Under the project, an area currently characterised by urban development, mass tourism and clandestine villa construction will be transformed into the world's first-ever integrated sustainable housing and tourism development, incorporating a massive €120 million nature conservation and reforestation programme.

One Planet Living is a joint initiative of WWF and BioRegional, specialists in developing sustainable strategies and products for businesses and local authorities. WWF and BioRegional are working with companies and planners to develop projects that help make sustainainable living easy, affordable and attractive, and promote sustainainable economic policies by governments.

Following a highly successful community consultation, which showed that local people were overwhelmingly in favour of the project, WWF needed to show national politicians and government officials the breadth of international support for this innovative project.

In May 2006 Passport holders were called to action and 10,000 of you signed our petition to support sustainable living. The petition was presented to the Mayor of Sesimbra, Augusto Polvora, who expressed his gratitude for your support:

“I am very pleased that so many people from so many countries have taken such an interest in this project. For the people of this municipality, this project represents the last chance to save and recover the region’s largest area of forest, and means it will be possible to transform a vast area of quarries into native woodland. This environmentally friendly project will bring many benefits to local people, such as new sustainable transport services and new jobs. The support of WWF and its partners and supporters has helped local people and institutions to appreciate just how important this project is to the sustainable development of our region, and to preserving our natural and cultural heritage.”

A final decision on the project will be made in early 2007, but WWF is now optimistic that it will get the go ahead.

Thank you to everyone who took action.

The Atlantic Forest is one of the world's most ecologically important regions, containing plant and animal species that are found nowhere else on earth. But it is also one of the world's most endangered tropical forests and is threatened by forest conversion to make room for livestock, roads and agriculture, and in particular, the expansion of soy production.

In 2004 Paraguay brought into force a Zero Deforestation Law, which prohibits the conversion of native forests. This has been spectacularly successful and deforestation has decreased by more than 85%.

But despite this amazing achievement, there was a real risk that the law would not be extended after 2006.

So, in July more than 9000 Passport holders signed a petition to say thank you to the Paraguayan government for its achievements in conserving the forest, and to call for the Zero Deforestation Law to be extended.

After several months of tense discussion and lobbying, the extension was finally agreed by the Paraguayan Senate on 7 December. It was then returned to the House of Representatives for final consideration and passed into law on December 14.

This is great news!

Decades of deforestation merit more than two years of protection however. But these two years provide a unique opportunity to implement economic alternatives, reforestation programmes and sustainable management of forests, and to strengthen institutions that administer the forest resources.

Thank you to everyone who took this action. With your help we really are making a difference!

Sardinia's Regional Council recently decided to protect its coastline through new legislation and bring to a halt the steady, decades-long process of unsustainable building that has been slowly eroding this magical place. But opponents of the legislation, who want to keep destroying the island's coastline, are now trying to overturn it.

Sources close to the President have told WWF that he greatly appreciated the messages received and that they will help him resist pressure from those who oppose the legislation.

Fulco Pratesi, President of WWF Italy expressed his satisfaction. "In Italy, we are forever obliged to criticise politicians and administrators. This time, however, we wanted to thank and encourage someone who is doing his job well, in the hopes that he will continue to do so for a very long time to come. How wonderful it would be if we could do this more often! The sensational result also demonstrates that the world is full of people who, when visiting a foreign country, are sensitive to its environmental situation. And those numbers will continue to increase."

Thank you to everyone who took action!

With thanks to Sarah Greeg for the original translation

The commitment, made by the Sichuan and Gansu Provincial Governments, to establish almost 1.6 million hectares of new protected areas in this southwest region of China means the pandas will become an interconnected population, helping to ensure the future health and survival of this iconic species.

To recognize and support the efforts and commitments of the provincial governments in protecting the Giant Panda more than 9000 WWF supporters from over 120 countries sent thank you messages in October 2006.

On 25 October, at the event to mark the presentation of WWF’s highest accolade, the Gift to the Earth award, to the provincial governments, WWF International’s Director General James P. Leape personally conveyed your messages to the Governor of Gansu Province and the Vice Governor of Sichuan Province together with a list of everyone who took part in the action. The Governors were greatly impressed by the support from so many Passport holders around the world. They also expressed their willingness for further cooperation with WWF to enhance the ecological and biodiversity protection in their provinces.

Thank you to everyone who took part in this action.

Your support was not only one of the highlights at the Gift to the Earth award ceremony, but also a powerful encouragement to the two provincial governments to fulfill their commitment and to take more efforts to protect the Giant Panda.

Local forestry officials had captured the elephants after they had damaged crops and homes near Libo Forest.

WWF, which provided daily care and medical treatment for the elephants after their discovery, accompanied the authorities as they released the elephants to ensure that the release was done safely.

WWF was concerned, however, that Tesso Nilo was not a suitable release site as it was too small to provide habitat for more elephants.

But more good news followed at the end of May when the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and the Government of Riau Province publicly committed to expand the Tesso Nilo National Park from 38,000 to 100,000 hectares. This will provide much larger habitat for the elephants and help ensure that future conflicts with humans can be reduced.

WWF applauds the quick action of the Indonesian authorities in showing a strong commitment to protect remaining elephant habitats in Riau and also prosecuting those who have killed elephants or destroyed elephant habitats. Recent police seizures of ivory in Medan, North Sumatra, are a good indication of this commitment. We hope more cases will be uncovered in the future and the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Thank you to everyone who took action. With your help we are making a real difference.

In your emails to governments across Europe, including the Austria who currently hold the European Union (EU) Presidency, you urged politicans to ensure drastic cuts in climate polluting CO2 emissions.

Soon after the launch Austrian government officials told WWF anonimously that our action helped them against massive industry pressure for weak caps on emissions. They said the huge public support for CO2 reductions was a strong contribution to the political debate.

In response to your emails and letters the UK Minister of State for the Environment, Elliot Morley, wrote to WWF saying:
"We welcome your support on this issue... The EU Emissions Trading Scheme is a key measure in helping the EU to meet its international commitments to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses."

Now WWF is looking to meet the decision-makers face to face in order to reinforce our call for deep cuts in CO2 emissions. The huge number of activists supporting us will certainly help to open doors.

Thanks to your support, EU governments know that the public wants climate pollution to end. WWF will work hard to keep up the pressure you have helped to create. Thank you for your support!

The signatures were presented in a symbolic ballot box with the message 'Boto ng Bayan para sa RE Bill’ which means ‘The People's Vote for the RE Bill'.

The subsequent adoption of the committee's report is a major achievement in the effort to pass the bill and for the campaign for clean energy in the Philippines.

This landmark legislation will enable the Philippines to choose clean energy for its energy security and a cleaner environment.

The PowerSwitch! campaign in the Philippines will continue monitoring the development of the bill and gather more signatures to show the strength of popular support for renewable energy.

Thank you for your support.

With your help, we are making a difference.