New Monkey Species Discovered in the Amazon

Scientists have discovered a new species of monkey on an expedition into one of the least known areas of the Brazilian Amazon.  

New Country Commitments Boost Protection of the Amazon

Guyana’s National Assembly recently approved a bill that provides a path for the establishment of a national system of protected areas.

Leaders Work Together to Protect the World’s Precious Forests

Leaders from 30 countries met at the Brazzaville Tropical Forest Summit to find shared solutions to save their forests and support the fight against the devastating consequences of climate change.

DC Environmental Film Festival 2011

WWF hosted the screening and discussion of "The Madeira River: Life Before the Dams" as part of the 2011 DC Environmental Film Festival.

Victory for the Future of the Amazon

Amazon Alive

In the lush rainforests of the Amazon, scientists have discovered a blue-fanged bird-eating spider, a black and blue-colored poison dart frog, a pink river dolphin and a camouflaged anaconda. These and thousands more species were discovered in the Amazon between 1999 and 2009, at the average rate of one new species every three days, according to a new WWF report.

Amazing Discoveries in the Amazon: New Species Found Every Three Days Over Last Decade

Between 1999 and 2009, more than 1,200 new species of plants and vertebrates were discovered in the Amazon biome – a rate of one new species every three days – confirming the Amazon as one of the most diverse places on Earth, says a WWF report. High-resolution photographs of many of these new and unusual species, as well as video footage, is available for download.

Main Brazilian Presidential Candidates Oppose Illegal Deforestation Amnesty

The four main candidates for president in the Brazilian elections have declared themselves opposed to key points in a controversial legislative proposal to reduce protection against forest loss. Opposition by the candidates was strongest against provisions which would grant an amnesty to major past acts of illegal deforestation. The candidates also admitted the need to develop a genuinely forest-based economy, reduce deforestation to zero, adopt appropriate new instruments and conduct research.

Documentary Film Highlights Colombian Amazon

A documentary filmed in the Apaporis basin of the remote Upper Rio Negro portion of the Colombian Amazon is making its premiere in New York City from July 30 through August 5 and in Los Angeles, from August 5 to12.  

Falling Amazon deforestation rates create opportunity for other damaged forests

Fewer trees were cut down in the Amazon this year, creating an opportunity to apply sound government policies to halt deforestation in other damaged forests, WWF says.

2009 Conservation Achievements So Far

WWF has enjoyed many significant conservation achievements across the past year. Below are a few success stories highlighting exciting results, but also emphasizing our continuous commitment to confront the ongoing challenges faced by our planet. 

WWF at World Water Week

Water is taken for granted by those for whom access to it is as easy as a trip to the kitchen sink. But, in fact, we are facing a deepening crisis of freshwater resources. 

Slow Sales Of Sustainable Palm Oil Threaten Tropical Forests; WWF To Grade Palm Oil Buyers

New figures released by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today show that only 1 percent of the sustainable palm oil available on the market has been bought, raising concerns that one of the major solutions to halting deforestation of tropical forests is not catching on fast enough.  Rapid increases in the production of palm oil, which is found in everything from cosmetics to ice cream to chocolate bars, has caused extensive land clearing in places like Borneo and Sumatra, resulting in loss of habitat for endangered species like tigers and orangutans and contributing to climate change.

Latest Research Shows Increase in Brazil’s Deforestation

Despite the Brazilian government’s recent crack-down to stop the accelerating loss of the Amazon’s rain forests, deforestation continues to increase. From August 2007 to July 2008, Brazil deforested almost 3 million acres – an area nearly the size of the state of Connecticut.

Biofuel Plantations on Tropical Forestlands Are Bad for the Climate and Biodiversity, Study Finds

Keeping tropical rain forests intact is a better way to combat climate change than replacing them with biofuel plantations, a study in the journal Conservation Biology finds.

Amazon’s champion Awarded WWF’s Duke of Edinburgh Medal

The 2008 WWF Duke of Edinburgh Conservation medal has been awarded to former Brazilian Environment Minister Her Excellency Senator Marina Silva.

Brazil Gets Tough to Stop Amazon Deforestation

Brazil's Environment Minister Commits to New Protected Areas in the Amazon

Bonn, Germany, May 30, 2008 – Brazil's Environment Minister, Carlos Minc, has confirmed the imminent creation of four new protected areas, three of them in the Brazilian Amazon, totaling 2.3 million hectares. The announcement of the creation of these areas will be made on June 5th, World Environment Day. Minc announced this commitment yesterday at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn, Germany, where, together with Environmental Ministers of 60 countries, he also signed onto a WWF campaign of zero net deforestation by 2020.

Creation of New Protected Areas in the Amazon; Good News, But Not Enough to Save It, Says WWF.

The announcement by Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the creation of approximately 7,828,938.5 acres of new federal protected areas in the Amazon: the Jarí National Park, Iquiri National Forest, Middle Purus Extractive Reserve, and the expansion of the Balata-Tufari National Forest is a positive step but only one of many which will be needed to save the Amazon, according to WWF.

The Bolivian River Dolphin: Conservation Ambassador of the Amazon

The government of Bolivia recently declared the Bolivian river dolphin as a Natural Heritage. This designation highlights the value placed on the conservation of this species and the freshwater ecosystems in the Beni province of northeastern Bolivia where it lives. The government committed to continuing its protection of this emblematic cetacean and pledged to strengthen measures to conserve the dolphin and its habitats.

