Chris Walzer

STATEMENT: #COP30 is a moment to recognize nature, ecological integrity (or the health of ecosystems), and Indigenous leadership as critical parts of the climate agenda.

🌎 Read our statement: bit.ly/47L3BKg

📢Today, the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) for the #pandemictreaty started its 3rd meeting to develop a Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing (PABS) Annex. The meeting takes place on 3-7 Nov in Geneva.

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Today is One Health Day! Register below to hear how Indigenous and place-based knowledge and community-led wildlife surveillance advance our understanding of the interconnected health of animals, humans, and ecosystems.
@wcs.org
When: Wednesday Nov. 5 @ 10 am ET / 9 pm ICT
zoom.us/meeting/regi...

It's #OneHealthDay! Protecting and restoring nature's integrity is essential to addressing today's polycrisis, which includes biodiversity loss, the climate emergency, and systemic health threats. @wcs.org
#OneHealth

The Brazilian clue Or: another L for lab leak believers

A new bat coronavirus discovered in Brazil confirms what we already knew: nature handles furin cleavage sites just fine.

Lab leakers, don’t worry, you've got the track record to pivot seamlessly to a career in creative fiction writing.

Quick update on the news:
open.substack.com/pub/protagon...

There is a very good reply to that OpEd by @philippmarkolin.bsky.social in today's Letters to the Editor in STAT

www.statnews.com/2025/10/25/s...

Trump takes aim at European climate law after killing UN shipping fee Once again the United States is using its economic might to pressure other countries to back down from an effort to limit greenhouse gas pollution.

When I say that Trump and his petrostate/plutocrat overlords are a threat to humanity, I mean it
#ScienceUnderSiege
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Climate and health strategies must address the biodiversity crisis Safeguarding biodiversity is not simply an environmental concern but a foundational element of preventive and clinical care.

Biodiversity isn’t just an environmental issue — it’s a health issue. We argue that ignoring biodiversity loss undermines efforts to protect public health. Protecting nature is a primary medical intervention. 👉 www.statnews.com/2025/10/20/b...
#OneHealth #Biodiversity #PublicHealth @wcs.org

A community-of-practice-built database to support the implementation and operation of national and subnational wildlife health surveillance systems Historically, poor data management has hampered the establishment and operation of wildlife health surveillance (WHS) systems and limited the integrat…

Poor data management has long hindered wildlife health surveillance and One Health integration. The @wcs.org led HAWK database enables harmonized data sharing across sectors–a common good for One Health tinyurl.com/498np55z

#OneHealth #DataForGood #wildlifehealth #surveillance

Congratulations John 🙌

IUCN Members Choose Science and Ethics in Landmark Vote on Synthetic Biology ABU DHABI, October 14 , 2025 — The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today hailed the adoption of Motion 87, supporting the responsible, evidence-based use of synthetic biology, at the IUCN World Co...

We cannot afford to reject tools that could help safeguard both people and nature.

At #IUCNcongress, after intense debate, IUCN members just adopted Motion 87, which establishes a responsible, science-based policy framework on synthetic biology.

🌍 newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...

I don’t know who needs to hear this but the CDC is being eviscerated right now. America is not going to have any kind of outbreak response capacity after tonight. Americans’ health data is no longer secure. Say goodbye to federal public health in any capacity. It’s a disaster. We won’t recover.

WCS Calls on IUCN Congress To Support Responsible, Science-Based Policy on Synthetic Biology Abu Dhabi, Oct. 3, 2025 -- The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today urged delegates to the upcoming IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi to support Motion 87, which establishes a respons...

At the #IUCNCongress starting this week in Abu Dhabi, we are supporting Motion 87, which establishes a responsible, science-based policy framework on synthetic biology. bit.ly/4n1h1aM 🌍

Our recently launched 2025–2030 Coral Reef Conservation Strategy is a plan to conserve the most climate-resilient reefs. bit.ly/4n0C3WV

It’s the work of 70+ experts in 18 countries, linking our science, partnerships, policy, and community work into a shared vision.

