The future of all life on Earth, including our own, is inextricably linked with the fate of the world’s trees. They supply the air that we breathe, help to keep our climate stable and form the backbone of the world’s forests, providing habitat, food and shelter for millions of other species.
Safeguarding the world’s forests has long been one of Fauna & Flora International’s (FFI) key priorities, and we have a proven track record in protecting these ecologically, culturally and economically vital habitats.
While the importance of forest ecosystems as a whole is well known, the fundamental and often irreplaceable role played by individual types of tree is all too often forgotten. From apple trees and baobabs to yew trees and zebrawoods, different tree species provide humanity with a range of food, medicines and timbers.
Yet despite the fact that one in six of all tree species is in danger of extinction, conservation effort to date has largely failed to consider trees to be in need of active conservation management in their own right.
Today, over 10,000 tree species are threatened with extinction. Of even greater concern, more than 1,900 species are listed as critically endangered – likely to go extinct unless urgent, targeted action is taken now to save them.
FFI’s vast experience of forest conservation means that we are ideally equipped to drill down and address the survival needs of individual tree species within those wider landscapes.