Did you know that extreme weather disasters in the U.S. are now causing more than 20 billion‑dollar events every year, leaving a growing share of those losses uninsured? As climate change accelerates—and as ecosystems like wetlands and forests are destroyed and degraded—the insurance protection gap is widening, putting households, businesses, and entire communities at rising financial risk.

In this episode of Nature Breaking, you'll hear from David Kuhn, WWF's Director for Adaptation and Resilience Partnerships and a contributor to a new WWF report on the insurance crisis. David explains what's driving the surge in uninsured losses, why premiums are skyrocketing, and how climate‑driven disasters are undermining the stability of the US insurance system. He also breaks down how nature loss is stripping communities of their "first line of defense" against floods, storms, and heat—and why restoring ecosystems may be one of the most cost‑effective ways to strengthen resilience and shore up the insurance system.

As David shares, there's reason for hope in spite of these alarming trends. With smart policies, better risk modeling, and investments that treat nature as essential infrastructure, we can reduce damages, lower costs, and build a safer, more resilient future.

Links for More Info:

David Kuhn bio

REPORT: Tackling the Insurance Protection Gap

Op-Ed: Nature is a powerful ally against fires and floods (LA Times)

Chapters:

0:00 Teaser

0:31 Intro

1:56 Explaining the insurance protection gap

6:47 Insurance becoming an unsustainable business model

10:23 Practical impacts of insurance gap on consumers

15:23 Role of nature loss in the insurance crisis

19:16 How nature can help mitigate the insurance crisis

21:32 Recommendations for policymakers, insurers, companies, etc.

25:50 Reasons for hope

30:00 Outro

Note: This episode originally aired in October 2023.

Snow leopards are among the hardest animals to find in the wild, both because of how rare they are, and because their coats are adapted to provide camouflage that makes them hard to see against the rugged mountain landscape they call home. With an estimated 4,000-6,500 snow leopards remaining in the wild, conservationists have been working in snow leopard range countries across Asia to build a more stable future for these big cats. And recently, Bhutan reported some good news: the population of snow leopards in that country has increased by nearly 40% since 2016.

In this episode, you'll hear from Dechen Dorji, Senior Director for Asia on WWF's Wildlife Conservation team. He talks about the many characteristics that make snow leopards unique (5:07), the threats that have caused snow leopard populations to decline (13:01), and what we can learn from Bhutan's recent success to help snow leopards thrive across all 12 range countries they call home (17:52).

Links for More Info:

WWF Snow Leopard page

Press Release: Bhutan National Snow Leopard Survey

Dechen Dorji bio

Did you know that 75% of the infrastructure the world will use in 2050 hasn't been built yet? That means the choices we make today—about roads, bridges, railways, ports, and power systems—will shape the future of both human development and the natural world.

In this episode of Nature Breaking, WWF's Ryan Bartlett, Director for Climate Resilience and Risk Management, explains how we can build the infrastructure we need without destroying the ecosystems we rely on for critical benefits, including resilience to worsening weather extremes. From habitat fragmentation to increased flooding, poorly planned infrastructure can unintentionally cause huge environmental and social problems. But with the right planning tools, safeguards, and nature-based solutions that treat nature as infrastructure, we can chart a very different path forward.

Links for More Info:

Ryan Bartlett bio

WWF Sustainable Infrastructure page

Sustainable Infrastructure Program in Asia

Greening Transportation Infrastructure Development (GRID)

Chapters:

0:00 Preview

0:26 Intro

1:38 Challenges and opportunities with infrastructure development

4:37 Unintended consequences from poorly planned infrastructure

8:05 Best practices to balance infrastructure with nature & climate concerns

10:58 Solutions for infrastructure bisecting wildlife habitat

15:20 Asia as a key region for sustainable infrastructure

18:30 Sustainable Infrastructure Program in Asia (SIPA)

28:53 Lessons learned from SIPA

31:07 Greening Transportation Infrastructure Development (GRID) program

34:32 What does success look like for advancing sustainable infrastructure development?

37:39 Outro

As 2025 comes to a close, we're looking back at the 10 biggest conservation wins of the 21st century (so far). We'll revisit iconic successes like the Paris Agreement on climate, the rebound of wild tigers and giant pandas, and the creation of the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program, the largest tropical forest conservation initiative on Earth. Plus, we'll celebrate grassroots efforts like Earth Hour and the return of bison to Native lands—proof that progress is happening at every level.

If you care about wildlife, climate, and sustainability, this episode will give you hope and inspiration for the future.

Links:

Donate to support WWF's conservation mission

Chapters:

0:00 Preview

0:33 Intro

1:36 Rules of the Countdown

4:31 High Seas Treaty

5:57 Global Biodiversity Framework

7:06 Bison Restoration

9:27 Giant Pandas No Longer Endangered

10:43 The Paris Agreement on Climate Change

11:32 Global Response to the Poaching Crisis

12:55 Rebound of Wild Tigers

16:06 Earth Hour Launches

17:03 Creation of the Amazon Region Protected Areas (ARPA) Program

19:55 Environmentalism Goes Mainstream

Note: This episode originally ran on October 1, 2024. If you'd like to support WWF for Giving Tuesday, visit wwf.help/tuesday.