Rangers are on the frontlines of conservation, protecting our natural and cultural heritage for the benefit of all.

Today at #IUCNcongress, with our partners, we proudly reaffirmed our commitment to the Universal Ranger Support Alliance, which advocates for and supports rangers around the world. 🌍

Enhanced monitoring, early detection, rapid response. Critical to addressing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

Today at #IUCNcongress, WCS’s Dr. Sarah Olson spoke about WCS’s experience addressing HPAI in places like Peru and Cambodia and the need for sustainable wildlife health surveillance. 🌍

At the #IUCNcongress, a motion on One Health, developed and championed by WCS and its partners, is poised to be adopted.

“WCS’s health and field teams have seen firsthand how human well-being depends on the integrity of nature,” said WCS's Dr. Sarah Olson.

🌍 newsroom.wcs.org/News-Release...

Worth remembering however there have been 64 cases including 43 deaths already in this Ebola outbreak including most recently a 3-week-old neonate that died.

The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

At the United Nations, WCS Champions a New Finance Mechanism to Save Tropical Forests Around the World WCS President and CEO Adam Falk speaks at the United Nations at the “Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) Solutions Dialogue." on September 23, 2025. Credit ©WCS New York, Sept 23, 2025— The follo...

At the United Nations today, we championed a new finance mechanism to save tropical forests around the world.

The design of the #TFFF is environmentally robust and financially sound, and its proposed governance is solid, said WCS President and CEO Adam Falk.

More: bit.ly/47YqDz1

The health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace - the @who.int Constitution is timeless. It's as relevant today as it was in 1948.

Choose peace.

The Exotic Pet Trade Harms Animals and Humans. The European Union Is Studying a Potential Solution • The Revelator EU legislators are considering a form of regulation that could protect many species from unsafe exploitation — if it’s done right.

The Exotic Pet Trade Harms Animals and Humans. European Union legislators are considering a form of regulation that could protect many species from unsafe exploitation — if it’s done right. https://therevelator.org/exotic-pet-trade-european-union/

Damn.

www.koin.com/news/oregon/...

What’s on the menu for whales in New York Bight?

New science from WCS Ocean Giants team shows humpbacks in nearshore/mid-shelf areas seem to eat wider variety of prey than those much further offshore—valuable info to guide conservation efforts and ecosystem monitoring.

🌎 doi.org/10.1002/aqc....

Screenshot of graphic showing that the HPV vaccine has reduced cervical cancer incidence by 90%.

RFK Jr. went on Fox News today to claim that HHS has had “no successes” in the past 40 years.

I beg to differ.

Figure from Lei et al., NEJM 2020. Link below.

Several anti-ICE protestors on the Ohio-Kentucky border.

This is how the police dealt with them.

Literally beat the hell out of them.

This is Trump's police state America, coming to a protest near you.

It's not just that we have to save our country from Trumpism. We have to save the entire world from a ravenous, reckless, criminal U.S. government. It's a moral imperative.

Mongabay shark meat exposé sparks call for hearing and industry debate Endangered shark meat and heavy metals found in Brazil’s public food trigger a reckoning.

We are only now getting a true understanding of the scale and scope of the shark meat trade, says WCS's @lukedavid301.bsky.social.

Upcoming #CITES #CoP20 will include urgently needed proposals to protect the world’s most threatened species.

🌏 news.mongabay.com/2025/08/mong...

‘Distracting the public’: group of health professionals call for RFK Jr to be removed Ahead of the second Maha report, grassroots Defend Public Health warns that everything HHS is doing is ‘horrifying’

@defendpublichealth.bsky.social issued its report today:
"Improving the Health of Americans Together: An evidence-based framework for addressing the root causes of illness in the U.S." Oh and we call for #RFKJr to go! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

#NAFO