Many wood products in American homes—from the kitchen table to hardwood floors—come from the same forested areas in Africa where elephants, rhinos, lions and other magnificent species roam wild. Few purchasers know that the wood from these forests is illegal. It was harvested, transported, processed, bought or sold in violation of national laws.
Remember learning about photosynthesis back in school? This week, let’s go back to our science roots (pun unintended!) to see how this natural process makes forests both a contributor and solution to climate change. To understand the complex relation between forests and climate change, it is important to see trees and plants as playing multiple roles on the stage that is our planet.
Through a new project, WWF and Apple will help China—the world’s largest producer and consumer of paper products—reduce its environmental footprint by producing paper products from responsibly managed forests within its own borders.
Trees are cut down at a rapid rate to meet the demand for products we all use. Some are products that often are on our weekly shopping lists, such as toilet paper, diapers and tissues. What if we used something other than newly-harvested trees to create these products?
Tree kangaroos inhabit the lowland and mountainous rainforests of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the far north of Queensland, Australia. Living up in the foliage, these species looks like a cross between a kangaroo and a lemur.
When you see that symbol, you don’t have to wonder whether pristine forests were destroyed to make the product or whether the workers wielding chainsaws were paid a living wage. Because when you see the FSC logo, you know the product can be traced back to a company that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Recognizing their role in influencing more sustainable development of palm oil, Johnson & Johnson has publicly committed to source 100% of its ingredients derived from palm oil from certified sustainable sources by 2015.
WWF has offered a way for community members to help rehabilitate their forests and earn a living. Our reforestation programs in Indonesia help preserve our most precious wildlife and empower local people.
Large-scale illegal logging in the Russian Far East is threatening the long-term survival of the endangered Amur tiger by destroying the species’ habitat. Around 450 Amur tigers remain the wild, scientists estimate.