Environmental Preservation with External Partners

The Kumon Group has been supporting WWF Japan, a member of the WWF Network and a global environmental conservation organization operating in more than 100 countries, through the Kumon Forest Fund since 2014.

WWF was founded in Switzerland in 1961. Its main activities are to protect biodiversity on the earth and to reduce the impact of human life on the natural environment and wildlife. One of these activities is forest conservation.

WWF Japan works toward sustainable forest conservation through direct activities in the field, such as research and conservation of rare species and reforestation, as well as by supporting local communities and responsible raw material procurement in Japan. In addition, we also conduct public awareness activities through the development of environmental education programs and seminars on the environment.

Through its global network, WWF Japan supports forest conservation activities in countries around the world and is also involved in environmental education. The Kumon Group, which aims to contribute to local and global communities through education around the world, continues to support these activities, as we share the same goals.

In the Indonesian territory of West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, where oil palm plantations for palm oil production are expanding and deforestation is occurring, WWF has been supporting, since 2019, small-scale farmers to produce palm oil in a sustainable manner in the ecologically important Merawi province. The province partly overlaps with a particularly rich biodiversity area in Borneo (the Heart of Borneo).

To reduce deforestation in Merawi to zero and restore the lost nature (nature positive), it is important to take a more multifaceted approach and make the society resilient. To this end, since 2022, the WWF has been increasing the number of stakeholders to work with, including not only independent small-scale farmers and the government but also oil extraction companies, educational institutions, civic groups, and local communities. Furthermore, they have also been working on increasing the environmental literacy of the entire community through ESD education and building a foundation for environmental conservation efforts.

In addition, ESD activities have been initiated at two junior high schools in Nanga Kebebeb and Semadin Lengkong villages in Merawi province. As for the education policy in Indonesia, they are promoting education using a curriculum that is in line with local characteristics. At the WWF, the basics of ESD are explained to the teachers and staff of the two junior high schools, and support is also provided to them for the formulation of a local curricula.

• *ESD: Education for Sustainable Development. Activities aimed at creating new values and actions that will lead to solutions to various global problems, such as the environment, poverty, human rights, peace, and development, in addition to the creation of a sustainable society.

As Brazil continues to experience deforestation due to rapid agricultural and economic development, WWF Japan has initiated forest conservation activities in two important ecosystems in Brazil, the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest, starting in 2022.

The Cerrado, a vast savanna area that runs through the center of Brazil, boasts rich biodiversity, massive carbon storage, and abundant groundwater sources. However, the region's nature is now being lost to cattle grazing and large-scale agricultural development for the cultivation of soybeans and other crops.

WWF promotes reforestation through plantation and support for local residents who collect seeds and cultivate seedlings, among others. In FY2023, they identified three priority reforestation areas and provided training on reforestation and seedlings and seeds. In addition, we will take on the challenge of commercializing baru nuts (Fabaceae), which grow wild in these areas, and build a distribution network to generate income for local residents and support the reforestation of pastureland to natural forests.

The Atlantic Forest on Brazil's Atlantic coast is a treasure trove of biodiversity. However, due to economic development over the past several hundred years, only 12% of the original forest now remains, with many endemic species threatened with extinction.

WWF, together with other environmental organizations, has set a goal of reforesting 15 million hectares by 2050. Working with local NGOs and local communities, WWF is engaged in reforestation activities that combine the needs of local people and forest conservation, such as balancing reforestation and income through agroforestry (a farming method in which forests and agriculture coexist in harmony) and land rehabilitation that improves water sources.