Posted on July, 28 2025

Brazil's Discovery National Park is a sanctuary of biodiversity, with stunning views and significant national heritage.

From safeguarding whales in Chile to tackling illegal fishing in Tanzania – there’s lots of good news to share about our efforts, alongside partners and supporters, to tackle the climate and nature loss crises.  

Let's start with a welcome update about forests − so vital for the future of people, nature and climate.

To date, WWF’s Forests Forward programme has helped inspire 26 leading companies and organizations to take action for a sustainable future for forests. This has led to conservation projects supporting 1.3 million hectares of the world’s most vital and vulnerable landscapes.

An additional 2.7 million hectares of tropical forest are benefiting from improved management measures. And responsible sourcing is also translating into additional hectares of improved forest management across the globe.

WWF’s Forests Forward partners are demonstrating that the private sector can be a force for nature,” said Kirsten Schuijt, WWF International Director General.

“Together, our innovative approaches and positive impacts are proving that conserving forests is not only beneficial for the planet, but also a wise and sustainable business strategy.”

Strong emissions targets for global shipping agreed

Until now, the emissions of two key global economic sectors – aviation and global shipping – have not been controlled under the Paris climate agreement, the UN treaty that aims to stop global temperatures increasing by more than 1.5°C – the threshold beyond which catastrophic impacts become increasingly likely.

After years of WWF advocacy, we welcome the landmark decision on global shipping from a working committee of the International Maritime Organization (with final adoption due in October) – establishing emission reduction measures, a global fuel standard and marine environment protections.

These measures are in line with the Paris Agreement’s ‘net-zero’ ambition for the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to no longer grow by 2050; and with shipping contributing 3 per cent of global emissions – more than most individual countries – they can have a significant impact. 

However, the news is not all good – we remain concerned that the inadequate finance mechanism, lack of alignment with agreed near-term targets and weak energy efficiency measures could blow this ambition off course. 

UN ocean conference sees strong commitments

Tropical fish swim near the shore of Huahine island in the Pacific Ocean.

The threats facing the oceans, including climate change, over-fishing and pollution, are monumental but there is still hope if countries take strong and coordinated global action. WWF’s efforts on this are ongoing and relentless, and so we are pleased that progress was made at the recent UN Ocean Conference, attended by governments from 175 countries.

There were important commitments by a number of governments to create Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), including French Polynesia’s plan for the world’s largest MPA across almost 5 million square kilometres.

During the summit 19 more countries also ratified the High Seas Treaty, which sets out a framework for protecting the vast expanse of ocean outside national jurisdiction. This brings the total support for the treaty to 51 – just nine short of the threshold for it to enter into force.

We welcome the increasing support for this and other measures that seek to safeguard the ocean – but also continue to call for greater urgency and stronger action. 

Conservation leadership of Indigenous Peoples affirmed

WWF supports the vision laid out in the Brazzaville Declaration.

The Indigenous Peoples and local communities living closest to nature have a vital role in building a sustainable future for life on Earth. So we warmly welcome the Brazzaville Declaration, released at the First World Congress of Indigenous Peoples in the Republic of Congo, which affirms their rights, leadership and deep connection to nature.

The declaration particularly emphasizes the crucial role of Indigenous Peoples in managing and preserving the rich biodiversity of the globally important forests of the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia and Southwest Pacific.

We will continue to work alongside Indigenous Peoples, striving to support them on their journey toward ensuring respect for their rights and roles in conservation action.

For example, when we were recently involved in establishing a community hunting zone near the Dzanga Sangha Protected Area, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Central African Republic, we strongly supported the leading role taken by local and Indigenous communities in discussions on how to balance biodiversity conservation with their rights and livelihoods. 

Knowledge is essential for conservation action

In a world where misinformation is increasingly taking hold, sound science continues to be the bedrock of all our conservation work.

