WWF collaborates with governments across the Amazon to create and manage protected forest areas.
In Brazil, through the Amazon Region Protected Areas (ARPA) program, WWF worked to create a network of parks covering 150 million acres of forest. This area is over 50% larger than the US National Park System. Today WWF supports the ongoing management of the parks.
In Colombia, a decades-long effort by organizations and environmental authorities supported by WWF led to the 2018 expansion of Serranía de Chiribiquete National Park. Located in the heart of the Colombian Amazon, the park was expanded to 4.3 million hectares, making it the world's largest national park protecting a tropical rain forest. In a double conservation win, it was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, reflecting its enormous environmental, cultural, and social value.
In Peru, an initiative announced in 2019 earmarked $140 million to permanently protect nearly 41 million acres in the Peruvian Amazon. Funding for the Peruvian government-led effort, known as National Parks: Peru's Natural Legacy, came from the government of Peru, WWF, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Amazon Andes Fund, and the Global Environment Facility and provides support for things such as equipment training. This was a milestone not just for Peru but for the greater Amazon.
The Peru initiative, along with ARPA in Brazil and Heritage Colombia, a similar program under development in Colombia, will permanently protect approximately 12% of the Amazon.