Community Action
Helping communities manage natural resources wisely
Featured Story
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15 Success Stories of 2011
Discover highlights from our work around the world to protect species and habitats.Read more.
Latest News
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WWF Meets with Religious Leader
WWF’s Dekila Chungyalpa presented to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the strategies utilized by WWF toward sustainable dam development in the Mekong River basin. Read more
For people and nature to thrive, those living on the land they call home must become its most reliable stewards.
Local people often have the greatest understanding and connection to nature. They are best equipped to use, manage, and protect its resources through agriculture, forestry, fisheries, or the collection and harvesting of wild plants, animals or medicinal products.
Around the world, local communities face growing challenges to their ability to be good stewards, including:
- external competition for land and resources
- unemployment
- population growth
- limited access to social services
- conflicts with wildlife
To address these challenges, WWF empowers local communities and indigenous people to improve their livelihoods and health.
We also help them build the knowledge and skills they need to strengthen their role as stewards of the environment.
WWF works to do the following:
Link human health with conservation: In Africa and Asia, WWF partners with nongovernmental organizations and local governments to provide health services (e.g., family planning, as well as improved drinking water and sanitation), and health and environmental education, to remote communities. Learn more
Respect rights and improve livelihoods: We support the stewardship roles of indigenous and local communities by helping to secure customary land and resource rights, strengthen community organizations and generate livelihoods from well-managed resources. We also promote policy changes that advance community-based resource management across larger scales and address threats to community lands and resources. Learn more
Empower girls and women: Girls and women can play a critical role in managing water, medicinal plants and other natural resources. We help them gain better access to education and social services so they can improve their lives and help lead environmental change in their families and communities. Learn more
Protect sacred places: Many of the most important conservation places in the world are sacred and tied closely to the spiritual and cultural identities of their people. WWF works with religious leaders and faith communities on the values we share to address threats to these places and to bring about genuine sustainable development in today's world. Learn more
