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 Biology, 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

Camera trap survey training in Tanzania

April 16, 2024

WildCRU-affiliated project Lion Landscapes recently delivered a training workshop for Tanzanian wildlife researchers on carrying out camera trap surveys to estimate large carnivore population density. ... Read full story

Exploring the social acceptability of trophy hunting

February 16, 2024

Fierce international debates rage over whether trophy hunting is socially acceptable, especially when people from the Global North hunt well-known animals in sub-Saharan Africa. But how much do ... Read full story

Identifying and protecting key wildlife corridors in KAZA

February 7, 2024

The Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) is one of the world’s largest Transfrontier Conservation Initiatives, spanning 520 000 square kilometres across Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, ... Read full story

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