Gustavo Ybarra / WWF

Conservation for and with people

In the Shared Resources Joint Solutions programme, we support local organisations to protect nature.

At WWF, we work on nature conservation. But what does that actually mean? Is it protecting the animals that live there? Managing an entire area? Or working together with the people who live there to preserve and restore nature?

It’s all of it. We protect an area in such a way that the interests of all animals and people who live there and deal with it are in balance with what nature can handle. We humans all depend on nature. We can't live without it.

Strengthen local NGOs and civil society organisations

We cannot protect nature alone. That is why we work intensively with parties such as companies, governments, local NGOs and residents. However, we noticed that the latter two in particular are hardly ever involved in decisions about an area. That is why we launched the Shared Resources, Joint Solutions (SRJS) programme in 2016, in which we work for 5 years in a partnership with IUCN NL and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

With SRJS, we support and strengthen local NGOs and civil society organisations in 16 countries, so that we can safeguard water supply, climate resilience and food security together with governments and companies. We also ensure that these organisations work together to become stronger.

Karine Aigner / WWF-US

Inspiring stories & results

Gustavo Ybarra / WWF

5 years of Shared Resources, Joint Solutions

When SRJS started more than 5 years ago, times were different. The Sustainable Development Goals were just being adopted. The Paris Climate Agreement had not yet been reached. When this came into force in 2016, it generated an enormous boost for climate change adaptation and mitigation by businesses and governments.
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Andy Isaacson / WWF-US

Securing rights in landscapes

Human rights and nature conservation are intertwined. People’s right to have an healthy environment and to breath clean air for example, cannot be secured without nature being protected.
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Bale Juroeng

Female leadership: stories of change

Sometimes life offers you the chance to meet individuals who push boundaries that have been stuck for ages - individuals who create a crack in those rigid walls.
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WWF-US / James Morgan

Recommendations for climate adaptation

Our earth’s climate is changing rapidly. This is evident from observations and repeatedly reported in scientific publications. It’s important to realise that climate change is already happening. We urgently need to adapt to a changing future.
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Henry Maillet & Jeffrey Wong/WWF-Paraguay

Improving human rights and nature in Paraguay

Every 4 years, the United Nations undertake a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in each UN Member State. The UPR is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records. This year Paraguay was reviewed. To amplify the recommendations, WWF has supported local partners to publish a shadow report from civil society to highlight the links between human rights and conservation.
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Digby Cheung

6 steps to engaging financial institutions

Financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies and pension funds can influence the companies and governments they provide money to. But how to engage with the financial sector? Read our guide with practical tools.
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Zainuddin

10 Top tips for conservation organisations to engage with business

A new report draws on experience and lessons of local partners on how conservation organisations can scale up engagement and best practice with business.
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WWF

Solutions for nature and people

On November 26 2020, we organised the final event of our Shared Resources Joint Solutions-programme.
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Jonathan Caramanus / Green Renaissance / WWF-UK

Building local impact for better access to climate finance

The climate crisis is urgent and local impacts are often severe. Yet, only 10% of international climate finance is reaching local level where it’s needed most.
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FAN and WWF Bolivia

How to tackle fires in a landscape getting drier

The devastating forest and grassland fires from last year are still vivid in the memories of the people in Bolivia. A tragedy like this had been unseen before. However, this year the country has been burning again and 2.3 million hectares went up in flames. How can we help the local people in combatting these disasters?
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Jason Houston / WWF-US

Deforestation risks in Latin America: recommendations for investors

On December 1, 2020, the Brazilian space agency INPE announced that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon had risen to a record level, the highest in 12 years. As beef production in Latin America is also linked to deforestation, the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO), IUCN NL and WWF NL have provided recommendations for Dutch investors. Our aim is to prevent them from contributing to deforestation linked cattle production through their investments.
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Thor Morales

10 examples and lessons of environmental assessments

How can you incorporate social ánd environmental considerations into decision making at landscape level? In our SRJS programme, we worked with two tools for an environmental assessment to improve the dialogue with all stakeholders involved.
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Bente van der Wilt

