Man in blue shirt touches a massive moss-covered tree in the forest Man in blue shirt touching massive moss-covered tree trunks in a lush forest.

Timms’ Community Forest

Protect forest now

Cycling through Canada

Dr Timm Döbert is a scientist, bird expert, sportsman and nature lover, and is noted for his infectious hands-on approach. As part of his latest project, ‘Wings of Survival’, Timm is retracing the main migration routes of migratory birds – by bike. His journey takes him several thousand kilometres across the Canadian wilderness, and along the way Timm is raising funds for Wilderness International to help preserve these unique ecosystems for ever.

Join Timm now in protecting a piece of wilderness – for yourself or as a gift!

Donations

have wilderness sponsors

m2 old-growth forest

protected for ever, thereby ensuring that

tonnes of CO2

remain permanently bound in the forest’s biomass

Preserving the last remaining intact wilderness areas is our most important lifeline for a future worth living. Only by protecting unspoilt nature can we rediscover our place as human beings within the web of life. Together, we can reverse the loss of species, biodiversity and ecosystems – and ultimately rekindle hope for a thriving planet for all life.
Dr. Timm Döbert Scientists, sportspeople & wilderness ambassadors 

Every contribution counts!

We have a grand vision: to protect the world’s last remaining true wilderness areas for ever!
To this end, we purchase ecologically valuable and critically endangered forest areas by registering them in the land register, thereby ensuring their protection in a legally secure, permanent and transparent manner. These purchases are funded by your donations and safeguarded for the long term.

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Here’s how you can help protect the forest:

  1. Fill in the donation form

    Fill in your details on the form – this will ensure that you receive all the information and your donation receipt.

  2. Select size

    On the donation form, select the size of the forest area you wish to protect.

  3. Design a certificate

    You can now personalise the certificate with your name or the name of someone you’d like to give it to. If you’d like, you can also add an occasion.

  4. Received a certificate

    You can download the certificate showing the geographical coordinates of the protected area from our donation portal immediately after making your payment. We will email you a link to the certificate and details of the square metres you have helped to protect.

Your Wilderness Conservation Certificate – also a perfect gift

Immediately after making your donation, you’ll receive a personalised certificate detailing the piece of wilderness you’ve helped to protect. It also makes a brilliant gift, by the way!
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Wilderness International conservation certificate for 25 m² of rainforest in Canada's Misty Forest, sponsored by Toni Tropenwind.

Transparent, tested & recommended!

  • Logo for Initiative Transparent Civil Society with layered blue squares and magenta vertical line

    Transparency

    In 2017, we joined the Transparent Civil Society Initiative. 

    In doing so, we are committing ourselves to high standards of transparency, accountability and effectiveness for international NGOs.

  • WIRKT! seal showing certification as a proven and recommended effective organization by PHI NEO, September 2023.

    Effect

    The Phineo ‘Wirkt!’ seal also confirms that our work has a demonstrable impact and that we are a high-performing and transparent organisation. To obtain it, we underwent a six-month assessment by independent experts as part of a four-stage process.

Impressions from the temperate rainforest

The old-growth forests of western Canada are home to wild coastal wolves, mighty bald eagles, rare carnivorous sundews and gigantic forest giants such as maple trees, Alaska cedars and giant thuja trees that are up to 2,000 years old.
Bald eagle in flight with wings spread, clutching a fish in its talons above a green forest.
Canada is a paradise for birdwatchers! Here, a bald eagle has just snatched its lunch.
Kingfisher with blue plumage and rust-coloured breast perched on a lichen-covered branch in natural habitat.
The kingfisher was also successful in its hunt.
Five cranes flying in formation against a cloudy sky.
Will Timm also come across the impressive sandhill cranes on his journey? 
Red woodpecker with black and white wings perched on grey tree bark against a blurred green background.
The fire-headed sap-sucker, a member of the woodpecker family, feeds – as its name suggests – on sweet tree sap.
Moss-covered forest floor with ferns and tall trees in a lush, temperate rainforest
The temperate rainforest is full of ferns and mosses.
Grey wolf with amber eyes standing on rocky beach, looking directly at camera.
However, Canada’s wildlife has even more to offer: for example, the rare coastal wolf on patrol along the beach.

What exactly is a temperate rainforest?

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What does Wilderness International do?

    Wilderness International purchases wilderness areas in a legally secure manner and protects them for generations to come. These purchases are funded by donations, which not only ensure the long-term protection of the areas but also enable environmental education projects and research into CO2 sequestration and biodiversity. Donors receive a personalised certificate showing the exact geographical coordinates of the protected forest area, so that the protection can be directly traced. We are currently active in the temperate rainforest of western Canada and the Amazon rainforest of Peru, where we are protecting ancient primary rainforests.

