J.G. Mayer protects endangered rainforest

Wilderness International is a non-profit environmental organisation with a single goal: to protect the Earth’s last remaining unique forests and wilderness areas for ever. To this end, Wilderness International purchases plots of land through registration in the land register, thereby ensuring their legally secure and permanent protection. The land purchases are funded by donations towards so-called ‘wilderness sponsorships’. Wilderness sponsors receive a personalised certificate stating the exact geographical coordinates of the protected forest area.

WI Germany and WI Canada were founded in 2008 by 25 people from six countries, representing 24 different professional fields and aged between 18 and 69. In 2019, the Peruvian organisation dedicated to protecting the tropical rainforest joined the initiative. Today, Wilderness International consists of three sister foundations: 

In addition to the founding donors, Wilderness International Germany is supported by eight members of the Foundation Board, three members of the Executive Board, our operational team, many volunteers and countless donors, partners, sponsors and supporters. You can find out more on the “Wilderness International Germany” page.

At Wilderness International Canada, alongside Tobias Hürten and Kai Andersch, Marco Lou, Tyler Bruce and Stephen Gabrysh also work directly on the ground to manage our partnerships, land acquisitions, expeditions and the protection of our forest areas. Volunteers, donors and supporters are also actively involved here. You can find out more under “Wilderness International Canada”.

At Wilderness International Peru, the seven founders form the board of trustees. On the ground, the organisation’s president, Dr Chris Kirkby, works alongside a team of forest rangers and the rest of the operational team to oversee the protected areas, carry out research and biodiversity monitoring in the forests, the search for and purchase of new plots of land, and projects with local schools, communities and partners. You can find more information on the “Wilderness International Peru” page.

More than half of Peru’s land area is covered by forests. This makes the country home to the world’s fourth-largest area of tropical rainforest – after Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia. In 2018, 87 per cent of this area was still virgin forest. The forests of the Amazon Basin are the largest contiguous rainforests on Earth. This means they are not only a huge CO₂ sink, but also generate their own weather – a unique water cycle that carries rain from the Atlantic up to 5,000 km into the west of the continent. The only thing that sustains this water cycle is the vast extent of the contiguous rainforests. 

At the same time, the Amazon rainforests play a vital role in cooling the surrounding environment and purifying the air of pollutants. Over the millennia, these rainforests have also produced the oxygen in the atmosphere that is essential for our survival. Furthermore, the rainforests in the Madre de Dios region are considered the most biodiverse place on Earth! Thanks to favourable climatic conditions and geological history, there are 10 times more reptiles and amphibians here than in Germany. Around 10 per cent of all the world’s bird species can be observed there, and on one hectare of forest you can find around 400 tree species – more than in the whole of Europe north of the Alps! 

Unfortunately, however, the forest is under serious threat: according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), between 2015 and 2020 around 10 million hectares of tropical rainforest were lost each year, with the Amazon region suffering the most damage annually. In 2020 alone, an area of primary forest the size of Israel disappeared – that’s more than 22,000km².

When you think of Canada, images of dense forests and untamed nature spring to mind. And with good reason: 70 per cent of the country consists of large natural areas. 34 per cent of Canada’s land area is covered by forest, 53 per cent of which is primeval forest. In total, Canada is home to 20 per cent of the world’s remaining wilderness areas, yet this pioneer’s dream of endless expanses is fading. 

Everyone is aware of the value of – and the threats to – the Amazon rainforest. Yet hardly anyone speaks of British Columbia’s forgotten ecosystem: it is home to the world’s last large contiguous area of temperate rainforest. This primeval forest is a wonder of nature. It is home to wild coastal wolves, salmon-fishing bald eagles, mystical spirit bears, rare carnivorous sundews and gigantic primeval giants such as maple trees, Alaskan cedars, Douglas firs and giant thuja trees, which can reach ages of up to 2,000 years and heights of 100 metres. This makes the primeval forests of western Canada the most species-rich ecosystem in the Northern Hemisphere. Furthermore, the forests, primeval giants and forest bogs in our Canadian protected areas are absolute champions of CO₂ storage and one of the most important ‘sinks’ in the Earth’s carbon cycle.

And yet British Columbia, of all places, is one of the last jurisdictions in the world that continues to permit the large-scale felling of primeval giants aged between 600 and 1,800 years. Between 2003 and 2010, deforestation in British Columbia alone was responsible for higher annual CO₂ emissions than the whole of Finland. The main causes are the timber industry, agriculture and infrastructure development.

We protect the areas we have selected exclusively by purchasing them and registering them in the land register, in countries with a high degree of legal certainty. All three international foundations (Peru, Canada, Germany) are registered as owners in the land register. The forest areas we have purchased as foundations can no longer be bought from us, and we are also no longer permitted to sell them. 

The foundation’s organisational structure prevents the rights to dispose of the property from resting with a single individual and ensures its long-term survival. You can find out more about the longevity of the foundation concept here. Our articles of association stipulate that the plots of land must be left undisturbed and may only be visited for research and documentation purposes. 

In Canada: 

Due to their remoteness and the fact that the area is undeveloped, our protected areas in Canada can only be reached at great financial, material and time-related expense, and not without risk. Furthermore, the high level of legal certainty in Canada ensures that damage to land results in severe penalties. The British Columbia Trespass Act explicitly prohibits trespassing on private land. Violations are prosecuted in court upon complaint, even if no damage has been caused. Furthermore, we visit and monitor the areas as part of regular research trips and have partnerships with local companies that support us. In Canada, we also benefit from the fact that property is held in very high regard for its cultural and historical value and is respected.

In Peru:

In Peru, we have Forest Guardians on the ground whose day-to-day duties include monitoring our protected areas and preventing unauthorised entry. By using drones, the Guardians can survey a larger area, and special sensors trigger an alarm instantly if, for example, a fire breaks out or the sound of chainsaws is detected. In addition, we work there with the organisation ‘Fauna Forever’, which also has a permanent presence on the ground and, as part of its research projects, patrols and monitors our areas.

Furthermore, the Forest Guardians are in direct contact with the local population, promote our conservation objectives within the community, erect information signs and actively work on community projects – such as our current agroforestry project – to show the local population ways to benefit from the rainforest without clearing it. Should a conflict nevertheless arise, we report poachers and other individuals acting illegally to the local law enforcement agencies (such as the police, lawyers and authorities), and work closely with them.