We have a message for you

'We need to take care of nature in order for nature to take care of us.' Five passionate people from Bolivia, Indonesia, Madagascar, Myanmar and Suriname. They tell you about what nature means to them and their communities. And why we should protect it. They have a message for you!
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WWF / James Morgan

Climate proofing investments

Despite continuing efforts to slow the rate and degree of human-induced climate change, its impacts are unavoidable and increasing. Climate change has become a megatrend that can disrupt markets, dislocate communities, and have devastating impact on nature and biodiversity.
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WWF Indonesia

Conservation starts with women

“Talking about environmental sustainability is not just a matter of forests and wildlife. The inclusion of women is key for sustainable development.” So says Husna, a social worker from North Aceh. In this very Islamic part of Indonesia, she teaches women to stand up for themselves, become more independent and protect their environment.
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Jasper Doest

Protecting a river by working with financial institutions

The Zambezi river flows through Zambia like a blue lifeline. The river basin is a strategically vital ecosystem regarding food and water security for the millions of people that live downstream, in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Although this region is still in a relatively pristine condition when compared with other landscapes in Zambia, activities such as large-scale developments moving at a significant pace, unsustainable logging, and poaching are key threats to the ecosystem.
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Henry Maillet & Jeffrey Wong/WWF-Paraguay

Rowing for the river

The Paraguay River. One of the oldest and mightiest waterways in South America. With abundant wildlife and a rich bio-cultural diversity along the banks. The Paraguay River is also one of the continent's last remaining free-flowing rivers, without dams or other obstacles. It should stay that way!
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WWF-US / James Morgan

How to get climate finance to where it really matters?

Did you know that from every 10 dollars of climate money only 1 dollar goes directly to local-level climate projects? Climate finance is failing to flow where it matters.
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Global Witness Jeoffrey Maitem

Land and environmental defenders in danger

“We are no criminals. We just want to produce on our land and feed our families.” Every week, 4 land and environmental defenders are killed. Many more are criminalised. Almost 40 percent of victims are from indigenous groups.
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Jason Houston / WWF-US

Supporting indigenous communities in Bolivia and Paraguay during corona

Corona is everywhere. As the virus rages over the world, it spreads even in the most remote places. Such as semi-isolated communities in the middle of nature in Paraguay and Bolivia, for instance. We have been working together with these indigenous communities for several years, and also support them in these difficult times.
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WWF Indonesia

Flash floods in Aceh

And suddenly, the water came in… After days of heavy rains and strong winds, flash floods hit three areas in Takengon, Central Aceh region in Indonesia on May 13th. The floods did cause a lot of material damage. How could this happen?
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Philippe T. / WWF-France

Women creating awareness about toxic mercury

“We didn’t know about the poisonous effects of mercury. We used to believe that it drove off evil.” For many years, mercury has been used by artisanal and small-scale gold miners in the South American Amazon. But since women in the southern part of Guyana learned about its dangers, their perception changed.
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Jason Houston / WWF-US

Making sure Europe does not import deforestation

Deforestation and conversion of nature may occur in ‘places far away’, we Europeans are dealing with it every day in many products we buy and consume. For instance cocoa, palm oil and soy for animal feed are often produced on land which used to be a natural ecosystem. Also human rights can be violated during the production of these commodities.
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Alain Compost / WWF

Predicting deforestation with an Early Warning System

Deforestation is one of the greatest threats to nature. It is a huge challenge for us as WWF to combat this. But if we can predict where the forest will be cut down illegally, we can intervene in time. Or even prevent deforestation before it actually happens.
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Zambian Governance Foundation

What happens when the tourists stay away?

