Contrary to popular belief, the rainforest wasn\u2019t actually saved in the 80s; it is actively being destroyed before our eyes by mining, logging and agriculture. But\u00a0Wild Forests and Fauna<\/a>\u00a0(WFF), a non-profit founded by three Pinchot alumni, is working to protect this critical resource by using business as a driver for conservation.<\/p>\n Today we celebrate the\u00a0International Day of Forests<\/a>. This month, WFF founders Liz Feldman (C8), Nancy Zamierowski (C9) and I (C10) also celebrate our one-year anniversary of protecting more than 11,000 acres of Amazon rainforest. In March 2015, Wild Forests and Fauna assisted our Peruvian partners,\u00a0ARCAmazon<\/a>, in purchasing this land that is home to more than 45,000 plant species and abundant animal, bird and insect life.<\/p>\n This milestone is the result of WFF\u2019s strategy to conserve large portions of the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon. Pressure and encroachment from agricultural expansion, road building, land invasion, and illegal logging are the leading causes of degradation and deforestation in the area. This land will act as a buffer between the rapidly developing city of Puerto Maldonado, the unprotected rainforest to the north, and the un-contacted tribes that inhabit the Amazon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n