WWF news

Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo

WWF mourns Virunga ranger death

A park ranger and two Congolese soldiers protecting evacuating civilians in Virunga National Park have been gunned down in an apparent ambush. The men came under machine-gun fire from a group of about 100 unidentified militia members while attempting to secure an important transit route.

Brazil's forest emergency - sign the Dilma petition today!

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has until 25 May to decide whether to veto damaging changes to Brazil’s Forest Code - changes that will reduce protections against deforestation in the Amazon and other areas and offer wide-ranging amnesties for illegal deforestation.

Please take action today by signing and sharing this joint petition from WWF, Avaaz and Greenpeace - show president Dilma how much support there is for her to veto the changes.

Queen’s speech - WWF reaction

There were some encouraging elements in the latest Queen’s speech about the government’s plans to bring in legislation to help green the power sector, and to protect our precious rivers and streams – but now we need to see these being put into action.

Brazil Forest Code: clock is ticking for President Dilma

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has until 25 May to decide whether to veto changes to Brazil’s Forest Code that will reduce protections against deforestation in the Amazon and other areas and offer wide-ranging amnesties for illegal deforestation. Stay tuned for some huge international action you can get involved in - details very soon...

Brazil passes Forest Code reforms - grim news for the Amazon

Brazil’s Congress last night passed legislation that will strip the Amazon and other important regions of critical environmental protections. The future of Brazil’s forests now lies in the hands of President Dilma Rousseff who has 15 days to approve or veto changes to the country’s long-standing forest law. In the coming two weeks, we’ll be putting pressure on the President to keep her election promises and oppose more deforestation. Please stand by to take action for Brazil's forests.

Renewable energy an ‘absolute necessity’ for the world

Our message to world ministers arriving in the UK for the international Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM3) was that without big investment in renewable energy now we risk being stuck with a high-carbon world for decades. And investment in renewables brings huge opportunities too…

Stand with Brazil on Earth Day and say no to forest destruction

Our SOSBrazil campaign to save Brazilian forests has been successful so far, but it’s not over yet. There may be another attempt to approve disastrous changes to the country’s Forest Law on Tuesday or Wednesday next week (24-25 April). And the millions of Brazilians who oppose forest destruction need your help. Join their demonstrations this Sunday, 22 April - Earth Day - by supporting the movement on Facebook and Twitter (use #SOSBrazil).

Fracking and shale gas - no answer to climate change

Today’s new report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change is all about minimising the risks of seismic tremors caused by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of rocks to extract shale gas. But we believe the whole idea of large-scale shale gas extraction is completely incompatible with the urgent issue of tackling climate change.

Mexico joins UK with a pioneering climate law

Mexico - the world’s 11th biggest economy, and also 11th biggest greenhouse gas emitter - has taken a really important step in the fight against climate change. Its House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly in favour of legislation requiring the whole country to reduce carbon emissions 50% by 2050. Once it’s approved by the Senate, Mexico will be only the second country in the world, after the UK, to pass climate change legislation.

Amur leopard: Russia steps up protection for world’s rarest big cat

The Amur leopard - the world’s most endangered cat - received a big survival boost last week when Russia announced the creation of a new national park that will cover 60% of their remaining habitat. Amur leopards are critically endangered, with as few as 35 left in the wild, following the loss of much of their forest habitat.

Elephant tusks stored away under extreme security measures in the ivory stock pile of the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Ivory burning in Gabon: why it's good news for elephants

Gabon will soon be burning its entire stockpile of ivory - and that’s good news for central Africa’s embattled elephants. Burning the tusks will stop them leaking onto the black market, and shows that Gabon is serious about clamping down on the criminal networks involved in poaching and trafficking endangered species. Last year, the central African country created an elite military unit to secure its parks and to protect wildlife, especially against poaching and illegal ivory trading.

Drought: government must do more

As England’s drought restrictions come into force today, we believe the government must ramp up efforts to protect people and nature from drought – including introducing the widespread roll-out of water metering.

WWF’s Earth Hour – how the UK joined the huge world switch-off

Hundreds of millions of people across the world - in a record 150 countries and territories - switched off their lights on Saturday night for WWF’s Earth Hour, the world’s biggest call-to-action for the protection of the planet. Thank-you to everyone who took part.

Virunga - Africa's prized park needs protection from new oil threat

Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is Africa’s oldest and most biodiverse national park and a World Heritage Site. Almost half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas live inside the park, along with numerous birds, reptiles and mammals found nowhere else on Earth. But thanks to a British company looking for oil, it is under threat. Marc Languy is WWF’s Conservation Director for Central Africa and has sent this update from the park...

Barking up the right tree? See which councils use legal, sustainable wood

More than half of UK local authorities still don't have a legal and sustainable timber procurement policy - and only 16 are implementing their policy effectively - despite upcoming legislation to halt the import of illegally sourced wood products. That's the findings of our new report, 'Barking up the right tree?'.

UK nuclear power plans dropped by E.ON and RWE

Today’s announcement by German utility companies RWE and E.ON that they’re abandoning plans to build new nuclear power stations in the UK reinforces our argument that the economics of nuclear are very uncertain - and that the government should be backing renewable energy instead.

Planning policy: WWF's first response

The government's new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was launched today. We'll give a more detailed reaction once we've scrutinised the full NPPF statement, but here's the initial comments from our senior planning advisor Emmalene Gottwald.

David Nussbaum, CEO WWF-UK © WWF-UK / Greg Armfield

Budget response by WWF: government backing wrong horses for economic growth

David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK, responds to today's Budget speech.

Earth Hour - Saturday 31 March!

WWF’s huge annual lights-out event kicks off at 8.30pm on 31 March. Not long to go now! Please sign up, if you haven’t already, to say you’ll be getting involved. You can join hundreds of millions of people around the world - and it can be as simple as celebrating at home with family or friends. Here's some fun Earth Hour plans so far - plus a personal message from UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon...

Two 'twice-extinct’ trees rediscovered in coastal Tanzania

Scientists have confirmed the rediscovery of two tree species that were feared to have become extinct - twice - according to a report published in the Journal of East African Natural History. The finds were made in highly threatened fragments of dry forest in coastal Tanzania.