WCSA22 is coming in October 2022!
After a successful Wildlife Conservation in South Africa (WCSA) conference in 2021, we are fortunate enough to have the support of our affiliated organizations to bring you another Wildlife Conservation conference in October 2022!
I am sure that everyone is as grateful as us that we appear to finally be coming out of the back end of COVID-19 (fingers crossed) but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing since then. South Africa has been highlighted as a country of massive concern regarding climate change with it likely to heat up twice the rate of the global average. This would cause adverse weather events, water poverty, and mass unemployment. Furthermore, it would reduce animal diversity and increase human-wildlife conflict.
Additionally, despite the re-emergence of travel and return to tourism, South Africa, in their most popular tourist season (January), only welcomed about one-third of the number of visitors compared to previous non-pandemic years. In addition to the ongoing financial losses carrying over from the pandemic, there is still a long way to go for organizations that are reliant on the tourist industry to support them and keep them going. It may seem all doom and gloom but luckily, we have the ability to help…
In 2012, following 8 months of research, 101 projects were explored resulting in a small community of reliable organizations that are committed to our vision of sustainability, ethical tourism, and conservation to name a few things. Read more here. We have handpicked a select few organizations to broadcast some of their conservation successes from the last few years on topics ranging from conservation, veterinary care, ecology, and research on these incredible species. This will allow us to raise much-needed funds to continue to safeguard conservation efforts for some of the most amazing species in the world. Once again, the total revenue from the conference will be split between the contributing organizations.
Over the past year, the ambassador team has been working harder than ever to refine the courses and expand our repertoire in order to continue to tailor to everyone’s interests! I am sure you will have noticed some small changes on our website which makes it all the more easier to access the courses that you are interested in: From global goals to biomimicry, to wildlife vet online, there are loads of interesting topics to choose from. Read more here.
Furthermore, many of the speakers featuring at the conference this year have their own courses on the TEP website so look out for these if there is something from the conference lineup you are particularly interested in! Consequently, we would love it if leading up to the conference you could engage with some of our online content- write blog posts, buy some courses and donate to these incredible organizations! Finally, in an effort to preserve what we have left, we encourage you to make one ecological swap this year, no matter how big or how small: Maybe there’s a shampoo bar you have been thinking about trying? Or you simply need to purchase a reusable water bottle! If everyone makes one small change then all together we are making a massive difference! We hope you’re all excited about this year’s conference and we look forward to seeing you all there.