Forests Stories

  • Mighty Mangroves

    Mangroves are a vibrant part of coastal wetlands on five continents. Explore some of the most diverse coastal forests around the world.

    A view of mangroves along the coast from the water
  • Harvesting trees without harming wildlife

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2019
    New images from the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon show what conservationists have long known: that people harvesting trees responsibly can live harmoniously with animals.
    Bushdog
  • A new study finds significant mislabeling of wood products from US retailers

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2019
    WWF and World Resources Institute partnered with a lab to examine 73 commercial wood products sold by major US retailers. Forty of them were labeled as the wrong tree species.
    Wiedenhoeft in Forest Products Laboratory
  • Collaborating to conserve forests: HP and WWF project goes beyond responsible sourcing toward a healthier planet

    September 23, 2019

    Our forests are in crisis. Nearly half of all global forests are under threat of deforestation and forest degradation, which represents a major risk to global climate, biodiversity, water, people, and businesses who depend on healthy forests. HP is one company that’s responding to this need for action.

    Stream of water surrounded by forest at Figueira trail, Carlos Botelho State Park, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Can forensics save forests?

    It's hard to identify a tree species by looking at just the wood. We rarely know whether the tree listed on the label of wood products is accurate—or legal. WWF is looking to forensics for answers.

    Plimob furniture factory reclaimed wood
  • 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
  • What is forest degradation and why is it bad for people and wildlife?

    When a forest is degraded it still exists, but it can no longer function well. It becomes a shell of its former self; its health declines until it can no longer support people and wildlife by, for example, filtering the air we breathe and water we drink or providing animals with food and places to live.

    degraded land WW286701 Tim Cornin
  • 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
  • WWF and Apple help improve management of more than 1 million acres of China’s forests

    More than 1 million acres of forest land in China are now managed responsibly or under improved forest management, thanks to a joint initiative by WWF and Apple.

    forest in china
  • Smart fire management protects a park in Brazil

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2019
    The flames start out small and barely audible. But within 15 minutes they're two stories high—a roaring wall. It's Jose Luis Neris da Silva's job to make sure they don't burn out of control.
    Man in front of burning ground
  • These handmade cookstoves save fuel—and help save gorillas

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2019
    In 2008, WWF began working with groups in the Goma area to make and sell fuel-efficient cookstoves. Goma Stove, started with a loan from WWF, is now financially independent—and business is booming.
    veline Kahindo with clay stove base
  • 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.
  • WWF's Linda Walker on how forests have shaped her life

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2019
    Forests have shaped and inspired every chapter of my life.
    Linda Walker
  • Legendary undercover investigators protect forests

    August 09, 2018

    The men in question can’t be named or pictured, because they’re undercover investigators for a deforestation watchdog group called Eyes on the Forest (EoF). And they’re routinely putting their safety on the line to protect Thirty Hills, one of the last great swaths of rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

    EoF1 Neil Ever Osborne WW257110
  • Drones provide an up close look at the health of forests

    June 19, 2018

    WWF is on a mission to save the world’s forest land. Saving forests means using every tool at our disposal and working with partners around the globe. And that’s where drones come in to play.

    drone heads into forest
  • International Paper and WWF Join Forces to Help Create First-Ever Science-Based Targets for Forests and Scale-Up Forest Restoration in Brazil

    June 18, 2018

    A new collaboration between WWF and International Paper (IP)—a participant in WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network program and one of the world’s largest packaging, pulp and paper companies—research and assessments will help determine how much forest land—and what quality—is needed to ensure forests can continue to provide people, plants and animals worldwide with the clean air and water, food and other “services” they need to thrive.

    Aerial view of Amazon
  • Want to help save the world's forests? Look for the FSC logo when you shop

    April 22, 2018

    It’s one of the easiest things you can do to help save the world’s forests. Look for the logo that says FSC® when you buy paper towels, tissues, furniture or any other products that come from forests.

    A view of the rattan forest canopy.
  • A small-scale farmer leads the way for big changes to rubber farming in Myanmar

    March 27, 2018

    Hey Mer is not just producing good quality rubber, she is doing so in accordance with farming practices that don’t degrade the forests or mistreat workers. Such steps are necessary to protect the environment and human rights, but also to ensure good rubber prices for farmers and a long-lasting rubber industry.

    Hey Mer in Myanmar
  • An illegal logger in Tanzania becomes a forest defender

    March 21, 2018

    When his three daughters were hungry, Omary Mbunda would turn to illegal timber for money. That changed when the CARE-WWF Alliance—a partnership focused on creating food systems that better nourish vulnerable communities while supporting healthy ecosystems—began promoting sustainable forestry management and conservation agriculture in Mbondo in 2015.

    Portrait of Mbunda
  • As monarch butterflies lose ground in Mexico, WWF seeks solutions in America’s heartland

    When we think of wild animals losing their habitats, we usually envision elephants, rhinos, and tigers in faraway places. But monarch butterflies are losing their homes right here in the US—and our food is playing a part.

    Monarch among goldenrod
  • Saving a forest stronghold

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2018
    Deep within Africa’s second-largest country, Salonga is a core part of one of Earth’s greatest and last tropical forests, still virtually untouched by modern-day resource extraction and development.
    rangers paddle down a river in Salonga National Park
  • Charting a future for bonobos

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2018
    The future of bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is beginning to look promising. WWF is increasing surveillance of them and creating a management plan that benefits people and wildlife.
    Congo Bonobos Magazine Spring 2018
  • Women rising

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2018
    WWF is working to empower women by teaching them sustainable farming techniques, building their leadership and entrepreneurial skills, and ensuring their representation in decision-making bodies.
    IMGL8483-web-flipped
  • 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