WWF launches podcast mini-series to mark 60 years of conservation impact

WWF has launched podcast mini-series featuring some of the biggest names in conservation in the UK, Belgium, Sweden, Colombia, Zimbabwe and India, including former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, journalist and indigenous rights activist Princess Esmeralda of Belgium and wildlife television presenter Malaika Vaz from India.

Forces of Nature, which has been produced to commemorate WWF’s 60th anniversary this year, features candid conversations between prominent environmentalists from different generations across four continents about what they’ve learned, and their regrets, during the past decades – and how we can all achieve more for the planet in the next 10 years than we did in the last six decades.

The three-episode mini-series launched on 5 July. Each episode explores a different theme, from the late Prince Philip’s approach to conservation; to the pride - and regret - former President Santos feels about his environmental record during his time in office; to a Saami reindeer herder’s insights into the importance of indigenous rights in conservation and Princess Esmeralda’s experience of being arrested during a climate protest in London in 2019.

“As WWF turns 60 this year, we wanted to reflect on how we can continue to evolve and strengthen our impact as the world enters this critical moment for people, climate and nature – and that’s where our new podcast Forces of Nature comes in,” says Felicity Glennie-Holmes Executive Director, Communications and Marketing at WWF International.

“Through conservation conversations, we hear how action to save our shared home planet Earth has changed over six decades; what the next generation can learn from legendary trailblazers, and vice versa; and how together, we can achieve more in the next 10 years than we have in the last 60. Inspired action for our planet is the need of the hour so get your earphones on and tune in to your new favourite podcast, courtesy of WWF – because together, we can - and must - all be forces of nature.”

The mini-series includes a conversation between Nobel Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos, who was president of Colombia from 2010 to 2018, and 18-year-old Zimbabwean climate activist Nkosi Nyathi. Santos was both praised and criticised for his approach to the environment during his time in office and in his discussion with Nkosi, sheds light on his feelings around the issue.

“Every president, every prime minister, when you look back, you feel a bit frustrated because you understand that you could have done a lot more. That’s a normal sense, a normal frustration that every president and every prime minister has.

“I increased the protected areas and today 20 percent of Colombia is protected. But I could have done a lot more. I could have protected instead of 20%, I could have protected 40%.”

Increasing protections for land and sea are a key part of the new global biodiversity framework being negotiated by countries this year. WWF has issued a firm call to formally recognize and include Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and their rights in any global conservation efforts, a topic also discussed between Princess Esmeralda and climate activist Martina Fjällberg of the Saami people of Sweden in their episode.

WWF is launching the podcast at a time when it is clearer than ever before that we are witnessing a catastrophic collapse in our planet’s biodiversity. The latest Living Planet Report, WWF’s flagship science-based analysis of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet, revealed a dramatic two-thirds drop in global wildlife populations on average in the last 50 years, which in turn threatens our climate, food, freshwater and well-being.

Our goal is to give listeners insight into the people who have achieved the most and have the most to achieve to create a fairer, healthier and more sustainable world for the conservation of the natural world and well-being of people everywhere.

Forces of Nature is hosted by Susannah Birkwood, Media Relations Manager at WWF International. She is based in the UK.