Large carnivores in Europe

During the 19th and 20th centuries, many of Europe’s large carnivores declined dramatically in number and distribution, mainly due to humans hunting them and destroying their habitat. But in the last few decades this trend has been reversed. Better legal protection has resulted in species such as the Eurasian lynx either increasing in number or even returning to European regions that they’ve been absent from for decades.

Such a comeback shows that with political will, forward-looking laws and a wide range of committed stakeholders, nature can recover.

Through reintroduction projects and livestock protection measures, WWF is working to ensure a future for the Eurasian lynx in the Alps.

COMMUNITY MANGROVE RESTORATION IN MADAGASCAR

Mangroves protect and stabilise coastlines. The role they play is becoming increasingly important as climate change brings more extreme storms. They are also more effective at storing carbon than any other type of forest. But mangroves are disappearing: they’re being cleared for urban and tourism development and felled for fuel and building materials. It’s crucial that we help to restore them.

The world’s most extensive mangrove cover is a 10,000 square kilometre expanse in the river deltas of Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania. Mangroves are home to a huge variety of wildlife, from birds and land mammals to dugongs, five marine turtle species and many kinds of fish. And much of the economically important prawn harvest along this coast depends on mangroves for safe spawning and nursery grounds.

In the Melaky region on Madagascar’s west coast, local people are taking action to remedy the loss of mangroves, which are crucial to their livelihoods. They’ve planted more than 50,000 mangrove seedlings to restore degraded forests.

WWF is working to develop effective approaches for building resilience in this system and to work with the Malagasy government to incorporate that knowledge into conservation planning.

THE CERRADO

The Cerrado is the largest savannah in Latin America. It covers more than 20% of Brazil and shelters 5% of all the living species on Earth. It’s home to over 10,000 species of plants, almost half of which are found nowhere else in the world. But the Cerrado is also one of the most threatened and over-exploited regions in the world.

Unsustainable agriculture – particularly soy production and cattle ranching – as well as burning of vegetation for charcoal, pose a major threat to the Cerrado’s wildlife, including jaguars, maned wolves and giant anteaters. Habitat destruction also threatens the way of life of many indigenous people and other communities who rely on forests, natural grasslands and savannahs for their livelihoods.

In Europe, we rely on soy from the Cerrado to meet increasing demand for meat and dairy products. But if high-income countries ate less animal protein by adopting a more balanced diet, we could reduce the pressure on nature as well as benefiting people’s health.

With less than 3% under legal protection, WWF is working in the Cerrado to protect this unique environment. WWF assisted in the creation of one of the most famous national parks in the centre of Brazil - the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.