World Wide Fund for Nature facts for kids
Logo used since 2000
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| Formation | 29 April 1961 |
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| Founders |
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| Type | International NGO |
| Purpose |
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| Headquarters | Rue Mauverney 28 Gland, Vaud, Switzerland |
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Region
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Worldwide |
| Methods |
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President
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Adil Najam |
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Director General
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Kirsten Schuijt |
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Revenue
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 US$433 million (2022) |
| Website | (US) |
| ^ a: Also the WWF's first president. |
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The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. WWF is the world's largest conservation organization, with over five million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries and supporting around 3,000 conservation and environmental projects. They have invested over $1 billion in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives since 1995. WWF is a foundation with 65% of funding from individuals and bequests, 17% from government sources (such as the World Bank, DFID, and USAID) and 8% from corporations in 2020.
WWF aims to "stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature." The Living Planet Report has been published every two years by WWF since 1998; it is based on a Living Planet Index and ecological footprint calculation. In addition, WWF has launched several notable worldwide campaigns, including Earth Hour and Debt-for-nature swap, and its current work is organized around these six areas: food, climate, freshwater, wildlife, forests, and oceans.
WWF has faced criticsm for its corporate ties and for supporting conservation measures that have resulted in violent conflict with local people. WWF is part of the Steering Group of the Foundations Platform F20, an international network of foundations and philanthropic organizations.
Contents
History
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The idea for a fund on behalf of endangered animals was officially proposed by Victor Stolan to Sir Julian Huxley in response to articles he published in the British newspaper The Observer. This proposal led Huxley to put Stolan in contact with Edward Max Nicholson, a person who had had thirty years experience of linking progressive intellectuals with big business interests through the Political and Economic Planning think tank. Nicholson thought up the name of the organization and the original panda logo was designed by Sir Peter Scott. WWF was conceived on 29 April 1961, under the name of World Wildlife Fund. Its first office was opened on 11 September in IUCN's headquarters at Morges, Switzerland.
The WWF was conceived to act as an international fundraising organisation to support the work of existing conservation groups, primarily the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Its establishment was marked with the signing of the Morges Manifesto, the founding document that sets out the fund's commitment to assisting worthy organizations struggling to save the world's wildlife:
They need above all money, to carry out mercy missions and to meet conservation emergencies by buying land where wildlife treasures are threatened, and in many other ways. Money, for example, to pay guardians of wildlife refuges .... Money for education and propaganda among those who would care and help if only they understood. Money to send out experts to danger spots and to train more local wardens and helpers in Africa and elsewhere. Money to maintain a sort of 'war room' at the international headquarters of conservation, showing where the danger spots are and making it possible to ensure that their needs are met before it is too late.
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld helped to found the WWF, becoming its first president in 1961. In 1963, the Foundation held a conference and published a major report warning of anthropogenic global warming, written by Noel Eichhorn based on the work of Frank Fraser Darling (then foundation vice president), Edward Deevey, Erik Eriksson, Charles Keeling, Gilbert Plass, Lionel Walford, and William Garnett.
In 1970, along with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a few associates, Bernhard established the WWF's financial endowment The 1001: A Nature Trust to handle the organization's administration and fundraising. 1001 members each contributed $10,000 to the trust. Prince Bernhard resigned his post after being involved in the Lockheed Bribery Scandal.
List of presidents
| Years | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1961–1976 | Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld |  Netherlands |
| 1976–1981 | John Hugo Loudon | Netherlands |
| 1981–1996 | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh |  United Kingdom |
| 1996–1999 | Syed Babar Ali |  Pakistan |
| 2000 | Ruud Lubbers | Netherlands |
| 2000–2001 | Sara Morrison | United Kingdom |
| 2001–2010 | Chief Emeka Anyaoku |  Nigeria |
| 2010–2017 | Yolanda Kakabadse |  Ecuador |
| 2018–2022 | Pavan Sukhdev |  India |
| 2023–present | Adil Najam | Pakistan |
Recent developments
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The WWF has set up offices and operations around the world. It originally worked by fundraising and providing grants to existing non-governmental organizations with an initial focus on the protection of endangered species. As more resources became available, its operations expanded into other areas such as the preservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of natural resources, the reduction of pollution, and climate change. The organization also began to run its own conservation projects and campaigns. In 1986, the organization changed its name to World Wide Fund for Nature, while retaining the WWF initials. However, it continued at that time to operate under the original name in the United States and Canada.
