged frog in a garden – and also it’s other less ordinary sections such as the one on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Apparently, groups in the US continue to search for it, and are even offering a $10,000 reward to anyone with proof of it’s existence!
Certainly, many other great websites exist that are not listed here. We would love to hear about them! Which are your favorites?
About the author
This post was produced by Conservation Careers Blogger Karen Sim Clerc. Karen is passionate about nature and nature conservation. She has worked in the defence and government sectors in her native Singapore, as well as at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, before deciding to pursue a career in the environment. She has volunteered and worked for the WWF in tiger conservation, and has spent the last 2 years in the sustainability sector. Her main interests are in wildlife trade, global warming and its impacts, and sustainable agriculture and consumption.
About the author Karen Sim This post was produced by Conservation Careers Blogger Karen Sim Clerc. Karen is passionate about nature and nature conservation. She has worked in the defence and government sectors in her native Singapore, as well as at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, before deciding to pursue a career in the environment. She has volunteered and worked for the WWF in tiger conservation, and has spent the last 2 years in the sustainability sector. Her main interests are in wildlife trade, global warming and its impacts, and sustainable agriculture and consumption.