Together we can protect our forests

My name is Thomas Baselmans, I am 18 years old and I want to make a difference. I am worried about the future of our planet, it’s climate and it’s biodiversity.

But you and me right here right now, we can help save our planet.

If everyone would donate one euro/dollar we can help the World Wild Life fund protect our forests, the planets wildlife and it’s biodiversity. Imagine what we can do if everybody would donate one euro/dollar! Let’s show the WWF that they are not on their own and that they have a whole generation behind them. Because we can not live without forests. They provide oxygen and rain, they provide a home for exceptional plants, animals and people and they play an important role in combating climate change. Without forests there is no life.

The beauty and tranquillity of forests around the world - from the tropics to the tundra - inspire us all. We know that eight out of ten terrestrial species live in forests. Approximately 750 million people, including 60 million indigenous people, also live in forests.

But the threats to the world's forests are increasing. Agricultural expansion, due to population growth and dietary shifts, is responsible for most of the world's deforestation. Illegal and unsustainable logging, mostly due to demand for cheap wood and paper, is responsible for most of the degradation of the world's forests - the biggest threat to the world's forests. In degraded forests, small trees, shrubs and plants are often severely damaged or dead; rivers are polluted; slopes are eroded; and more.

The threats are so serious that we are losing huge stretches of forest at an alarming rate. The Amazon, the largest rainforest on the planet, has lost at least 17 percent of its forest area in the last half century as a result of human activity - mainly felling trees to create new or larger farms and ranches.

This is no longer acceptable, our forests are at risk, and the biodiversity that these forests provide is also at serious risk. Forests are invaluable to our planet so we must do everything we can to help protect them. If everyone donates 1 euro/dollar we can help WWF in the fight against deforestation and we can make sure WWF achieves these goals:

In 2030 the WWF wants to make sure that:

• 50% of the world's forests are protected or well managed;
• Deforestation is stopped;
• 350 million hectares of forest restored.

WWF can't do this alone and we a new generation full of hope and a new sustainable vision for the future can ensure that WWF is not alone. Let your voice be heard and show the world what we are capable of by sharing this link with as many people as possible so that together we can save our planet.

Thank you!

And now, let's give back to our planet.