Forests Stories

The halls of Congress came alive on Tuesday as dozens of WWF activists from across the country met with their representatives to advocate for international conservation funding on Lobby Day 2017.

Associations, some formed mainly of women, in the Democratic Republic of Congo are building new, improved cookstoves by hand to help the environment—and themselves.

At least 2,000 years ago, people in the Americas began cultivating the cocoa tree for its dark, bitter beans, which they brewed into a drink spiced with hot peppers. Today, we blend the beans with milk and sugar and call the stuff chocolate.

Conservationists have been working in the Dawna Tenasserim Landscape—which spans the Thailand/Myanmar border—for years. Rarely, though, do they get to see this magnificent wilderness area from the air.

Forests are very important to us, and to many different species. WWF is working to address the threats to forests, and protect the species that call them home. Check out some of the animals who hang out in forests. 

Community leaders in Papua are inspiring people to support the approach that local communities, WWF, and others are starting to use to save Papua’s forests—which are some of the largest remaining intact forests in Southeast Asia, but are increasingly at risk of being destroyed to make room for palm oil plantations, as well as mining and industrial logging operations.

Products that carry the FSC logo have been certified to Forest Stewardship Council® standards as having been sourced according to specific standards of environmental and social responsibility.

Extreme weather caused by climate change is now a primary driver of forest degradation in key wintering habitat for monarch butterflies in Mexico, according to a new report.

Local communities, Democratic Republic of Congo government representatives, WWF, and others met earlier this year to discuss plans for a forest conservation program in Maï-Ndombe.

Participants of the weeklong workshop, which was hosted by WWF and the Natural Capital Project, learned how to map out Mozambique’s natural resources, why the resources are important, how to build them into decisions about infrastructure and development, and more.

Thirty years later, WWF's Kate Newman returns to find signs of elephants, bonobos and more in Salonga National Park

As the second largest tropical forest park in the world, Salonga is a global treasure. It is home for bonobos and one of the last remaining habitats for the forest elephant. Now, a newly signed agreement brings together the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) and WWF to co-manage the protected area.

Forests all over the world have been harvested illegally or irresponsibly to meet escalating demand for pulp and paper.

A new survey conducted last December indicates migratory monarch butterfly populations grew in 2015, occupying almost 10 acres of forest in their hibernation sites in Mexico. Though this shows a boost from the previous two years, the numbers are considerably low compared to 20 years ago.

Eduardo Escompani Viñas is a shiringuero; he collects natural latex from shiringa trees. He and the other members of ECOMUSA, a cooperative of natural rubber producers, feel duty-bound to protect their natural resources and their way of life. They demonstrate that there are ways to reap the value and benefit of forests without harming them.

 

WWF’s plan to secure a permanent future for some of the highest-priority protected areas on Earth

Capturing atmospheric data in the Amazon

WWF’s approach is based in the fact that when geographically bound rhino populations reach the limit of numbers their habitat can support, reproduction drops.

A growing number of cooks in Peru rely on the country’s protected areas—parks, nature reserves, and sanctuaries—to keep their menus vibrant and their customers satisfied. That's part of why WWF is working with the Peruvian government and partners to fund the proper management of protected areas.

Every so often, it’s important to pause, take a step back, and celebrate the progress we’ve made together in conserving the world’s wildlife and beautiful places. And this year gave us much to applaud. Though our conservation challenges persist and there’s still much work to be done, we all need take a moment to appreciate just how far we’ve come by working in tandem to protect the planet we love.

US forest landowners play a huge role in saving the world’s forests. One way they can do so is by getting their land certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Learn how Stacey Locke did this—in collaboration with WWF, Domtar and others—and why her family’s forest in Arkansas is now a model for landowners across the Southeast.

What does the FSC® logo mean to you? Can you even name the type of products it references? Here’s the answer: the logo represents the Forest Stewardship Council®—and it signifies that the wood or paper product originated from a forest that was managed carefully with trees, animals, and local community benefit at heart.

Public, private, national, and international partners, including WWF, are working on a way to fund the permanent protection of Peru’s natural treasures. Such funds could be used to conduct wildlife surveys, create jobs in ecotourism, and purchase equipment that enables park rangers to better patrol protected areas.