damnit e.V. is committed to protecting endangered wilderness areas.
For the preservation of the most species-rich forests
Since 2025, damnite.V. has been cooperatingwith the Wilderness International Foundation to jointly combat the acute threat to the Amazon rainforest and permanently protect the habitat of countless animal and plant species. Always on board: the Damnit! community. With the damnit forest in the Madre de Dios region of Peru, valuable rainforest is now legally protected and a stable climate is being promoted in the long term.
Let's continue on this path together and protect as much forest as possible: You can find the donation form on the damnit e.V. website!
Donations
m2 of old-growth forest
tonnes of CO2
Damnit e.V. is a young non-profit association based in Hamburg that promotes fair trade, environmental protection, and climate justice, educates people about sustainable projects, and—in constant dialogue with its community—shares simple tips and advice for a more sustainable everyday life.
Huge, ancient primeval forests with indigenous cultures full of wisdom, mystical plants, and fascinating animals in a beautiful harmony of mist, rain, and sunshine must not be destroyed by consumption. Let's protect life!
Janna & Niko
damnit e.V.
How Wilderness International works
Learn more about the diversity of our commitment to old-growth forest and in Germany.
Projects in Peru
Discover our educational and agroforestry projects in Peru, which aim to protect the Madre de Dios region in a sustainable manner, minimize the causes of deforestation, and work with local communities to develop alternative sources of income.
Projects in Canada
British Columbia is one of the last jurisdictions on earth that still allows large-scale logging of 600-1800-year-old old-growth trees in temperate rainforests. Our goal is to work with First Nations and local communities to preserve these forests.
Projects in Germany
In Germany, our focus is on environmental education. To this end, our foundation has launched a number of projects, all with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of primeval forests for our climate, global biodiversity, and our livelihoods.
Science & Research
From eDNA to species inventories, biomass measurements, and moorland research: here you can gain exciting insights into our scientific studies and research priorities in Peru and Canada.
Impressions from the rainforest
The rainforest area protected by damnit e.V. is located in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. There are 10 times more reptiles and amphibians there than in Germany, approximately 10% of all bird species in the world can be observed here, and approximately 400 tree species can be found on one hectare of forest, more than in the whole of Europe north of the Alps.
When the sun rises over the rainforest along the Tambopata River, the forest begins to breathe.
Imposing buttress roots provide stability for the jungle's giant trees.
The rainforest along the Tambopata River is home to 10% of the world's bird species - a veritable El Dorado of biodiversity.
Weighing up to 75 kg, capybaras are the largest rodents in the world.
Transparency
Why old-growth forest protection with WI?
What convinced Damnit e.V. about Wilderness International was above all the transparent and concrete use of donations: a €1 donation protects 1m² old-growth forest forever. Donors receive a certificate with the geocoordinates and an aerial photo of the protected forest area, as well as a tax-deductible donation receipt.
Your wilderness protection certificate
You will receive a personalized certificate of the piece of wilderness you protected immediately after your donation.
Protect the rainforest together with damnit e.V.
About Wilderness International
The foundation, which is based in Peru, Canada and Germany, purchases legally secure wilderness areas and protects them for the future. The purchases are refinanced through donations, which ensure the long-term protection of the areas, supports environmental education projects, and research into CO2 storage and biodiversity.
Wilderness International purchases primary rainforest areas with land title and legally protects them for all future. Donations refinance the purchases and at the same time finance long-term protection as well as environmental education and research. Donors receive a personalized certificate with the exact geo-coordinates and aerial photograph of the forest area they are protecting. Thus, the use and impact of the donation is tangible and directly traceable. We are currently working in the temperate rainforest of Western Canada and the Amazon rainforest of Peru, where we are protecting ancient primary rainforests.
It is important to protect the rainforest because this is the only way we can stop species extinction and climate change. They are home to the world's greatest biodiversity and store huge amounts of CO2. It is also important to protect rainforests because they are the basis of our existence: they provide us with clean air, clean water and stable rainfall. They also cool the environment.
Together with our conservation experts and scientific partners such as the Environmental Research Center Leipzig (UFZ), the Senckenberg Natural History Collections and others, we select the land according to its particular need for protection. The decisive factors are species diversity, biomass and acute threat.
Rapid Assessments
Find out more at “How we protect forests”
In Canada, good legal security helps us, as well as the legal situations and sanctions that even prohibit trespassing.
In Peru, we have additionally started a forest guardian program with local people. To ensure long-term protection, we also have several other measures in place. In general, we visit the areas on regular expeditions to check on them. We also work with local partners who inform us of any irregularities if necessary. The donations per square meter also already include the costs for property taxes.
Like no other, the legal form of the foundation allows a (charitable) purpose to be realized permanently and independently of outside interests, thus achieving the desired effects in the long term. It is thus the most long-term organizational construct currently known. Not even states, companies or national parks are designed for such a long term. This makes the foundation the only one that is oriented toward the lifespan of the ecosystems we protect.
Strictly speaking, you don't "buy" the forest. We, the three foundations Wilderness International in Peru, Canada and Germany, buy the forest. Your donation refinances the purchase and enables us to protect the area in the long term. The forest remains in the possession of the foundations, the sponsorship is a symbolic one and shows you transparently which concrete piece of forest we were able to protect with your donation.
The primary goal of Wilderness International is the concrete protection of wilderness areas. Environmental policy measures often require very lengthy, resource-intensive processes to achieve, and experience shows that their success is often not lasting. That is why we engage in practical environmental protection, directly preserving ecologically valuable habitats. In addition to purchasing wilderness areas, we work together with the indigenous population (e.g., the Cowichan and Gwich'in). We support local actors in drawing attention to environmental problems and raising them to a global level. For example, we succeeded in securing the protection of the Peel River Watershed, a wilderness area the size of Austria in northern Canada.
95% of your donations go directly to forest conservation and related environmental education and research. Our administrative cost ratio is only 5%.