Global food production is a key driver behind both climate change and the loss of species and ecosystems. In fact, it's responsible for roughly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and over two-thirds of global habitat and biodiversity losses. That's because unsustainable food production too often lead to the destruction of forests, grasslands, and other ecosystems in order to produce more food. So how do we create a more sustainable food system? Joining the show today is Dr. Jason Clay, Executive Director of WWF's Markets Institute. Jason has decades of experience working with companies to find innovative ways to make their supply chains more sustainable, and today he'll be explaining his latest initiative: Codex Planetarius. In short, Codex Planetarius aims to establish global environmental standards to limit the harm caused by the production of globally traded food. The idea draws inspiration from Codex Alimentarius, the international code of health and safety standards for food established in the mid-20th century. It makes sense: If the world can adopt standards to protect human health and safety, why can't we do the same for the health and safety of the planet? In this interview, Jason explains how his career journey evolved from human rights to conservation (with help from the Grateful Dead and Ben & Jerry's along the way), and how Codex Planetarius could establish new global norms for food production that help us feed the world without destroying it.

Links for More Info:

Jason Clay bio

Codex Planetarius homepage

WEB STORY: Codex Planetarius: Increasing Global Food Sustainability and Resilience

Chapters:

0:00 Programming note

1:22 Intro

3:10 Jason's background

5:14 Working with the Grateful Dead and Ben & Jerry's to save the rainforest

10:14 How the global food trade works

16:17 Codex Planetarius: global standards for sustainable food production

25:09 Paying for Codex Planetarius

30:57 How to implement the plan

41:52 Outro

What happens when nature's cleanup crew disappears? In this episode of Nature Breaking, host Seth Larson talks with Professor Eyal Frank, an environmental economist at the University of Chicago, about his groundbreaking research on the near-extinction of vultures in India—and the devastating ripple effects on human health.

Frank explains:

• Why vultures are critical for ecosystems and public health
• How a common painkiller triggered a collapse in vulture populations
• Why that collapse may have caused 500,000 additional human deaths
• What this teaches us about the hidden costs of biodiversity loss

This is a fascinating—and sobering—look at how species we often overlook play vital roles in our lives. Tune in to learn why protecting wildlife isn't just about saving nature—it's about saving ourselves.

Listen now and subscribe for more episodes on the connections between people and the planet.

Links for More Info:

Eyal Frank bio

Study: The Near Extinction of Indian Vultures Led to the Death of a Half Million People

Shocked Podcast Ep. 3: Vultures

WWF web story: Vultures as Nature's Influencers

Chapters:

0:00 Wild Guess trivia

0:32 Intro

2:16 Eyal Frank's background

4:40 Comparing attribution science in climate change v. biodiversity loss

6:27 Why are vultures important?

9:06 How Eyal learned about vulture loss in India

11:02 What happened to vultures in India?

15:50 How did vulture loss contribute to human deaths?

26:47 What were the actual causes of human deaths?

32:02 How many people died due to loss of vultures?

37:36 Lessons for policymakers and the general public

42:03 What's next for Eyal Frank?

45:02 Outro

At COP30 in Brazil, one of the most ambitious climate finance initiatives ever conceived is set to launch: the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). This bold plan aims to flip the economics of deforestation by paying countries to keep their forests standing—rather than rewarding them for cutting them down.

In this episode of Nature Breaking, WWF's Andrew Deutz joins host Seth Larson to break down how the TFFF works, why Brazil's $1 billion commitment is a game-changer, and what makes this model so innovative. From leveraging private finance to guaranteeing benefits for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the TFFF could reshape global forest conservation—and climate finance as we know it.

Tune in to learn why COP30 is the "make-or-break" moment for the TFFF, how the facility plans to mobilize $125 billion in capital, and what this means for tropical forest countries and the fight against climate change.

Links for More Info:

Andrew Deutz bio

Op-Ed: Finance has long failed forests - now it may save them

Press Release: WWF calls for investments in the TFFF following Brazil's catalytic announcement

Chapters:

0:00 Wild Guess trivia question

0:43 Intro

2:07 What is the TFFF?

4:22 TFFF development process

6:11 Benefits for Indigenous Peoples

10:11 COP30 expectations and next steps

14:12 How would the TFFF work in practice?

19:01 Brazil's leadership

21:57 What's in it for the private sector?

26:02 Response to TFFF critiques

31:23 One thing that everyone should know about the TFFF

33:04 Outro

In this Halloween bonus episode of Nature Breaking, WWF's Seth Larson and Hayley Lawton share tips for celebrating the season in a more sustainable way—from upcycled costumes and DIY decorations to creative uses for leftover pumpkin bits.

Then, things get spooky as Seth and Hayley play a game of "Guess That Spooky Species," featuring eerie animal sounds from the wild. Can you tell the difference between a raven and an owl? A bear and an alligator? Tune in and test your wildlife knowledge!

Whether you're trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, or just enjoying the spooky vibes, this episode is packed with fun and eco-friendly ideas to help you celebrate Halloween with nature in mind.

Happy Halloween from all of us at WWF!

Links for More Info:

WWF's Spooky Species Playlist

10 Green Tips for Halloween

Eerie Animals? Not so fast.

Chapters:

0:00 Wild Guess trivia question

0:41 Intro

1:38 Seth & Hayley Halloween memories

4:09 Green Halloween Tips

7:44 Guess that "spooky species" sound

12:29 Outro