‘Nature can recover’: Inside the race to rescue world’s crisis-hit wildlife

A global wildlife crisis is showing signs of reversal as conservation efforts succeed despite a 73 percent decline in monitored animal populations over five decades, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. Success stories include mountain gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo rebounding from near-extinction in the 1980s to over 1,100 individuals today, while tigers increased more than 70 percent between 2010 and 2025 through international partnerships. Green sea turtles, bluefin tuna and Southern African elephants have also recovered, demonstrating that targeted protection, community involvement and cross-border cooperation can reverse wildlife declines.

The mountain gorilla recovery in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park exemplifies how conservation creates economic benefits for local communities through tourism, generating jobs for rangers, guides and village businesses. Experts attribute these successes to decades of sustained action combining direct species protection, scientific management and meaningful engagement with people living alongside wildlife. The recoveries offer hope that nature's decline is not inevitable and that strategic international coordination can restore populations threatened by habitat loss, climate change, pollution and overexploitation.