Impact Stories

PUTTING OUR HEADS TOGETHER: How community learning networks are delivering local conservation solutions

Across the Coral Triangle, Mediterranean and the West Indian Ocean, WWF and partners are connecting coastal communities through learning hubs and regional networks, combining local knowledge and science to strengthen the climate resilience of people and nature.

Protecting the pristine Kitikmeot Region

In the Kitikmeot Region of the Canadian Arctic, rapid changes in sea ice, warmer waters and shifting species distributions are putting the local Kugaaruk community’s traditional livelihoods at risk. To protect and conserve their ancestral lands, waters and ice, the Kurtairojuark Hunters and Trappers Association started an Indigenous Guardians Programme in early 2024. The programme employs locals to patrol and monitor the area, providing ecological data to help the community better respond to climate-induced risks.

Growing a future from the sea

On Mafia Island, Tanzania, where tradition runs as deep as the ocean the coastal community protects and depends on, a new chapter is being written. In Kanga Village, the Hiari Women Group is stepping out of traditionally-defined roles, transforming their newly found skill for seaweed farming into a living evolution of their community’s heritage.

Working for greater representation of women in artisanal fisheries

"Like many women, I am several roles in a single person: mother, wife, housewife, worker, social leader, and micro-entrepreneur, but one of the most important, and I say this with great pride, is that I am a woman of the sea." Carmen Díaz Vargas, artisanal fisher, shipowner and diver's assistant, Isla Grande de Chiloé, Chile.

One Voice, Many Islands

In the stillness of dawn, before the sun gilds the Pacific horizon, the ocean speaks. It speaks in the hush of waves against mangrove roots, in the rustle of pandanus leaves, in the chants of elders who remember the old ways. For the Indigenous Peoples of Oceania, the ocean is a living ancestor, a keeper of stories, a bearer of truth.

Community-led Science monitoring to support improved evidence-based resource management

For generations, communities in Solomon Islands have leveraged indigenous knowledge to manage marine resources. However, increased pressure on those resources stemming from climate change, overpopulation and overfishing have negatively impacted their health.

Managing fisheries together: How co-management gives fishers and their communities a say in their own future

One of the first issues that Barbara Orlando, president of the fisher cooperative in Porto Cesareo – a fishing village in the south of Italy – had to discuss when she joined the newly established co-management committee was the need for a reduction in fishing pressure in the local marine protected area (MPA), to allow depleted stocks to recover.

Putting back today to catch more tomorrow

In a small-scale scampi fishery, scientific research is supporting sustainable practices was a smart investment in the future of Croatia’s most iconic seafood.

SASI – How one community’s traditional wisdom in fisheries management sparked learning and replication in other islands

It was a sunny day — almost like any other — in the 1990s when Yustus Menarbu’s parents took him along with them to the sea. For Yustus, that day was special.

Impact Stories

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