In recent months, there have been a number of new research projects by WWF and partners that will help guide our future conservation priorities. These include:

• A study that aims to provide the most comprehensive mapping of global wetlands, crucial habitats for people and wildlife around the world;
• A groundbreaking global turtle initiative that brings together nesting site, satellite tracking and genetic data as a basis for establishing protected 'blue corridors’;
• Nepal’s first ever national population assessment of the snow leopard, which faces threats ranging from habitat loss to conflicts with people;
• A pioneering study on roads crossing protected areas in Argentina’s Misiones province that will help us better understand how to protect the jaguar from traffic collisions in the Atlantic Forest;
• A census of hoofed mammals (ungulates) such as deer, gazelle and wild boar in Mongolia’s biodiversity-rich Onon-Balj National Park.  

Researchers, rangers, border patrol officers and herders braced harsh winter conditions to participate in WWF-Mongolia's hoofed mammals census.

Tanzania acts against illegal fishing

 

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a major problem for oceans and the economies of many countries – harming marine biodiversity but also jeopardizing the livelihoods of coastal communities and weakening local economies.

Tanzania, a country with a strong economic interest in maintaining sustainable fisheries in the adjacent Indian Ocean, is stepping up its commitment to act on this issue by becoming a member of the Agreement on Port State Measures – the first binding international treaty that specifically targets IUU fishing.

The agreement aims to prevent illegal catches from entering the marketplace through measures such as requiring fishing vessels to request permission to dock at port and provide details of its fishing operations, as well as undertaking inspections of equipment, paperwork and catches.

WWF-Tanzania worked closely with the government on this, providing both technical and financial support.  
 

Whales to benefit from Chilean shipping controls

The waters off the coast of Guafo Island, Chile, are home to blue, humpback, southern right, sei and killer whales.

The introduction in Chile of voluntary speed navigation measures for shipping vessels is an important step forward for whale conservation. Ship collisions are a growing danger to whales, such as blue, humpback and right, and other cetaceans who live in and move through Chilean waters.

That’s why an alliance of organizations, with the technical support of WWF-Chile, has been working on the issue since 2021 − launching a pilot alert system that enabled vessels to report whale sightings and access the data so they can make changes to their course and speed to avoid collisions and minimize underwater noise that disrupts whales’ natural behaviour.

Since then, experts have analysed the data and established a recommended speed of 10 knots for vessels in areas with a high presence of whales. And now the Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy has incorporated these recommendations into its own official digital platforms.

We encourage vessels to continue recording whale sightings to help support efforts for geographically broader, mandatory measures. 

Bringing hope for Ukranian nature recovery

In an area of the country that remains extremely close to the frontline, WWF-Ukraine and the HALO Trust are working hard to ensure that land is both cleared of mines and ecologically revitalized.

Here in Mykolaiv, a steppe region with very few forests, there has been a particular focus on restoring ‘shelterbelts’ that were heavily damaged by the war.

These linear plantings of trees and shrubs are important for the local environment – already under strain from decades of monoculture agriculture.

Near the village of Tamaryne, more than 1,000 common oak acorns and over 100 fruit tree seedlings have been planted recently with the help of local residents and experts. Over time, this shelterbelt could reduce erosion, protect crops from wind and retain soil moisture.

However, restoration is a long-term endeavour with risks ranging from the lack of legal protection to the possibility of armed conflict resuming there again.  

Supporting sustainable thinking in Cambodia

The story of Khim Ratha, a farmer in Mondulkiri province, highlights how WWF-Cambodia’s Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) project is helping communities adopt sustainable practices that reduce environmental impacts and improve livelihoods.

Ratha and her husband grow vegetables on their 0.8-hectare farm to help earn an income and sustain their family. Through a series of SCP workshops, she learnt how relatively small changes could have significant impacts on her farm’s greenhouse gas emissions and support a more circular economy.

With support from SCP, she received four piglets that have been fed on vegetable waste, with the pig waste being composted and returned to the vegetable plots.

“The pigs are healthy, I’m saving money and I’m no longer worried about waste piling up,” Ratha said. “This choice has helped me use my resources more efficiently and made me proud of what I do.” 

More on our work
Stories of success - April 2025 update
WWF's global review of our work in 2024