World Wildlife Fund

80 percent of the world's species can be found in the forest
© WWF-Canon / Martin HARVEY

Forests mean different things to different people.  For some it is refuge, retreat, a place to escape to and find rest.  For others it is home, a source of livelihood, perhaps both blessing and burden.  Forests in their many forms harbor much of the world’s rapidly diminishing biodiversity and are vital to life on Earth.  

Forests provide important natural resources – from timber to paper to medicinal plants.  They purify the air we breathe, help to improve the quality and quantity of freshwater supplies, and stabilize soil to prevent erosion.  Many of the world’s most endangered and exotic animals depend on the forests for their survival along with 60 million indigenous people depending on forests for their subsistence. Worldwide an estimated 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods,  Yet every year, the world loses nearly 36 million acres of natural forest – an area roughly the size of New York State.

A world without trees

Deforestation is responsible for 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

WWF’s integrated approach of sound environmental practices for the protection, management and restoration of forest landscapes makes effective linkages between forest conservation, species protection and the well-being of communities who depend on the forest for their survival.