Press Releases and Updates

WWF finds U.S. grocery retailers stocking toilet paper linked to rain forest destruction

American companies and consumers are inadvertently contributing to Indonesian rain forest and tiger habitat destruction by buying toilet paper and other tissue products made with fiber from Asia Pulp & Paper.

The Story of Baim, a Rescued Baby Orangutan

Read the story about a baby orangutan rescued on the island of Borneo.

Sumatran Elephants Listed as Critically Endangered

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species changed the Sumatran elephant's status.

Tigers or Toilet Paper?

Learn what you should know before purchasing paper products. Read more

Asia Pulp and Paper Greenwashing

A new report documents a tiger sanctuary under threat from deforestation.

Paper Giant APP’s Greenwashing Campaign Hides Forest Destruction

One of Asia Pulp & Paper’s (APP) suppliers is clear cutting its widely advertised tiger sanctuary in Sumatra, Indonesia, an investigation by a coalition of environmental groups finds. 

Remarkable Images of Big Cats Urge Forest Protection

Extraordinary snapshots of five of the seven wild cat species are a reminder of what could be lost to deforestation.

U.S. and Indonesian Governments Work Together to Protect one of World’s Most Important Forests

Unique financing approach used by U.S. and Indonesian governments to protect forests.

Research Examines Changes in Biodiversity from Logging in Southeast Asia

A team of researchers led by WWF found that after two rounds of conventional logging, forests can lose up to 80 percent of their timber value and a quarter of their biodiversity.

Protecting wildlife habitat in Sumatra

A declaration to protect Sumatra’s forests was endorsed by the governors of eight Sumatran provinces.

Forest Habitat Protected, Positive Result for Orangutans and Elephants

Nearly 750,000 acres of forest have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council in Malaysia.

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.

WWF Releases Rare Footage of Sumatran Tiger Cubs

WWF released rare video footage of three Sumatran tiger cubs playfully chasing leaves in the forests of the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape in Indonesia.

Sumatran Tiger Cubs Caught on Camera in Threatened Forest

Camera traps recorded an astounding 12 tigers in just two months in the central Sumatran landscape.

An Innovative Approach to Conserving the World’s Forests

Business and political leaders met for the Business 4 Environment Global Summit, uniting around a goal to stop the forest loss that affects much of the world’s valuable and threatened forests.

Suspected Tiger Smuggler Arrested

A suspected tiger smuggler was arrested with the skin of an adult male tiger.

Hope for Javan Rhinos

Rare footage of two Javan rhinos and two of their calves was captured on video recently.

Critically Endangered Javan Rhinos and Calves Captured on Video

Dramatic new video footage of two critically endangered Javan rhinos and their calves was released by WWF and Indonesia’s National Park Authority

Business solutions for forest conservation

How your choice of paper can help tigers

A new investigation by WWF and other groups reveals that one of the world’s largest paper suppliers is still cutting down the rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra – even though the company claims to have stopped doing so. The forest being cleared is vital to the survival of tigers and other endangered species. You can voice your opposition to this by making more responsible choices about the paper you buy.

Camera catches bulldozer destroying Sumatra tiger forest

A video camera trap installed by WWF and partners has captured footage linking the destruction of a crucial Sumatran tiger forest to the expansion of palm oil plantations in Indonesia’s Riau Province.

Dogs Join Fight to Save Rhinos in Borneo

One fan at a time

Almost 60,000 new trees are going to reforest critical tiger habitat on the Indonesian island of Sumatra as a result of global connection made on Forest Friends, an initiative that brings together young adults from Indonesia and Germany.

Landmark Legislation’s Anniversary Highlights Strong Need for Continued Efforts to Curb Illegal Logging

Marking the amended Lacey Act’s two-year anniversary, Senator Ron Wyden and Congressman Earl Blumenauer today praised the landmark legislation for protecting the environment, leveling the playing field for honest businesses and halting the egregious practice of illegal logging. The celebratory event, jointly hosted by WWF and the Environmental Investigative Agency (EIA), gathered a diverse group of experts from industry, government and the environmental community to share early successes, lessons learned and anticipated benefits of the Lacey Act.