Amazon Deforestation Rates Decreasing, Rainforests Still Threatened

New data from the government of Brazil shows that deforestation rates for the Brazilian Amazon from August 2006 to July 2007 have fallen for the third consecutive year - and are the lowest registered for the region since 1991.

Climate Change Speeds Up Amazon’s Destruction, Says WWF

Bali, Indonesia – A vicious feedback loop of climate change and deforestation could wipe out or severely damage nearly 60 percent of the Amazon forest by 2030, says a new report from WWF. 

Unprecedented Pact to Save Amazonian Forests

Brasilia, Brazil - Today nine Brazilian conservation organizations, including WWF-Brazil, launched an initiative to protect the Amazon's rainforests. This historic pact establishes a system of economic incentives for conservation with a goal of eliminating deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon by 2015 - an ambitious 7 year target.

WWF Awarded Grant to Study Negative Impacts of Damming Amazon Tributary

Washington, D.C. - The Blue Moon Fund recently awarded WWF a grant to ensure that construction of the Madeira dams in the Amazon River basin does not permanently harm the region's biodiversity, economic potential and local communities. Established in 2002, the Blue Moon Fund supports nonprofit organizations working to build a sustainable balance between humans and nature.

WWF Colombia's Partner Wins Top Conservation Prize

Cali, Colombia - In recognition of his groundbreaking work to conserve South America's pink river dolphins, Dr. Fernando Trujillo was awarded both the Whitley Award sponsored by HSBC Holdings and the Whitley Gold Award, the Whitley Fund for Nature's most prestigious honor. Dr. Trujillo is the founder and scientific director of the Fundación Omacha - a partner of WWF-Colombia in the Amazon and Orinoco Basins. With support from WWF and its local partners, Dr. Trujillo is working with a team of young South American scientists to survey river dolphin populations along the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers and their tributaries in Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. Central to his work is a strong campaign to stop the killing of dolphins and other endangered species for use in the catfish industry.

WWF Pledges Amazon Commitment at Clinton Global Initiative

Washington - At the Clinton Global Initiative in New York today, World Wildlife Fund affirmed its commitment to a program which conserves key portions of the Amazon, preventing hundreds of millions of tons of carbon from being released into the atmosphere. The Amazon Region Protected Areas Program - known as ARPA - is the largest tropical forest conservation effort in history. It aims to safeguard the extraordinary biological diversity of the Amazon, reduce its extremely high rates of deforestation, and conserve its environmental and ecological services that provide benefits to millions of people.

Rate of deforestation in Amazon slowing

Brazilia, Brazil - Deforestation rates in the Amazon are declining, but ranching, logging and agriculture activities are still responsible for continued degradation of the world's largest rainforest, according to data released by the Brazilian government.

Over 6 million acres of new protected areas established in the Amazon

On June 6, 2006 the Brazilian government announced the creation of new protected areas in the Amazon region totaling approximately 6.2 million acres. The Amazon is the world's largest river basin and the source of one-fifth of the earth's fresh water. It has the world's highest diversity of birds and freshwater fish, as well as the planet's largest rainforest which is home to more than one third of all species. However, the ecosystem is severely threatened by illegal logging, slash-and-burn agriculture and other human activities, and forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate.

World Wildlife Fund Receives $20M Gift from Roger and Vicki Sant to Help Safeguard the Amazon

WASHINGTON D.C. philanthropists Roger and Vicki Sant have named World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as beneficiary of a $20 million charitable remainder trust, the largest single gift the organization has ever received from an individual supporter. This gift was announced Tuesday, May 23 at a World Wildlife Fund dinner at the Residence of the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

School Children Raise Money and Awareness of Amazon

Fifteen students representing grades three through six at Spring Hill Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, on Dec. 13 joined Amazon experts from World Wildlife Fund, the World Bank, and the Brazilian government to discuss the theme of conservation and the Amazon.

Twelve New Protected Areas Named In World's Third Largest Rainforest

The Papua New Guinea government today announced it will gazette twelve protected areas requested by local communities covering some of the most biologically diverse forests, wetlands and reefs on the planet at an event held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

World Wildlife Fund Contributes $3.3 Million to Support Brazilian Protected Areas in the Amazon

WASHINGTON - World Wildlife Fund today contributed U.S. $3.3 million dollars to secure long-term financial sustainability for the vast system of parks and sustainable use areas now being established in the Amazon by Brazil. Today's contribution by WWF will be matched by the Global Environment Facility, resulting in a total contribution of $6.6 million dollars. World Wildlife Fund also announced its intent to raise an additional $6.7 million dollars by June 2007 to further protect these vital areas in perpetuity.

Major New Protected Areas Established in Peruvian Amazon Reserves will Protect Wildlife While Safeguarding Indigenous Rights

Washington, DC - The Peruvian Government today celebrates the creation of one of the largest combined indigenous reserves and protected areas in the world. Also, the government announces that a new commission will design a law to protect indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation in Peruvian Amazon territorial reserves.

WWF Hails 'Giant Step' Forward in Amazon Conservation

BRASILIA-One of the world's most ambitious conservation efforts has taken a major step forward with the declaration of two new major protected areas, comprising 9.4 million acres of rain forest, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon.