Posted on October, 21 2025
The high seas support crucial fisheries, provide habitats for hundreds of thousands of species and mitigate climate change impacts. © Cat Holloway / WWF
From reintroducing rhinos in India to supporting community energy needs in Madagascar – there’s lots of good news to share about WWF's efforts, alongside partners and supporters, to tackle the climate and nature loss crises.
Crucial global breakthrough for ocean conservation
After nearly two decades of urging by WWF and others, a groundbreaking UN treaty was agreed back in 2023 to conserve marine life and create a framework for enhanced cooperation on the high seas – the vast areas of ocean, 99% of which are unprotected, that lie outside the control of any country and are being hit hard by unsustainable industrial fishing, shipping and more.
At least 60 countries had to ratify the treaty for it come into force and, after further persistent calls from WWF and other advocates, that threshold has now been reached – meaning that from 17 January 2026 there will finally be a legally binding mechanism for creating protected areas and regulating harmful activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
WWF will continue to urge all countries to ratify the treaty and support its effective implementation, as well as support the designation of marine protected areas in the high seas – essential to achieving the globally agreed target to protect 30 per cent of the oceans, supporting crucial fisheries, safeguarding the habitats of hundreds of thousands of species and helping to mitigate climate change impacts.
Landmark agreement on harmful fisheries subsidies
In yet more good news for marine life and coastal communities, a global agreement to end some financial support for harmful fishing practices – in part the outcome of two decades of dedicated advocacy by WWF and partners – has come into force.
The agreement by member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) takes direct aim at the estimated US$22 billion per year in harmful subsidies that drive illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. These practices can have devastating impacts, damaging marine resources and ecosystems, undermining legitimate fishing practices and impacting the livelihoods of millions.
This is a landmark achievement – only the second agreement ever reached by WTO members and the first to have the environment at its heart. It will enable countries to reform and redirect harmful subsidies toward sustainable fisheries, helping rebuild fish stocks and supporting coastal communities.
WWF now calls on governments to move quickly on implementing this agreement, as well as ratifying the agreement if they have not already done so. We also urge action to close gaps related to additional rules on subsidies that drive overcapacity and overfishing.
Government climate obligations affirmed
In a landmark advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice has recognized that states have clear obligations to avoid harmful impacts from greenhouse gas emissions to the climate system and to nature.
This affirms the essential connection between climate change and nature loss – a key consideration that WWF highlighted in its submission to the court.
The court agreed that both communities and ecosystems should be protected from climate impacts, and harm to them triggers obligations of restoration or compensation – a major signal of hope for the world’s most vulnerable populations and for all ecosystems and species.
While non-binding, this advisory opinion carries considerable legal and moral authority – and will help to guide decision making on legal responsibilities for climate impacts.
WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead Manuel Pulgar-Vidal said: "The Court rightly acknowledged that climate change is a common concern of humanity, and that a healthy environment is the foundation for the health and well-being of people.”
New forest finance fund gets US$1 billion boost
The world is dangerously off track to meet the global goal set by over 140 world leaders to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. So we warmly welcome the Brazilian government’s US$1 billion investment in the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) – and urge other governments to follow suit.
Due for launch next month, TFFF is designed to incentivize countries with tropical and sub-tropical forests to keep their forests standing – using profits from its investments to provide payments to countries that are safeguarding their forests.
Crucially, it includes pathways for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to access and direct, at a minimum, 20 per cent of payments to countries.
This anchor investment from Brazil, which also originally proposed the TFFF, represents a critical step toward mobilizing large-scale finance for forest conservation.
It also signals a fundamental shift for nature and climate finance – widening the investor base to include governments that historically have been aid recipients alongside investors from traditional donor countries and private investors.
New ways for communities to raise concerns
WWF’s commitment to accountability has been boosted by news that its Office of the Ombudsperson is now fully operational.
The Office is a dedicated, independent mechanism through which individuals and communities can raise concerns about social or environmental impacts related to WWF’s work.
It offers neutral and independent spaces to resolve complaints, identify improvements in how WWF works and build stronger relationships with our stakeholders. Through its participative approach, the Office enables communities to have a voice on the issues that affect them and shape WWF’s conservation efforts.
This crucial step forward is part of the Environmental and Social Safeguards Framework, WWF’s overall approach to managing the environmental and social risks of our work – aiming to deliver better conservation outcomes and enhance the well-being of communities in the areas where we operate.
The Ombudsperson is Susana Rodriguez, who brings a wealth of experience in mediation, stakeholder engagement and operationalizing grievance mechanisms in complex contexts.
Jaguars, and other flagship species, help to maintain forest and river health. © Bruce D. Taubert
Amazon study promotes integrated conservation action
Until now, research into the severe threats – from deforestation to climate change – faced by the many thousands of species in the Amazon river basin has focused more on individual species and ecosystems than the interconnectedness between them all.
A new study, backed by WWF, is helping to bridge this knowledge gap – identifying areas with high densities of the jaguar, river dolphin and other wide-ranging freshwater species that need their habitats to be connected and protected if they are to thrive.
The study highlights the potential benefits of integrating conservation efforts on land and in freshwater environments, pinpointing where conservation action would have most benefit.
Flagship species like jaguars and dolphins help maintain forest and river health by regulating prey populations and transporting nutrients. But strengthening connectivity not only ensures ecological resilience, it helps support the livelihoods of more than 30 million people across the basin.
Danube countries launch sturgeon monitoring initiative
WWF and partners from across nine countries along Europe’s Danube River have joined together to protect endangered sturgeon species.
The new three-year project, called “MonStur in the Danube”, will establish the first-ever transboundary sturgeon monitoring system in the Danube river basin, laying the foundation for the long-term conservation of these migratory fish.
The monitoring system will deliver not only population and habitat data, but also recommendations for national and regional river basin management plans.
Sturgeon have lived in the Danube for millions of years but overfishing, poaching, habitat destruction and river fragmentation has seen the loss of two of the six Danube sturgeon species, with the rest surviving only in scattered populations.
WWF and partners recently released nearly 6,500 sturgeon fish of the critically endangered Russian sturgeon into the Danube. This is part of another innovative project, which aims to breed genetically diverse individuals of the four species of sturgeon still found in the Danube.
Women engineers repair solar lights in Ambakivao, a village set among mangroves in the western coastal region of Madagascar.© Justin Jin / WWF France
Supporting community energy needs in Madagascar
A WWF-backed initiative has inspired a growing commitment to safe and sustainable energy use in Madagascar.
Less than 15 per cent of rural households have access to electricity, forcing people to rely on petroleum lamps that are fire hazards and cause respiratory problems.
A growing shift to solar lamp use has its origins in a partnership established more than a decade ago between WWF-Madagascar and Barefoot College International to equip women with the skills to install and maintain solar technology – bringing new opportunities to individuals but also reducing pollution and climate impacts within whole communities.
Thanks to the success of this approach, the Ministry of Energy have gone on to commit to train 744 women solar engineers – impacting 630,000 households across the country by 2030.
The fourth-month training programme helps participants learn solar engineering but also to gain skills in financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and life skills.
Rhino conservation milestone for India
In a significant step forward for wildlife restoration in India, greater one-horned rhinos are now free-ranging in the Terai region’s Dudhwa Tiger Reserve for the first time in over 40 years.
The recent release of four rhinos into the wild from a 27km2 fenced enclosure within the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve was undertaken by Uttar Pradesh State Forest Department, with support from WWF-India and Assam State Forest Department – a powerful example of collaborative conservation at work.
This initiative is a critical step toward restoring rhino populations in the Terai Arc Landscape, where the species once thrived but became locally extinct due to habitat loss and poaching.
Free-ranging rhinos will have the opportunity to interact with the rhino population of neighbouring countries like Nepal, enhancing genetic diversity and population resilience.
Their presence also has other positive impacts, such as boosting grassland health and enriching wetland ecosystems.
Releasing rhinos in this way is no easy task. It requires rigorous planning and the involvement of specialized teams with diverse skills.
More on our work
From safeguarding whales in Chile to tackling illegal fishing in Tanzania - stories of success (July 2025)
From tigers in Kazakhstan to rubber farmers in Cambodia - stories of success (April 2025)
WWF's global review of our work in 2024