Borneo’s New World

Scientists have discovered more than 123 new species in the Heart of Borneo area during the past 3 years – an average of more than 3 new species per month. These finds include the world’s longest known stick insect, a flame-colored snake and a color-changing frog. In total, 67 plants, 29 invertebrates, 17 fish, five frogs, three snakes and two lizards and a brand new species of bird have been discovered.

Ninja Slug, Lungless Frog and World's Largest Insect Among Recent Discoveries in Heart of Borneo

A frog with no lungs, a “ninja” slug that fires love darts at its mate, and the world’s longest insect are among new species discovered in the past three years on the island of Borneo and featured in a World Wildlife Fund report released today.

Hope for the Future: Rare Photo of Pregnant Sumatran Rhino

Images of the near-extinct Sumatran rhino were recently captured by WWF-Malaysia and the Sabah Wildlife Department’s camera traps. Experts believe that this rhino is pregnant, giving hope for the species and adding urgency to the enforcement of anti-poaching laws in the region’s forest and wildlife reserves.

WWF Camera Trap Yields First-time Video of Critically Endangered Sumatran Tiger and Cubs

Camera traps set deep in the Indonesian jungle have captured first-time video footage of a rare female Sumatran tiger and her cubs, giving World Wildlife Fund (WWF) researchers unique insight into the elusive tiger’s behavior.

Camera traps yield rare footage of Sumatran tiger with cubs

Video cameras installed in the Sumatran jungle have captured close-up footage of a tiger and two cubs, the first time that WWF has recorded evidence of tiger breeding in central Sumatra in what should be prime tiger habitat. The images have led to renewed calls for stronger measures against poaching and the rapid deforestation of tiger landscapes on the Indonesian island. 

MoU signed for restoration of Orangutan Habitat in Heart of Borneo (HoB)

Asia's Biggest 'tiger' Unveils Promise For Wild Tigers

China received praise here today from the International Tiger Coalition (ITC) for promising to work with its neighbors to end tiger trade and bring back wild tigers.

WWF Elephant Flying Squad Joins Global Day of Climate Action

Among many foreign visitors to Tesso Nilo National Park (TNTN), Pelalawan district, Riau, the presence of US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R. Hume brings its own impression to the Head of TNTN, Suprahman Hayani.

Controversial Paper Company Driving Sumatran Species to Local Extinction

A massive logging operation planned by one of the world’s largest paper companies would destroy the forest home of 100 great apes that are part of the only successful reintroduction program for Sumatran orangutans.

Paper Giant Asia Pulp and Paper Set to Destroy Home of Reintroduced Orangutans, Indigenous Tribes

A massive logging operation planned by one of the world’s largest paper companies will destroy the forest home of 100 great apes that are part of the only successful reintroduction program for Sumatran orangutans, conservationists have learned.

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.

Illegal trade devastates Sumatran orangutan population, TRAFFIC Report Says

Lack of law enforcement against illegal trade in Indonesia threatens the survival of orangutans and gibbons on Sumatra, a new study by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC shows.

Forest Clearing by Paper Giant APP/Sinar Mas Linked to 12 Years of Sumatran Tiger, Human Fatalities

Many violent incidents between people and tigers in Sumatra’s Riau Province in the past 12 years have occurred near forested areas being cleared by paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and associated companies, under the umbrella of its holding group, Sinar Mas Group (SMG), according to an analysis of human-tiger conflict data.

Jungle Camera Traps Reveal Secrets of World’s Rarest Rhinos

Experience Sumatra

Saving Sumatra: Indonesia Reaches Historic Agreement To Protect World’s Most Endangered Tropical Forests

The Indonesian government and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today announced a bold commitment to protect the remaining forests and critical ecosystems of Sumatra, an Indonesian island that holds some of the world’s most diverse – and endangered – forests. The historic agreement represents the first-ever island-wide commitment to protect Sumatra’s stunning biodiversity.

New Hope For Sumatra's Elephants And Tigers As Indonesia Doubles Size Of Key National Park

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) hailed today's commitment by the government of Indonesia to more than double the size of Sumatra's Tesso Nilo National Park, one of the last havens for endangered Sumatran elephants and critically endangered Sumatran tigers.

