Explained
Six things you can do to support nature
Nature is extraordinary. Here are some simple ways for you to help protect it.
Our world is truly extraordinary. From minibeasts to mammals, from the beautiful to the bizarre, from the iconic to the overlooked and the undervalued.
Every animal, every plant, big or small, plays a remarkable role both in its habitat and in the survival of everything else.
Remarkable roles
The grey wolf, a key ecosystem engineer. The mangrove, a crucial climate ally. The mountain beauty butterfly, a pollinator that fynbos flowers couldn’t live without. The vulture, helping stop the spread of disease. They all play vital roles. Vital to the health of our planet. Vital to all our futures. And we can all play a role in protecting these extraordinary but endangered species.
Grey wolf in woodland habitat. © Uryadnikov Sergey / Adobe Stock
Climate hero
Grey wolves increase carbon storage and sequestration in forests and grasslands by keeping herbivore populations in check.
Great hornbill. © Chamnan Phanthong / Adobe Stock
Flying farmer
Fruit-eating hornbills perform a vital role as seed dispersers, helping forest regeneration and reconnecting fragmented forest patches.
Red mangrove forest on a tropical island. © Apomares/Getty Images
Carbon capturer
Mangroves sequester and store billions of tons of carbon – and they do it up to ten times as efficiently as rainforests.
Hawksbill turtle © Zafer Kizilkaya
Coral protector
Hawksbill turtles help keep coral reefs healthy by feasting on the sponges that would otherwise outcompete slow-growing corals.
Obô Giant Snail (Archachatina bicarinata). © Estrela Matilde / Fundação Príncipe
Waste recycler
Obô giant snails recycle nutrients and improve soil quality by eating dead and decaying plants, fungi and animal poo.
Pangolin. © Sam / Adobe Stock
Plant protector
Pangolins help control insect populations by consuming millions of ants and termites, protecting forests and crops from destruction.
The mountain pride or Table Mountain beauty (Aeropetes tulbaghia) - the largest satyrine butterfly in southern Africa. © Grootbos Foundation
Fussy feeder
The mountain beauty butterfly favours red flowers and is the sole pollinator of a rare orchid and other fynbos plants.
White-rumped vultures at a 'vulture restaurant' in Western Siem Pang, Cambodia. © Bjorn Olesen
Clean-up crew
Vultures are able to digest and neutralise the deadly toxins found in carcasses, helping to prevent the spread of disease.
Male African forest elephant. © Ruben Bañuelos Bons / Fauna & Flora
Forest gardener
African forest elephants help shape their habitat by spreading seeds, trampling vegetation and allowing larger trees to spread their wings.
Mycena fungi, Sipurak, Sumatra. © Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
Secret networker
With their roots connected via a vast underground network of fungal threads, plants can share water and nutrients – and communicate.
What’s your role?
Need a wild ally or extraordinary species to inspire you? Take our quick (and entirely unscientific) quiz to see how you might relate to some of the remarkable roles that different species play.
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Who is Fauna & Flora?
Fauna & Flora works with local partners around the world to save nature together. Bringing local and global knowledge together to protect the extraordinary species that we all depend on.
Fauna & Flora is the world’s oldest conservation charity. We have over 120 years of experience in developing cutting-edge conservation science and using it to get things done.
Since our foundation we have saved countless extraordinary species from extinction, including – with the help of our vice-president, Sir David Attenborough – bringing mountain gorillas back from the brink. We work to protect plants and animals around the globe and spend 89% of our income on charitable activities.
Fauna & Flora works with many extraordinary people who all play vital roles in protecting nature. Forest rangers. Community wardens. Citizen scientists. Wildlife champions.
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What we do
Learn more about our pioneering approaches and why we are widely regarded as conservation experts.
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Our impact
We have a laser focus on understanding our impact, to ensure that our work delivers tangible positive outcomes for nature, people and climate. So what did we achieve in 2023?
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Our people
Fauna & Flora’s people are located all around the world, taking on a wide range of roles and responsibilities to save nature, together.
It’s time to stand up for nature
Every species plays a unique and vital role – but all of them face unprecedented threats. That’s why we’ve made it our role to help save these extraordinary species. Will you help?
Join Fauna & Flora today – when we work together to save nature, we can.
Join us todayGreen turtle hatchling. © Vasco Pissarra / Fundação Príncipe
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