Push to protect forests pays off
Accurate at time of publication: 23 June 2026
Issue
Forests are essential for nature, people, and a stable climate.
Yet, around the world, vast areas of forest are being destroyed every day. Countless species of animals are losing their homes. And 1.6 billion people who rely on forests face losing their way of life.
The biggest driver of deforestation is agriculture. This means that the food and products that we buy in the UK can often be traced to deforested areas around the world.
The UK government has made promises to help solve the nature and climate crisis – including tackling deforestation - but most of these commitments are off track, putting our world and the wildlife we share it with at risk.
Solution
For the last six years WWF has been pushing government to do the right thing for forests, working with ministers and civil servants, supermarkets and partners in the NGO Forest Coalition to hold the UK Government to account on their promises to protect forests.
Meanwhile, our supporters have been tireless in their efforts to help, with over 60,000 people taking part in a government consultation on forest protection measures, and tens of thousands of you writing to your MPs and the Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs.
result
Today the UK government have finally committed to bringing in a new law that will help protect forests from illegal deforestation, by keeping products from illegally deforested areas off our supermarket shelves.
After six years of pressure and promises, finally some real progress is being made towards protecting forests and all the lives that depend on them.
Next steps
Removing illegal deforestation from our shelves is just the first step in bringing our forests back to life.
Across the world and here in the UK, WWF is working with governments and businesses to end deforestation by 2030.
We'll be tracking implementation of this new law, and pushing government to make it stronger.
We're working to defend voluntary protections like the Amazon Soy Moratorium, which successfully helped towards protecting the Amazon from deforestation for soy production for 18 years and is now at risk of collapse.
We're asking the UK government to invest in the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, an exciting initiative to pay forested nations for protecting their forests and help address the wider drivers of deforestation.
And we’re pushing for better support for producer countries and smallholder famers, to help them move to deforestation-free farming in a fair and inclusive way.
Become a member
Become a member
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