land impact

1 billion
partnered with Rolex to study the effects of climate change on high mountain water towers and the impacts on water resources for the billion people who live downstream.
1
expeditions completed and 6,000 kilometers explored to better understand the threats facing the Okavango.
1 k
kilometers trekked to help create and protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
OUR WORK

Preserving and protecting land environments

Our Land work aims to explore, understand, and conserve terrestrial and freshwater systems around the world. Across topics like terrestrial geosciences, terrestrial/freshwater ecology, climate science, conservation technology, community-based conservation, and related fields — our goal is to inspire and empower others to better understand and protect our lands, lakes, and rivers.

featured program

Okavango Wilderness Project

The Okavango Delta is one of the most biodiverse places in Africa. While the Okavango Delta is mostly protected within Botswana, the greater Okavango Basin, which includes the critical rivers and lakes in Angola and Namibia that supply the Delta, is not. These source waters are under increasing threats from deforestation, uncontrolled fire, the rising commercial bushmeat trade, and unchecked development. If these waters remain unprotected, the future of the Okavango Delta is at risk. 

In the field

Our Land Explorers

From freshwater oases to the deserts of Africa and every mountain in between, our Explorers protect, study, and document thousands of square kilometers across a diversity of landscapes.

Their work helps foster critical solutions to the ongoing threats facing our land and wildlife. Explorer-led programs also have dedicated teams focused on robust efforts to improve our understanding of the impacts of climate change. Our Land Explorers teach us how to connect with our world, how to sustain balance with the land, and how our whole world is tied together by these delicate, living connections.

Read more stories of impact from some of our Land Explorers on nationalgeographic.com

Arati Kumar-Rao: Documenting the slow violence of environment degradation

Jennifer Chavez-Miller: Teaching wonder, curiosity, adventure & empowerment

KM Reyes: Connecting communities to build a sustainable future

Tom Matthews: Exploring extreme weather & climate change

An Explorer's perspective on

Making a difference

“We, all 7 billion of us, must never forget that we are a biological species forever bound to this particular biological world. Like the waves connected to the ocean, we cannot exist apart from it.”
Steve Boyes
National Geographic Explorer & Conservation Biologist
Join US

Help protect and preserve our land

Plant seeds of curiosity in the next generation

We've made available land resources for educators and learners in our Resource Library. We've provided lessons, articles, maps, videos, and so much more, to inspire our mission to preserve and protect the wonder of our world.

Support our work

As a global community, we have a duty to protect our Earth's land and water. When people understand our world and have a deep, emotional connection to its natural and cultural wonders, they’ll take action. Will you help protect it?

Photo Credits from top of page: Kostadin Luchansky, Cory Richards, Pete Muller, Paul Nicklen, Pete Muller. Below: Michael Nichols, Andy Mann, Paul Nicklen, Ami Vitale, Christian Tryon, Kenneth Garrett, Mark Thiessen.

Get updates about our critical work to explore and protect our planet.

GIVE TODAY!
The National Geographic Society is proud to invest in a global community of intrepid Explorers working to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Make a tax-deductible gift to support the Society today, and your support will help fund the next generation of changemakers.