1986 was the 25th anniversary of WWF's foundation, an event marked by a gathering in Assisi, Italy to which the organization's International President Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, invited religious authorities representing Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. These leaders produced The Assisi Declarations, theological statements showing the spiritual relationship between their followers and nature that triggered a growth in the engagement of those religions with conservation around the world.
In the 1990s, WWF revised its mission statement to:
Stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature,
- conserving the world's biological diversity;
- ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable; [and]
- promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
WWF researchers and many others identified 238 ecoregions that represent the world's most biologically outstanding terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, based on a worldwide biodiversity analysis which the organization says was the first of its kind. In the early 2000s (decade), its work was focused on a subset of these ecoregions, in the areas of forest, freshwater and marine habitat conservation, endangered species conservation, climate change, and the elimination of the most toxic chemicals.
We shan't save all we should like to, but we shall save a great deal more than if we had never tried.
Harvard University published a case study on WWF called "Negotiating Toward the Paris Accords: WWF & the Role of Forests in the 2015 Climate Agreement": In 2023, Prof. Adil Najam, a globally renowned climate scientist and policy expert from Pakistan, was appointed as the President of WWF International signifying the growing importance on climate change as well as of human well-being in the WWF agenda.
Conservation Foundation
In 1947 the Conservation Foundation was formed in New York City by Fairfield Osborn. It arranged funding for scientific research into global conservation issues. It did not lobby or engage in politics. In 1985 it became an affiliate of the WWF. In 1990, it completely merged into WWF.
Conservation Foundation in the United States
The organization now known as the Conservation Foundation in the United States is the former Forest Foundation of DuPage County. In 1996, the organization obtained general consultative status from UNESCO.
Panda symbol
WWF's giant panda logo originated from a panda named Chi Chi that had been transferred from Beijing Zoo to London Zoo in 1958, three years before WWF was established. Being famous as the only panda residing in the Western world at that time, her uniquely recognisable physical features and status as an endangered species were seen as ideal to serve the organization's need for a strong recognisable symbol that would overcome all language barriers. The organization also needed an animal that would have an impact in black and white printing. The logo was then designed by Sir Peter Scott from preliminary sketches by Gerald Watterson, a Scottish naturalist.
The logo was slightly simplified and made more geometric in 1978, and was stylized and made less detailed in 1986, at the time that the organization changed its name, with the new version featuring solid black shapes for eyes. In 2000 a change was made to the font used for the initials "WWF" in the logo.
Organization and operation
Policy-making
Policies of the WWF are made by board members elected for three-year terms. An Executive Team guides and develops WWF's strategy. There is also a National Council which stands as an advisory group to the board and a team of scientists and experts in conservation who research for WWF.
National and international law plays an important role in determining how habitats and resources are managed and used. Laws and regulations become one of the organization's global priorities.
The WWF has been opposed to the extraction of oil from the Canadian tar sands and has campaigned on this matter. Between 2008 and 2010 the WWF worked with The Co-operative Group, the UK's largest consumer co-operative to publish reports which concluded that: (1) exploiting the Canadian tar sands to their full potential would be sufficient to bring about what they described as 'runaway climate change; (2) carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology cannot be used to reduce the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to a level comparable to that of other methods of oil extraction; (3) the $379 billion which is expected to be spent extracting oil from tar sands could be better spent on research and development in renewable energy technology; and (4) the expansion of tar sands extraction poses a serious threat to the caribou in Alberta .
The organization convinces and helps governments and other political bodies to adopt, enforce, strengthen and/or change policies, guidelines and laws that affect biodiversity and natural resource use. It also ensures government consent and/or keeps their commitment to international instruments relating to the protection of biodiversity and natural resources.
In 2012, David Nussbaum, Chief Executive of WWF-UK, spoke out against the way shale gas is used in the UK, saying: "... the Government must reaffirm its commitment to tackling climate change and prioritise renewables and energy efficiency."
Collaboration
The organisation works on a number of global issues driving biodiversity loss and unsustainable use of natural resources, including species conservation, finance, business practices, laws, and consumption choices. Local offices also work on national or regional issues.
