Amazon Stories

  • Protecting millions of acres in the Amazon

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2024
    Brazil launched the Amazon Region Protected Areas (ARPA) program with WWF and partners in 2002, setting an aspirational goal: permanently secure more than 150 million acres of the Brazilian Amazon.
    A teal and brown tree frog clings to a branch
  • What the Amazon needs now

    October 09, 2023

    The Amazon is in crisis. Deforestation, degradation, and climate change are pushing the Amazon rain forest and river systems to the edge, undermining the future resiliency of the Amazon’s people and ecosystems. Current levels of deforestation in the Amazon are approximately 17% but we can act now to reverse this trend

    Waterway in Peruvian Amazon runs through trees
  • A green and black salamander with a ruler
  • Protecting the Amazon's swimways

    January 25, 2023

    WWF, along with scientists from several organizations and academia, conducted a review of the use of more than 200,000 miles of Amazonian rivers by long-distance migratory fish and turtle species and river dolphins to develop a map of the most important routes or freshwater connectivity corridors, also known as swimways.

    Two Amazon river dolphins lift their heads out of the water close to one another
  • How one Indigenous community uses high-tech tools to defend its territory

    In the wake of the devastating Amazon wildfires of 2019, WWF collaborated with the Kanindé Association of Ethno-Environmental Protection to supply the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau with terrestrial monitoring equipment—including drones, smartphones, and camera traps—and field training to document illegal deforestation.

    WWF providing drone training to communities. Pictured are people from the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau territory
  • Celebrating 20 years of protecting the Brazilian Amazon

    September 01, 2022

    Two decades after its creation, ARPA continues to play an essential role in the conservation of this invaluable rain forest, preserving biodiversity, reducing deforestation, and supporting local livelihoods.

    Green, lush trees push up against river water
  • Supporting the Indigenous economy in Putumayo, Colombia

    April 12, 2022

    Miguel Chasoy, a young Inga-Kamëntšá Indigenous man living in Putumayo, Colombia, started a business as an artisan and received a grant for financial and technical support.

    Close-up of hands beading a multi-colored mask
  • Road to recovery in Latin America

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2021
    An ambitious international plan could bring declining jaguar populations back.
    Jaguar lying down watching camera
  • Recognizing our connectedness on the Amazon River

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2021
    Recognizing our connectedness on the Amazon River.
    Tourists in boat on Amazon
  • 5 forest-dwelling wildlife species we love

    March 03, 2021

    Celebrating 5 of our favorite wildlife species living in forest habitats around the world.

    A side view of an adult jaguar walking in front of large tangled tree branches
  • Supporting sustainable aquaculture in the Amazon

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2021
    In 2018, WWF helped create an initiative that provides technical support to Amazonian fish farms. Paiche farming applys local Indigenous knowledge to the conservation of the fish populations.
    Aerial photo of fish farming cages
  • Monitoring jaguars to help ensure their long-term survival

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2020
    In 2017, WWF-Peru began monitoring jaguars in the Napo-Putumayo Corridor to gain crucial insights that could help protect the species longterm.
    Jaguar walking close to camera
  • World on fire

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2020
    As flames engulfed parts of the world last year, WWF sent emergency support to help local firefighters and communities in need.
    Landscape with dark smoke filling sky
  • Carter Roberts talks with Dr. Thomas Lovejoy about using science to make a difference

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2020
    WWF president and CEO Carter Roberts talks with Dr. Thomas Lovejoy about a tipping point for the Amazon and why science should ground everything.
    Thomas Lovejoy portrait
  • After the blaze: Amazon community begins recovery following the fires

    In Bolivia’s Chiquitano Dry Forest region, flames impacted 5.4 million acres of forest. Thanks to WWF supporters, our on-the-ground partners were able to help the community begin to recover.

    Burned forest in Bolivia
  • The case for the right kind of logging in Peru

    July 23, 2019

    The sounds of Peru’s jungles are akin to those of a symphony. The high-pitched calls of toucans, the slow roar of howler monkeys, and the buzzing of insects together create unforgettable melodies. But these natural harmonies do more than simply please the ear—they provide us with valuable information about the health of the forest.

    Macaws Amazon, Peru - Rainforest
  • Jaguar: the amazing Amazon big cat

    Considered a protector and symbol of power, jaguars personify the mysterious beauty of the Amazon. This iconic species plays a vital role in its habitat by controlling other species’ populations and helping maintain a healthy ecosystem. 

    jaguar close WW2120938 Emmanuel Rondeau
  • Protecting the Peruvian Amazon

    May 24, 2019

    One of the best ways to stop deforestation is to ensure there’s long-term funding to properly manage the country’s national parks.  

    peruvian amazon sunset WW1103396 Day's Edge Productions
  • How small investments in conservation create big returns

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2019
    Conserving natural habitats has long been recognized as a powerful way to secure and shelter the planet’s biological diversity.
    Amazon illustration
  • Rooted in the Amazon

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2019
    In the Amazon and beyond, WWF’s Earth for Life vision calls for saving massive pieces of the planet we call home.
    Giant Otter peeks head out of the water while swimming in a small lake near the Rio do Coco in Parque Estadual do Cantão, Tocantins, Brazil.
  • Activist Nina Gualinga on protecting the Amazon

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2018
    Climate justice champion and indigenous rights activist Nina Gualinga relentlessly advocates for protection of the Ecuadorian Amazon, its wildlife, and the people who depend on it.
    qa protest winter2018
  • What are the biggest drivers of tropical deforestation?

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2018
    Beef and soy production are driving more than two-thirds of the recorded habitat loss in Brazil’s Amazon and Cerrado regions and Argentina and Paraguay’s Gran Chaco region.
    granchaco deforest landscape summer2018
  • Protecting progress in the Brazilian Amazon

    December 13, 2017

    This will be one of the great litmus tests of the conservation movement: can we marshal the resources necessary to secure the gains we’ve made in the Amazon and chart a new path forward?

    Aerial view of Amazon
  • Staying strong for the Amazon

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2017
    Scientists are discovering an average of one new species in the Amazon every other day.
    bird reveal winter2017