Rarest Rhinos Make Video Trap Debut

"Extinct" elephant may have been found again – on a different island with a different name

The Borneo pygmy elephant may not be native to the island of Borneo after all. Instead, the population could be the last survivors of the Javan elephant race – accidentally saved from extinction by the Sultan of Sulu centuries ago, suggests an article co-authored by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Body Part by Body Part, Sumatran Tigers Are Being Sold into Extinction

WASHINGTON – Laws protecting the critically endangered Sumatran Tiger have failed to prevent tiger body parts being openly sold in Indonesia, according to a TRAFFIC report launched today.

Staples Inc. Ends Relationship with Asia Pulp & Paper

Office-supplies giant Staples Inc. has ended their relationship with Asia Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd. (APP). Staples sourced over 9 percent of its total paper supply from APP, and is the latest of large paper sellers worldwide, including Office Depot Inc., to stop buying from this paper company because of its poor environmental practices. WWF, along with businesses and many other conservation organizations, believe that APP is destroying natural rainforest and contributing heavily to climate change in order to feed its mills.

Highway Planned by Paper Giant Asian Pulp and Paper Will Destroy Sumatran Forests, says WWF

Washington D.C.– An investigative report released today by World Wildlife Fund revealed that paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and its affiliates are in the process of constructing a massive  highway for logging vehicles that threatens one of Indonesia’s most important forests. The highway, described by WWF in the report as being “legally questionable,” would cut an enormous swath  through one of Sumatra’s last remaining large forest blocks, home to two tribes of indigenous people and endangered elephants, tigers and orangutans.

WWF Statement on the Forest Stewardship Council in Response to Oct. 30 Wall Street Journal Article

"The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the premier international organization ensuring that forestry practices are environmentally, socially and economically responsible. Its decision to rescind the rights of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) to use the FSC logo shows that it is a robust and credible system that is committed to the responsible management of the world's forests.

WWF Welcomes Government Support for Conservation of Indonesia's Forests

WASHINGTON --WWF welcomes the announcement this weekend by the Australian and Indonesian governments of the Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnership. The Australian Government aims to contribute $30 million over four years to the partnership and encourages other government, private sector and non-government organizations to meet a target of $100 million to protect and rehabilitate large areas of forest across Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo).

Satellite tracking reveals threats to Borneo pygmy elephants

Washington, D.C. - A new WWF study tracking pygmy elephants by satellite shows that the remaining herds of these endangered elephants, which live only on the island of Borneo, are under threat from forest fragmentation and loss of habitat.

WWF Photographs Three-Legged Sumatran Tiger That May Have Survived Capture, Escaped from Snare

WASHINGTON - A WWF camera trap inside an Indonesian national park has captured photographs of a Sumatran tiger in the wild that appears to have escaped from a snare by cutting its paw off.

WWF Report: Major Companies Buying Coffee Illegally Grown in Tiger, Rhino and Elephant Habitat

WASHINGTON - Coffee lovers the world over are unknowingly drinking coffee that was illegally grown inside one of the world's most important national parks for tigers, elephants and rhinos, according to an investigative report released today by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Illegally grown coffee from Indonesia is mixed with legally grown coffee beans and sold to such companies as Kraft Foods and Nestle among other major companies in the U.S. and abroad.

Three Nations Commit to Conserving the 'Heart of Borneo'

WASHINGTON - WWF today applauded the leaders of the three nations on the island of Borneo - Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia - for officially endorsing an historic agreement to conserve the "Heart of Borneo," a mountainous region of rainforests about the size of Kansas that is home to pygmy elephants, rhinos and orangutans. The endorsement came in the "Leaders Statement" at the 3rd Summit of the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines - East ASEAN Growth Area.

2006 is Banner Year for Discoveries of New Species in Borneo's Rainforests

WASHINGTON - Scientists have discovered at least 52 new species of animals and plants this past year on the island of Borneo. The discoveries, described in a new WWF report, include 30 unique fish species, two tree frog species, 16 ginger species, three tree species and one large-leafed plant species.

