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From pollution to climate change, the pressure on our planet is growing. Now, more than ever, nature needs our support. 

Driven by world-leading science, we deepen understanding and knowledge of the natural world, generating the data and insight needed to support wildlife recovery.

  • 440,000
    Hectares of forest being restored in South Sumatra
  • 1 million
    Mangrove trees replanted in the Philippines equivalent to 1,260 football pitches
  • 2km2
    Native oyster habitat created in Essex by laying crushed shell and gravel (cultch)
  • A healthier future for wildlife

    We’re working tirelessly around the world to rebuild and protect the ecosystems that support life everywhere. From replanting mangrove forests to re-establishing oyster beds, our conservationists and scientists are focused on finding the best way to conserve the crucial ecosystems that sustain life – from forests to oceans and everything in between.

    Our projects

    • Partula snail on a leaf
      Restoring Polynesian history

      Partula snail conservation

      We saved the remaining Polynesian snails back in 1994 before they could be wiped out forever, and we have been breeding them ever since to restore their precious ecosystem and place in history. 

    • Two people planting mangrove trees as part of ZSL restoration project.
      Project

      Mangroves

      Our projects in the Philippines have restored and protected over 900 hectares of abandoned fishpond mangroves - around the size of 1,260 football pitches.

    • Guam kingfisher (Sihek) sitting on branch
      Project

      Sihek conservation

      We're creating solutions to save the sihek from the jaws of extinction - as invasive snakes outnumber people in Guam by 10 to 1.

    • Four ZSL conservationists study fish and record results on the Putney foreshore
      Fish conservation in the tidal Thames

      Fish conservation in the tidal Thames

    • Mauritius kestrel in tree
      Project

      Mauritius kestrel conservation

      One of the most successful bird recoveries in the world. The Mauritius Kestrel once looked destined for extinction, with just 4 remaining individuals.

    • Spurdog shark in the Thames
      Project

      The Greater Thames Shark Project

      Working together with anglers to better understand the importance of the Thames estuary to these animals and to ensure their long-term survival in the wild.  

    • Olive white-eye bird
      Saving the rarest bird in Mauritius

      Olive white-eye conservation

      With less than 150 pairs now remaining, our work is saving a species on the brink of extinction.

    • See all projects

    Aquatic ecosystems cover around 70 per cent of the earth’s surface. Marine habitats are essential to the health of our marine ecosystem and our conservation work in this area ranges from teaching people how to restore seagrass beds in the UK, to restoring coastal ecosystems in Mozambique.

    Freshwater habitats make up a tiny fraction of the water on Earth – only 1% of the world’s water is fresh and accessible yet sustains an astonishing 10% of all known animals and 50% of all known fish species. We work to conserve and protect these essential ecosystems all the way from the River Thames in London to Lake Ossa in Cameroon. At Whipsnade Zoo we have the only aquarium in the UK dedicated to conserving threatened and extinct-in-the-wild freshwater fish.

    On land, ecosystems from forests to deserts are struggling to support biodiversity in the face of climate change and degradation. From our work in Indonesia helping keep forests viable for tigers and elephants to protecting desert habitats in the Sahara, we are working towards biodiversity recovery.

    Our conservation is always underpinned by science, and understanding ecosystems better allows us to do more effective conservation. Our scientists collaborated on the most comprehensive classification of the world’s ecosystems, describing every ecosystem across land, rivers and wetlands, and seas.

    Restoring the wonder

    We believe that nature can recover but right now it needs our support. Together, we can restore wildlife - join us in our fight to save our natural world.

    As the original science-driven conservation organisation, we’re working to restore wildlife in the UK and around the world. Discover more about our global conservation work.

    Habitats

    • Bengal in grass in Nepal
      Meadows, dunes and savannahs

      Heath and Grasslands

      From butterflies to elephants, they provide habitat for species across the globe.

    • Female Hainan gibbon with infant
      Rainforests, woodlands and mangroves

      Forests

      Deforestation has wiped enough trees to cover the whole of the United States since 1900.

    • fish and coral
      Coral reefs, meandering rivers and dark depths

      Marine and freshwater

      They cover 71% of the surface of our planet, and yet they are still the least explored.

    • Wild Oryx Running
      The most inhospitable habitat on Earth

      Deserts

      Protecting life on the edge, where there is less than 25 centimetres of rain each year.

    • See all habitats

    Our priorities