Community Development and Indigenous Rights Stories

Indigenous peoples and local communities play a crucial role in protecting biodiversity and keeping forests intact.

Although they comprise less than 5% of the world population, Indigenous peoples protect 80% of the Earth’s biodiversity. Recognizing their land rights should be placed at the center of conservation.

In the Central African Republic, WWF supports the Indigenous Ba’Aka tribe of Dzanga-Sangha in social distancing to protect themselves from COVID-19. 

In the heart of the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha stands as a model for stability and peace—and a safe place for elephants and gorillas to roam.

As vice president and deputy lead for forests, Josefina Braña Varela leads WWF's work to halt deforestation and forest degradation around the world.

Twenty years ago, a gorilla habitation program provided the Ba’Aka living near the Dzanga Sanga Park with a new opportunity. And by 2020, Dzanga-Sangha employed more than 50 Ba’Aka as gorilla trackers.

In Nepal, citizen scientists are working with biologists from WWF to help protect tigers, rhinos, elephants, and other wildlife found in Bardia National Park.

WWF’s lead on socially inclusive conservation, Althea Skinner is one of WWF’s core experts on the intersection between conservation and human rights.

In 2009, principal and teacher Marcia Novakc da Silva decided to join forces to start a community rainwater project, led by the organization Incra and supported by WWF. The work is one of  several projects for the recovery of the springs and water supply in region.

Meeta is a young mother from India. Back-to-back pregnancies and heavy housework responsibilities took a toll on her health and wellbeing. Noting her declining health, a neighborhood social worker invited Meeta and her husband Ramkishore to participate in a CARE maternal health program that fostered open communication, education and access to family planning information.

As WWF works with communities around the world to preserve habitats, wildlife, and natural resources, we know that it is critical to engage both women and men for the best results—environmentally, socially, and economically.

In Mozambique’s Primeiras e Segundas region, villagers are taking part in a savings and loan association that’s revolutionizing how they manage their financial and natural resources.

The Luangwa River is one of the longest remaining free-flowing rivers in Southern Africa. It flows through an area which boasts some of the most pristine habitats left in Zambia for elephants, lions, leopards and a myriad of other wildlife. A dam has been proposed on the Luangwa that would flood almost the entire Luembe chiefdom, destroying habitats and displacing thousands of people.  

WWF President and CEO Carter Roberts on working with communities to create highly local solutions to multiple environmental challenges.

How a tiny, mountainous country became one of the world's biggest conservation successes for wildlife—and for rural communities with pressing health needs.