The world’s largest expanse of tropical rainforest – home to at least 10 per cent of the world’s known species and more than 30 million people – forms the focus of one of our ambitious initiatives.
WWF has already played a unique role in conserving the
Amazon over the past 40 years, developing scientific knowledge, experience, and key partnerships with local,regional, and international players.
We have invested more than US$30 million in conservation in the region since 2001 and are working with the government of Brazil and other partners on the Amazon Region Protected Areas Programme (
ARPA), which has already helped create more than 20 million hectares of protected areas since 2002.
We have also helped with sustainable management of natural resources and improved conditions for the people who rely on them, for example by developing
FSC-certified forestry and
forest management, successfully lobbying for tighter international trade regulations for
big-leaf mahogany, and promoting sustainable freshwater fisheries.
Building on this solid foundation, in 2007 we launched a ten-year Amazon Initiative to vastly scale up our efforts.
By forming powerful partnerships with diverse partners – Amazonian governments, aid agencies, local communities, local and multinational businesses, other conservation organizations, and research institutions – we seek to conserve the entire Amazon Basin through a combination of good governance, clear land tenure, sustainable commodity production, forest-friendly infrastructure development, and biodiversity conservation.
These efforts will ensure the survival of Amazon species and ecosystems – and so the continued provision of
environmental goods and services that sustain people and economies locally, regionally, and in the wider world.
Sufficient forest cover will also maintain regional rainfall and build resilience to climate change, ensuring a healthy Amazon that will continue to regulate both the regional and global climate.
