The World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) has released the first global blueprint to save the world's forests. The WWF is a global conservation charity. Its Forest Pathways Report details the state of the world's forests and what governments can do to better protect them. The report focuses on the commitments that were made at COP26 ——a conference on the climate emergency held in the UK in 2021. At COP26, more than 140 countries, covering around 90%of the world's forest, promised to end deforestation by 2030. However, the WWF says that this target is in danger of being missed.
In 2022,66,000 square kilometres of forest around the world was lost. About two-thirds of this was from tropical forests. This is having an effect on wildlife, with the WWF's blueprint noting a decline in the populations of species that depend on forests, such as gorillas, hornbills, orangutans and black-headed squirrel monkeys.
However, the report also highlights some conservation success stories. For instance, the Khata Conservation Area in Nepal has grown by a size amount to 3,000 football pitches, providing a home for tigers and other species. Meanwhile, in the UK, the Wild Ingleborough project, a partnership between the WWF and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, is restoring 15square kilometres of land in the Yorkshire Dales back to its natural wild state, complete with woodlands. Mary Gagen, author of the Forest Pathways Report, says, "There are pockets of success where countries are approaching deforestation, and we know what needs to be done to grow those."
The report includes a list of recommendations for world governments, providing a blueprint to save forests. This includes toughening up rules against deforestation as well as recognizing the rights of indigenous(当地的) peoples who live in the forests. They are the descendants(后代) of those who lived somewhere before another culture arrived and took over.There are also some specific suggestions for the UK Government, such as bringing in environmental standards for food that is bought and sold in the UK, so that none of it contributes to deforestation.
