Forests Stories

Many wood products in American homes—from the kitchen table to hardwood floors—come from the same forested areas in Africa where elephants, rhinos, lions and other magnificent species roam wild. Few purchasers know that the wood from these forests is illegal. It was harvested, transported, processed, bought or sold in violation of national laws.

WWF's Meg Symington describes the luck and rewards of working to save the Amazon rain forest.

The world’s most popular vegetable oil—palm oil—is produced in tropical rain forests everywhere. While it can be produced sustainably, palm oil made with conventional production methods can lead to unchecked agricultural expansion that threatens forests and wildlife.

The Indonesian island of Sumatra—one of the most biodiverse places on the planet—has lost more than half of its forest cover in the last thirty years. But there are stands of amazing, still-intact forest in Sumatra, and Thirty Hills is one of them.

How indigenous communities, government agencies, nonprofits and businesses work together to stop the clearing of forests

Remember learning about photosynthesis back in school? This week, let’s go back to our science roots (pun unintended!) to see how this natural process makes forests both a contributor and solution to climate change. To understand the complex relation between forests and climate change, it is important to see trees and plants as playing multiple roles on the stage that is our planet.

Through a new project, WWF and Apple will help China—the world’s largest producer and consumer of paper products—reduce its environmental footprint by producing paper products from responsibly managed forests within its own borders.

The Amazon, central Africa, the Mekong. These are home to some of the world’s most species-rich, culturally significant and stunningly beautiful forests. But large swaths of these forests, and many others around the world, may not be there in 15 years if we don’t do more to save them.

How can we map deforestation and forest degradation in a way that distinguishes between a functioning forest and a simple group of trees?

As Bhutan’s fortunes rise, its natural and cultural heritage rest in the balance.

Netflix is teaming up with WWF and Silverback Films on an ambitious four-year project: an eight-part series that explores never-before-filmed wilderness areas in stunning 4K HD.

Palm oil plantations and illegal logging drive habitat loss

Increasingly, people are repurposing wood products—rendering barn siding into floorboards and shaping pallets into furniture, all without logging another tree.

Forests occupy a special space for me, offering the ultimate escape and connection to natural beauty. This emerges with the cool, refereshing breeze, freshwater flowing, and wildlife thriving. Living in Washington, DC, for most of the last 10 years, I find exiting the urban environment and entering the forest is less a desire and more a necessity.

Forests give us so much—fresh air, clean water, wildlife and tranquil surroundings. But—as some of you probably know—the trees that grow in these forests also provide us with many products we use in our everyday life. From paper towels and toilet paper, to the wooden coffee tables we place our newspapers and magazines on, products from trees are all around us.

This weekend's college basketball finals are a time to celebrate great basketball – and protecting the world’s forests. Why? Because the games will be played on floors certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Eighty percent of the world’s known terrestrial plant and animal species can be found in forests. Cool fact: a square kilometer of forest may be home to more than 1,000 species. Yet forests are disappearing at an alarming rate—18.7 million acres of forests annually, equivalent to 27 soccer fields every minute. Check out these species that hug trees.

Trees are cut down at a rapid rate to meet the demand for products we all use. Some are products that often are on our weekly shopping lists, such as toilet paper, diapers and tissues. What if we used something other than newly-harvested trees to create these products?

Which traits of mountain gorillas might allow them to tolerate or respond to rapidly changing climate conditions, and how can WWF help?

The sounds and silences of floating down the Amazon

When you see that symbol, you don’t have to wonder whether pristine forests were destroyed to make the product or whether the workers wielding chainsaws were paid a living wage. Because when you see the FSC logo, you know the product can be traced back to a company that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.