Conserving Places

One in ten known species lives in the Amazon landscape. Its dense forests are home to half of the planet's remaining tropical forests. The health of the Amazon is clearly linked to the health of the planet as its rain forests help stabilize local and global climate. WWF collaborates with governments across the Amazon to create and manage protected forest areas. In Brazil— through the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA)—WWF works to create a network of parks covering 150 million acres of forest. This area would be over 50 percent larger than the U.S. National Parks system.

The Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra are the only places on Earth where tigers, rhinos, orangutans, and elephants live together. The forests are home to a staggering array of biodiversity. At the same time, the vast wealth of natural resources has attracted industries determined to extract its precious hardwoods and minerals to palm oil, rubber and coal. WWF works on the ground with local communities and governments, but also takes action to address the relentless global forces that threaten the region. We focus specifically on safeguarding species, enforcing responsible forestry, encouraging sustainable agriculture and protecting the Heart of Borneo— an area of equatorial rain forest that includes some of the most biologically diverse habitats on the planet.

A marine area located in the western Pacific Ocean, the Coral Triangle is home to 75 percent of the world’s coral species, thousands of reef fish and six of the world’s seven marine turtle species. Additionally, more than 120 million people live in the Coral Triangle and depend on its resources. To ensure a vibrant future for the region’s people and wildlife, WWF works to create a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Coral Triangle. MPAs protect coral reefs and sea grass beds from destructive fishing. They let fish reproduce and grow to their adult size so that depleted fish populations recover and fish catches increase in surrounding fishing waters. MPAs also provide refuge for other marine species, such as endangered marine turtles and dugongs. WWF works to ensure protected areas are designed and managed well. We monitor fish spawning areas and the health of coral reefs, and study the impacts of protected areas on local communities.

Amid Namibia’s ocean shores, woodland savannas and deserts, there is an extraordinary array of marine and terrestrial life, including the largest free-roaming population of black rhino in Africa and the largest cheetah population in the world. WWF’s work in Namibia focuses on supporting their communal conservancy program—a successful model for balancing the needs of people and wildlife. WWF partners with local communities to help them manage their natural resources and ensure a future for wildlife populations and sustainable economic growth. Today, there is a direct relationship between the health of wildlife populations and prosperity of local communities. Poaching has declined dramatically and there are restored populations of numerous species, such as lions, cheetahs, black rhinos and zebras.

The Northern Great Plains crosses five states and two Canadian provinces. The bison, black-footed ferrets, pronghorn antelope that once shared its grasslands have all seen population declines. WWF is working in the Northern Great Plains to conserve wildlife and help local communities recognize the benefits from their contributions. WWF helped launch the American Prairie Reserve, an independent, Montana-based land trust focused on bringing bison back to the northern Montana prairie. Since the first bison arrived in May 2006, WWF has welcomed more than 200 bison on the American Prairie Reserve.