Worldwide, the impact of the coronavirus is immense. The Covid-19 outbreak causes shock and heartache for people everywhere. We try to understand what the effects of this pandemic are for the organisations and people we cooperate with. From our partner in Zambia, the Zambian Governance Foundation, we received an update about the effects of a paralysed tourism sector in communities surrounding the South Luangwa National Park.
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Jasper Doest / WWF Zambia

Restoring what we have destroyed

Keepers Zambia promotes sustainable agriculture practices and natural resource management through community sensitisation actions and engaging in radio programmes. In the Chipambale district, the Msandile River that many people depend on is drying up. This is due to unsustainable practices such as timber production, charcoal burning and tobacco farming.
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Jasper Doest / WWF Zambia

Planting trees and protecting rivers

Deforestation is a big problem in many parts of Zambia. Converting forests into farmland or bare ground causes rivers to dry up. Especially in a country where water is scarce and rivers are lifelines, this has severe negative consequences. Through the SRJS programme, the Zambian Governance Foundation and WWF are working to halt deforestation by supporting local organisations’ initiatives.
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Bente van der Wilt

Better protection for nature in Suriname

It’s official: Suriname has a new environmental law. After a thorough process where all relevant stakeholders were involved, the National Assembly (DNA) of the Republic of Suriname unanimously passed the legislation on March 27th. This ‘Milieu Raamwet’ takes a historically significant step towards safeguarding natural ecosystems of Suriname and the Guianas.
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James Morgan / WWF-International

Business engagement for nature conservation

Many landscapes and ecosystems around the world are under pressure. In order to safeguard them, nature organisations need to engage companies and governments to work towards joint solutions. How to make such collaborations work? This article presents 2 lessons learnt, as part of the SRJS programme.
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James Morgan / WWF-International

Nature organisations and asset managers: working together on sustainable production

For many companies, environmental risks often go hand in hand with financial risks. For example, biodiversity loss can lead to lower turnover and illegal deforestation can cause reputational damage. Asset managers therefore want to know whether the companies in which they invest face these risks. But how do they get this information? If they succeed in doing so, what do they do with it? Faryda Lindeman of NN Investment Partners discusses the surprising yet powerful collaboration with nature organisations.
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Jason Houston / WWF-US

Tackling deforestation in Paraguay: an unlikely partnership

Big banks and local civil society organisations. An unusual match for tackling deforestation? Quite the contrary. Yet to ensure optimal effectiveness, it’s essential both parties keep their eyes on a common goal. To learn more about this powerful duo, Dutch development bank FMO tells their story about a unique collaboration in Paraguay.
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WWF-US / Ricardo Lisboa

Data for conservation

The importance of data is huge. Data allows governments and donors to spend their money purposefully, allows citizens to hold governments accountable, and it provides greater insight for us all in what’s happening in our environment. Well-informed decision-making starts with data, where citizen’s knowledge is as important as those of experts.
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Visual Voices

Changes in natural resources in Aceh revealed through the lens of local people
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James Suter / Black Bean Productions / WWF-US

How to halt a dam

“I met people that would be affected by the dam, whose homes would be flooded or washed away. That made it more than a campaign to me,” Agness Sililo Musutu, Freshwater Programme Coordinator at WWF Zambia, talks about her work to stop the building of the proposed and unwanted dam in the Luangwa river of Zambia.
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Mahmud Yani / WWF-Indonesia

From poacher to elephant hero

Mister Muslim wears beautiful traditional clothing during his talk at the Paris Peace Forum. Being the leader of the Flora and Fauna Defenders Team (TPFF) in Aceh, Indonesia, he is invited at this global conference about peace to share his story about solving conflicts between humans and elephants.
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APAD Paraguay

The massive forest fires in South America

They were all over the news in August and September: the massive forest fires in South America. Thousands of hectares burned down and many precious natural areas were destroyed. In this disastrous and dangerous environment, hundreds of people worked around the clock to stop the fires. How did they cope in these incredibly difficult circumstances?
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How do we work within SRJS?

  • At WWF, we work in 4 areas: in Bolivia and Paraguay, in Suriname and Guyana, in Zambia and Mozambique, and in Aceh on the Indonesian island of Sumatra
  • Our focus is on the themes of climate, water and food
  • We work from the so-called landscape approach: we look at all processes, stakeholders and decisions that influence nature on the ground
  • We also pay attention, for example, to the position of women and girls, to or to what we can learn from each other about working together with companies
Jonathan Caramanus / Green Renaissance / WWF-UK
Juan Pratginestos
Jaime Rojo / WWF-US
Mahmud Yani / WWF-Indonesia
Gareth Bentley / WWF-US
SRJS
WWF-Indonesia / Supriyanto
Green Renaissance / WWF-US