Wildlife Conservation Society- Congo Basin Coast Program

The Wildlife Conservation Society is a US-based non-profit organization that saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation and education. WCS has been active in Gabon since the 1980s, pioneering studies of forest ecology and over recent years adding a focus on the marine ecosystems of the entire Congo Basin Coast region. Southern Hemisphere humpback whales migrate to the coastal waters of tropical West Africa to breed each year. Illegal fisheries, poaching, pollution, habitat disturbance and climate change threaten these populations. In this region, we are working to expand the number and size of marine protected areas to safeguard at least 10 percent of territorial seas. Efforts towards this include the collection of data on key species like humpback whales to aid in the design and implementation of management plans.