As we enter 2023, WWF reflects on key moments from the last 12 months. From celebrating the Year of the Tiger and recruiting ‘Walrus Detectives’, to continued deforestation in the Amazon and the effects of extreme weather events around the world, 2022 was a year of environmental highs and lows, many of which will continue to resonate in the year ahead.
Photograph: Hushed Hills Ltd/WWF-Kenya
Extreme weather: droughts in Kenya kill elephant populations
In November, Kenya’s tourism, wildlife and heritage cabinet secretary, Peninah Malonza, announced that between February and October 2022, drought killed 205 elephants and large numbers of other wildlife, as much of east Africa experienced its worst drought in 40 years. People and wildlife have been severely affected by the droughts, with long periods of little to no rainfall leaving both communities and animals on the brink. A lack of water has resulted in widespread livestock deaths, crop failure and acute hunger for millions of people, alongside an increase in human-wildlife conflict. Governments refusing to phase out fossil fuels at last year’s Cop27 summit was another knock-back to hopes of stabilising our climate.
Photograph: Tanmoy Badhuri/WWF International
Year of the tiger: living with tigers in India’s mangroves
In the Sundarbans area of West Bengal, mangrove forests provide protection from storms and rising sea levels, and are a crucial source of food and income for many of the 4.5 million people who live there. They are also home to tigers, and tragic tales of human-tiger encounters are not difficult to come by. Moulis – traditional wild honey collectors – used to risk their lives by travelling into the forest to make a living, but with support from WWF, 80 families are now involved in a honey cooperative that uses apiaries placed in secure, netted areas on the edge of the forest. In June, as part of the lunar Year of the Tiger, WWF reported on the importance of such human-tiger coexistence to secure a future for this much-loved big cat.
Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/WWF-UK
Amazon: illegal gold mining in the Tapajós
In the Amazon, gold mining is a rapidly increasing problem with devastating environmental and social implications. It is fuelling deforestation, mercury contamination, violence and land grabs in both protected and Indigenous land across the region: this image taken last summer shows an aerial view of a goldmine in the Tapajós region in the Amazon in Brazil. The UK is the third largest importer of Brazilian gold, and recent studies suggest that at least a third of gold from Brazil comes from illegally mined areas. WWF is calling for a ban on Brazilian gold until systems are in place that can prove for certain the gold coming into the UK has been legally and responsibly sourced.
Photograph: Naveed Qamar/WWF-Pakistan
Extreme weather: flooding in Pakistan
In the aftermath of floods in the village of Bubur, a man sits in the rubble of his home with clothes and his granddaughter’s school bag wrapped in a rug. About 33 million people in Pakistan – or one in seven people in the country – were affected by the devastating floods that hit the country over the summer. For context, that’s the equivalent of almost half the population of the UK. Families lost their homes, livelihoods, and in some cases, loved ones. Survivors of the flooding will continue to suffer as they cope with the loss of the crops and livestock that are crucial to their survival. Climate change and weather-related disasters have increased by 40% over the last 20 years, and have killed roughly 410,000 people in the last decade; nine in 10 of the victims were in the developing world, and this will continue to worsen as the climate crisis deepens.
Photograph: Emmanuel Rondeau/WWF-UK
Citizen science: walrus from space
Walrus from Space, led by WWF and British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in collaboration with research groups around the Arctic, is an ambitious five-year project that asks citizen scientists to become ‘Walrus Detectives’ by searching for and counting walrus numbers using satellite imagery. Since launch, about 1.5msatellite images have been searched by over 11,000 volunteers. The data collected will be used to gain a better understanding of walrus populations and trends, how they are responding to the climate crisis today, and how they might respond in the future, to help inform conservation of these marine mammals and their habitat. In July 2022, WWF’schief adviser for the polar regions, Rod Downie, travelled to Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic with project colleagues to verify data, comparing satellite, drone, and ground counts, including this walrus haul-out on a spit in Svalbard. Walrus from Space field trip in Svalbard (Norway), July 2022. The whole team from BAS and WWF are marching towards the walrus haul-out.
Photograph: Chris O’Reilly/NPL/WWF
Extreme weather: 2022 was the first ever red warning for extreme heat in the UK
2022 saw a milestone in the UK’s climate history: temperatures over 40C were recorded for the first time on the British Isles, with the Met Office issuing the first ever red warning for extreme heat, and it was the driest year since 1995, illustrated by this image of extremely low water levels in Ladybower Reservoir, Derbyshire. Climate change is making extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, wildfires and droughts both more frequent and more intense, harming people’s health and homes. From puffins to bluebells, bumblebees and mountain hares, wildlife in the UK is already feeling the heat from climate change and struggling to adapt. The only way to limit global warming to the crucial goal of 1.5C is to restore nature, slash emissions and invest in clean, renewable energy.
Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/WWF-UK
Amazon: river dolphins under threat
Taken last year, this image captures an Amazon river dolphin, known locally as ‘boto’, hunting for scraps from a fish market in the Brazilian Amazon. One of the biggest threats to the species are big infrastructure projects, such as hydropower dams and the soya bean processing port in the background of the shot. These developments can alter river flows, fragment habitat, and prevent connectivity – all of which impact the dolphin’s abilities to breed and survive. There are many other threats to the boto, including mercury poisoning, overfishing, and being killed for use as fish bait. WWF is working in the region to monitor and protect the species together with local fishers and communities, private companies, academics and governments.
Photograph: Emmanuel Rondeau/WWF-US
Year of the tiger: tigers bounce back in nepal
On Global Tiger Day in July, Nepal announced that it had increased its wild tiger population by 190% since 2009, to 355 individuals. An extensive effort covering 18,928 sq km – over 12% of the country – and 16,811 days of field staff time was invested to complete the country’s National Tiger and Prey Survey 2022, which identified individual adult tigers based on stripe patterns. This achievement was a result of the rigorous protection of key tiger habitats and corridors, partnership with local communities, and cracking down on illegal wildlife trade. Wild tiger numbers are on the rise, but they are still the most endangered big cat, reduced to about 5% of their historic range. Conservation efforts must continue if this iconic species is to survive.
Photograph: Vincent Kneefel/WWF
International wildlife trade: disappearing sharks and rays
Sharks and rays are important to the health of our oceans, yet they have become increasingly valued for their meat, fins and parts used for their purported medicinal properties. According to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022, the global abundance of 18 of 31 oceanic sharks and rays has declined by 71% over the last 50 years. This collapse reflects an increase in extinction risk for most species, including whale sharks, photographed here last year in the Philippines. Halting declines and rebuilding populations to healthy levels through catch limits and restrictions on trade will help secure the future of these marine species, as well as the ecosystems and people that depend on them. In November, a major agreement on international wildlife trade (CITES COP 19) saw nearly 100 species of sharks and rays given greater protection by new trade restrictions, which is a significant step in the right direction.
Photograph: David Bebber/WWF-UK
Regenerative agriculture: the opportunity to build a sustainable food system
The biggest impact on UK wildlife over the last 50 years has been the intensification of agriculture, but at Strickley Farm in Kendal, wildlife is returning to the landscape. Instead of a single type of grass treated with chemicals, this wide variety of grass leys and other plants can be found in pasture fields, providing a habitat and food source for native species, and providing health benefits to the cattle that graze the fields. Such regenerative, nature-friendly farming methods could be incentivised in England through the government’s new environmental land management schemes (ELMs), but their rollout remains uncertain. In December, WWF joined over 50 food and farming organisations to urge the government to raise the ambition of the schemes, and provide urgent clarity for farmers, so that we don’t miss this landmark opportunity to build a sustainable food system.
Photograph: Sascha Fonseca/WWF-UK
Human-wildlife coexistence: snow leopards protected by buddhist community
About 80% of global snow leopard habitat is shared with people who follow Buddhist teachings, in which snow leopards are considered a sacred species, and last year, WWF Nepal united with the Buddhist community to achieve their shared goal of protecting these vulnerable big cats. The Nepal Buddhist Federation has committed to, and is working towards, creating a long-term faith plan for the environment, which will enhance conservation efforts to protect wildlife and the wellbeing of communities, which have lived in harmony with nature for thousands of years. Monasteries help to protect the local environment, including snow leopards and the people who live alongside them – their stewardship and leadership are crucial.
Photograph: Feline Doggeous/WWF-UK
STATE OF UK NATURE: COP 15 BIODIVERSITY SUMMIT
While things are looking up for this common kingfisher, nearly 30% of UK bird species remain threatened with extinction, with 38 million birds having vanished from our skies in the last 50 years. The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, and while the UK government made commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 at December’s Cop 15 summit, details about the actions they will take to achieve this remain to be seen. Jen Read, who captured this image, was told her disability would prevent her from doing many things in life. But she is now a wildlife photographer, and echoes the 81% of Britons who believe UK nature is under threat and that more needs to be done urgently to protect and restore it.