  • What obligations does sponsorship entail for me?

    There are no further obligations on your part. The donation is a one-off payment and enables us, as a foundation, to ensure the long-term protection of the area. The sponsorship is symbolic. The woodland remains the property of the foundation.

  • How can we ensure that the protected area is preserved for all time?

    In Canada, we are aided by the high level of legal certainty and the legal framework, as well as the penalties – which even prohibit trespass – and the cultural and historical significance of property.

    In Peru, we have also launched a forest ranger programme in collaboration with local people. We have put several measures in place to ensure long-term protection. Generally speaking, we visit the areas on regular expeditions to check that everything is in order. We also work with local partners who inform us if necessary. The donations per square metre also already include the costs of property tax.

    The legal form of the foundation, unlike any other, enables it to fulfil a (charitable) purpose permanently and independently of external interests, thereby achieving the desired long-term effects. It is thus the most long-term organisational structure currently known. Not even states, companies or national parks are designed to last that long. This makes the foundation the only organisation oriented towards the lifespan of the ecosystems we protect.

  • Why is it important to donate NOW? Would that patch of rainforest be destroyed without my donation?

    The rainforests in Peru and Canada are among the last remaining intact wilderness areas on our planet – and are, sadly, under acute threat. 10–15 per cent of all annual emissions are caused by the destruction of these forests and their peatlands – which is why we must act now!

    Numerous studies confirm the threat to the rainforests in Peru and Canada.

    In Peru:

    • According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), around 10 million hectares of tropical rainforest were lost annually between 2015 and 2020, with the Amazon region suffering the most damage (FAO and UNEP, 2020).
    • There is no sign of this trend abating, as even in 2024 the destruction of primary forests remained well above the politically set targets (Forest Declaration Assessment, 2024). In 2024 alone, an area of primary forest larger than the whole of Belgium disappeared in Latin America (Forest Declaration Assessment, 2024). Peru holds the grim distinction of ranking third in this regard (Jong, 2024).
    • In the Tambopata region in particular – where our conservation areas are located – there has been significant pressure on the forest for agricultural development and gold mining since the completion of the motorway to Brazil. On this online map, you can see the deforestation that has taken place over the last 20 years in the region around Puerto Maldonado, where we are active. 
    • You can also see the deforestation in the region on this online map, which shows our protected areas. The historical development of deforestation is also very well illustrated in the video by YouTuber Tomary, who was with us in Peru.
    • In his independent expert report, Rainer Kant of BAUM e.V. has also confirmed that the areas we protect in the Madre de Dios region would no longer exist today, or in the coming years, were it not for our work.


    In Canada:

    Everyone is aware of the value of the Amazon rainforest and the threats it faces. Yet hardly anyone speaks of the forgotten ecosystem of the temperate rainforest in British Columbia: 

    • This is home to the world’s last large contiguous area of temperate rainforest (DellaSala, 2010). And yet British Columbia, of all places, is one of the last jurisdictions in the world that still permits the large-scale felling of ancient giant trees aged between 600 and 1,800 years (Wu, 2019). 
    • The main causes of this are the timber industry, agriculture and the construction of infrastructure. 
    • The Ancient Forest Alliance’s online map (2016) provides a striking visualisation of how deforestation in south-eastern BC had progressed by 2016.
    • In his independent expert report, Rainer Kant of BAUM e.V. has confirmed that the last remaining undisturbed areas of temperate rainforest in Canada are under threat from logging companies seeking timber, agricultural corporations expanding farmland, urban sprawl, construction and infrastructure, and Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol – and therefore require our protection.


    If we lose the last remaining intact rainforests, this will have catastrophic consequences for our planet. The concept of planetary boundaries states that there are certain ecological limits; exceeding these endangers the stability of the Earth’s ecosystem and, consequently, the future of humanity. Numerous studies show that we are well on the way to exceeding at least five of the nine planetary boundaries, also known as ‘tipping points’. One of these is the loss of the tropical rainforest. We are already feeling the effects of climate change, but we still have the chance to avert the worst consequences, as the summary of the book ‘Earth for All’ shows.

About Wilderness International

The foundation, which has offices in Peru, Canada and Germany, acquires wilderness areas in a legally secure manner and protects them for generations to come. These acquisitions are funded by donations, which ensure the long-term protection of the areas and enable environmental education projects and research into CO2 storage and biodiversity.
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