People and Communities Projects

• Securing a Future for Forests and Communities in Bolivia

  Indigenous communities control 30 percent of forested land in the Bolivian lowlands. The sustainable management of this land is essential to ensuring a prosperous future for Bolivia, its indigenous people and the environment. In this country and elsewhere, WWF plays a key role in helping community organizations strengthen their ability to promote sustainable forestry.

• Protecting Salmon in Western Alaska and Eastern Russia

  Among indigenous communities of Western Alaska and Eastern Russia, Chinook and chum salmon are essential elements of nutritional, cultural and economic life. Salmon are also essential to bears, eagles and for nutrient transport from the ocean to the banks of rivers. WWF works with indigenous communities to ensure these salmon remain abundant in the Bering Sea for subsistence, recreational and commercial harvest.

• Helping Create Prosperous Community Forest Enterprises in Cameroon

  From 2007 to 2010, WWF ran the Community-based Forest Enterprises Project (CBFE) in Cameroon. The program focused on teaching participating communities sustainable forestry techniques and business management skills.

• Empowering Community Leaders in Colombia to Overcome Land Conflicts

  Competition over land is both a direct and underlying cause of conflict in Colombia, South America. WWF focuses on tackling fundamental causes of conflict such as control of land and access to natural resources, while enabling indigenous groups to assert their rights.

• Working with Traditional Conservation Ethics to Protect the Sacred Himalayas

  In the Himalayas WWF’s work is based on recognition that the spiritual beliefs and traditional conservation ethics of local communities need to be at the center of efforts to protect endangered species and support sustainable livelihoods.