Explore: Forests

Forests cover 30 per cent of the Earth’s land area and at one time covered significantly more. They are one of the most important aspects of the Earth’s biosphere for the ecological services they offer, such as provision of animal habitats and regulation of water flow.

They are among the most complex ecosystems on Earth. New species discoveries remind us how little we know about the countless species that live in forests.

Forest resources are vital to the survival of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Threats to this vulnerable biome continue to increase with human population growth and economic development. Slash-and-burn agriculture, commercial logging and ranching are the main causes of forest destruction.

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) conserves tropical rainforests in the Amazon Basin, Central America, the Congo Basin and across South East Asia.

We also protect dry tropical forest in Nicaragua and temperate forests including fruit and nut forests in Central Asia and cork oak woodland in Portugal.