WWF works with a large number of different groups to achieve its goals, including other NGOs, governments, business, investment banks, scientists, fishermen, farmers and local communities. It also undertakes public campaigns to influence decision makers, and seeks to educate people on how to live in a more environmentally friendly manner. It urges people to donate funds to protect the environment. The donors can also choose to receive gifts in return.
In October 2020, WWF was named as one of the alliance partner's of Prince William's Earthshot Prize, to find solutions to environmental issues.
In March 2021, WWF announced an extension of their partnership with H&M to address sustainable supply chain practices.
Notable initiatives and programs
Campaigns
- Debt-for-Nature Swap
- Earth Hour
- Healthy Grown
- Marine Stewardship Council
Publications
WWF publishes the Living Planet Index in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London. Along with ecological footprint calculations, the Index is used to produce a bi-yearly Living Planet Report giving an overview of the impact of human activity on the world. In 2019, WWF and Knorr jointly published the Future 50 Foods report identifying "50 Foods for Healthier People and a Healthier Planet". In 2018, WWF, TRAFFIC and IFAW launched the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online with 21 tech companies. In 2017, Instagram accounts, Sal Lavallo and Jessica Nabongo ate a trafficked, endangered pangolin at a hotel in Gabon. There is often no penalty to social media accounts for cruelty to animals on social media platforms.
The organization also regularly publishes reports, fact sheets and other documents on issues related to its work, to raise awareness and provide information to policy and decision makers.
Promotions
- No One's Gonna Change Our World was a charity album released in 1969, for the benefit of the WWF.
- Peter Rose and Anne Conlon are music theatre writers, well known for their environmental musicals for children, who were commissioned by WWF-UK to write several environmental musicals as part of an education plan. Some were narrated by David Attenborough, and broadcast on television in numerous countries.
- The British pop group S Club 7 were ambassadors for WWF-UK during their time together as a band (1999–2003). Each of the members sponsored an endangered animal, and in 2000, traveled to the various locations around the world of their chosen animals for a seven-part BBC documentary series entitled S Club 7 Go Wild.
- Environmentally Sound: A Select Anthology of Songs Inspired by the Earth is a benefit album released in 2006, for WWF-Philippines, featuring artists that included Up Dharma Down, Radioactive Sago Project, Kala, Johnny Alegre Affinity, Cynthia Alexander, and Joey Ayala.
- In June 2012, WWF launched an online music download store with fairsharemusic from which 50% of the profit goes to the charity.
- In April 2015, Hailey Gardiner released her solo EP, titled The Woods. In honor of Earth Day, 15% of the proceeds made towards the purchase of the EP would be donated to the WWF.
Environmental education
From 1997 to 2007, the WWF's China office conducted its Environmental Educators' Initiative, which trained thousands of teachers, established environmental education training centers at teachers' universities, and influenced the drafting of the Ministry of Education's 2003 guidelines for public school environmental education.
Regional organisations
WWF-Australia
The Australian arm of WWF was established on 29 June 1978 in an old factory in Sydney, with three staff and a budget of around A$80,000 for the first year, consisting of a A$50,000 grant from the Commonwealth Government and a further A$20,500 in corporate donations. As of 2020[update], WWF-Australia is the country's biggest conservation organisation, which operates projects throughout Australia as well as the wider Oceania region. Between 2015 and 2019 WWF-Australia reported an average revenue of $28.74 million per year. In 2020, WWF-Australia reported a total revenue of over $80 million driven by the global & local response to the Australian bushfires.
In 1990, WWF-Australia established the national Threatened Species Network (TSN) with the federal government, which remained operational until 2009. In 1999 it participated in the creation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, at that time the most encompassing biodiversity conservation laws in the world. In 2003/4 the organisation played a part in getting the government to raise the level of protection for the Great Barrier Reef and the Ningaloo Reef, and since then has participated in or managed many conservation programs, such as the reintroduction of black-flanked rock-wallabies to Kalbarri National Park in Western Australia.
Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina
In Argentina, WWF is represented by Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, an independent organization which is also a part of the network.
See also
In Spanish: Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza para niños
- Centres of Plant Diversity
- Conservation movement
- Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund
- Environmental movement
- Eugene Green Energy Standard, founded by the WWF.
- Global 200, ecoregions identified by the WWF as priorities for conservation
- List of environmental organizations
- Natural environment
- Sustainability
- Sustainable development
- Traffic (conservation programme), a joint programme of WWF and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
- West Coast Environmental Law
- World Conservation Award, created in conjunction with the WWF
