Stories: People & Communities

In their own words, river communities—and bioeconomy entrepreneurs—share their commitment to protecting their Amazon home

It wasn’t until Irenilse Batista Sousa researched her roots that she understood what it was to be Kumaruara.

To permanently protect 150 million acres of the Brazilian Amazon, Brazil established the Amazon Region Protected Areas (ARPA) program in 2002.

Before traveling to Patagonia, I imagined a long, narrow chain of dramatic peaks and calving glaciers.

Scroll through social media, and you’re bound to spot an “exotic pet,” an animal companion that isn’t a farm animal or a domesticated dog or cat.

Richie Mehta is the creative mind behind Poacher, a new eight-part series about crime-fighting conservationists who took on India’s biggest elephant poaching ring between 2015 and 2017.

The Great Sea Reef that hugs Fiji’s northwestern shores is a biodiversity hotspot and deeply important to the country and its people.

The slaughter of millions of American bison is one of the great tragedies in US history.

Since 2021, WWF’s Russell E. Train Education for Nature (EFN) Program has sponsored EcoLogic Development Fund, a nonprofit that supports Indigenous efforts to restore the forest.

Throughout 2024, WWF worked with community leaders around the world on solutions that move forward policy, restoration, and knowledge-sharing, spurring change both locally and at scale across WWF’s priority seascape regions.

WWF partnered with the community of Savoonga to host a week-long participatory photography workshop. We worked with the participants to grow their photography skills and explore the art of telling visual stories.

WWF joined an initiative assisting four Indigenous women-led enterprises. In addition to providing technical and commercial support, the project included acquiring equipment to enhance production, improving sales infrastructure, developing multiple commercial partnerships with ongoing support, and planting over 10,000 seedlings to restore their forests.

When Esthela Noteno lost her job at Ecuador’s Nueva Loja Ecological Park during COVID-19, she didn’t expect to start an Indigenous enterprise in her home village of Domingo Calapucha.

The K’iche have successfully managed their natural resources for centuries using their traditional governing body and ancestral knowledge. As a result, Totonicapán is home to Guatemala’s largest remaining stand of conifer forest.

Reframing the benefits of jaguar-friendly ranching

WWF worked with Kotlik and Emmonak community members using hydrophones to capture audio of beluga whales underwater. The goal is to better understand beluga behavior in freshwater and ensure these marine mammals are protected.

The CARE-WWF Alliance Nachingwea project took a multi-pronged approach, aiming to expand climate-smart agricultural practices, support sustainable livelihood opportunities for women, invest in community-based conservation, and bolster participatory governance.

Participatory photography in the coastal Yucatan town of Dzilam de Bravo, Mexico

In Nyae Nyae, nature is more than a provider; it is an integral part of the community. The San people tend to it with reverence, knowing that nature cares for them, just as they care for nature.

Kyle Newman, WWF’s community partnership leader for Oceans, was born and raised in Alaska. In his work, he finds himself most often listening—trying to understand the needs of individuals and communities and building trust.

In the vast wilderness of Namibia’s Nyae Nyae Conservancy and Community Forest, many remarkable individuals are guardians of a mysterious and elusive creature—the pangolin. Meet the team.

For Sandra Antipani, this kind of tourism is key to ensuring the long-term conservation of her island home and a tangible way for her to share her community’s wisdom.

It’s difficult to overstate the global significance of rice.

Her grandmother taught her that when they took something from the ground—vegetables, herbs, flowers—they had to replenish or recultivate the resource.