New Report: Asia Pulp & Paper Misleads Customers, Continues to Destroy Indonesia's Rainforests

WASHINGTON - A new report released today details how one of the world's largest pulp and paper companies has broken numerous promises to protect forests in Indonesia, and is clearing forests in violation of Indonesian regulations. Many of the paper products used in homes and offices in the U.S. are supplied or manufactured by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).

Baby Boom for World's Rarest Rhino Species

Jakarta, Indonesia/Washington - Scientists have found signs of four Javan rhinos born in recent weeks in Indonesia, a surprising baby boom for a species that may number fewer than 60 individuals in the wild.

Chameleon-Like Snake Discovered in the Heart of Borneo

WASHINGTON - A new species of snake, with the ability to spontaneously change color, has been discovered in one of the most biologically diverse forests on earth, the "Heart of Borneo," a mountainous rainforest larger than Kansas. The ability to change colors is well-known in some reptiles such as the chameleon, but highly unusual and poorly understood in snakes. The, newly-named, "Kapuas-Mud-Snake" was discovered by a German researcher who described it with the collaboration of two American scientists.

WWF Captures First-Ever Photo of Wild Rhino on Borneo

Washington - A motion-triggered camera trap set up in a remote jungle has captured the first-ever photo of a rhino in the wild on the island of Borneo, World Wildlife Fund and the Sabah Wildlife Department announced today.

Indonesian Government Ignores Own Rules, Places Endangered Elephants in Peril

WWF researchers have discovered that ten endangered wild Sumatran elephants are being kept chained to trees without enough food or water in the Riau Province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra in violation of an agreement the government signed in 2004 known as the Riau Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Protocol. The elephants have been made homeless by the destruction of the forest they inhabited. Government authorities captured the elephants ten days ago after they raided crops and terrorized residents of a nearby village.

WWF Hails Decision to Create Malaysia's Largest Protected Area for Endangered Orangutans, Rhinos and Elephants

WASHINGTON - World Wildlife Fund today praised a surprise decision by the government of the Malaysian state of Sabah to protect its most important remaining lowland forests on the island of Borneo. This decision will permanently preserve one of just two places in the world where the endangered orangutans, Bornean Pygmy elephants and the critically endangered Sumatran rhino co-exist and where forests are still large enough to maintain viable populations of each.

Rhinos clinging to survival in the heart of Borneo, despite poaching

Washington - World Wildlife Fund today released the results of a field survey from the island of Borneo which found that poaching has significantly reduced Borneo's population of Sumatran rhinos, but a small group continues to survive in the "Heart of Borneo," a region covered with vast tracts of rain forest.

Forest Ministry, WWF Launch Human-Elephant Conflict Plan, Call for Immediate Halt to All Natural Forest Clearing in Central Sumatra

Washington - Following the apparent poisoning of a herd of endangered Sumatran elephants last week, the Indonesian Forest Protection and Nature Conservation Agency (PHKA) and World Wildlife Fund, announced plans to immediately begin implementing a protocol to reduce human-elephant conflict in central Sumatra. PHKA also called for an immediate stop to the clearing of all natural forests remaining in Riau Province, site of ongoing human-elephant conflict.

WWF Featured on Front Page of Wall Street Journal

The World Wildlife Fund was featured in an article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Feb. 23.

Satellite Tracking Leads to Treatment of Injured Borneo Pygmy Elephant

Sabah Wildlife Department and World Wildife Fund-Malaysia (Asian Rhinoceros and Elephant Action Strategy - AREAS Project) with support from SARAYA Co. Ltd. (Japan) successfully located and treated an injured Borneo Pygmy elephant at Bukit Permata, Lower Kinabatangan on Jan. 24, 2006.

Fast-Disappearing 'Heart of Borneo' is Likely Home To Thousands of Species Still Undiscovered

Washington - In the past decade, at least 361 new species have been discovered on Borneo, one of the most important centers of biodiversity in the world. And a new report by World Wildlife Fund finds that there are likely to be thousands of plant and animal species left to discover on the world's third-largest island.