World Wildlife Fund

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World Wildlife Fund

Photograph

By: Anonymous

Date: August 12, 2004

Source: Getty Images

About the Photographer: Based in Seattle, Washington, Getty Images contains an archive of over two million photographs available for publishers of electronic and print media around the world.

INTRODUCTION

Life on Earth is interdependent. This means that the survival of the human race depends on the natural environment, and the survival of nature depends on the way humans act. For many years now, people have interfered with the balance of nature. This has led to the extinction of a large number of species of the world's wildlife, and placed many on the endangered list.

Human activity impacts the environment in a number of ways. Agricultural needs lead to deforestation, soil degeneration, and accumulation of toxic chemicals. Industrial development since the nineteenth century has led to an increase in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. This resulted in an increase of global temperatures, as well as general chemical pollution of water, soil, and air. These changes, in turn, lead to alterations of climate on a local and global scale. Alterations include anomalies in weather patterns, severe droughts, abnormally high rainfalls, increased cyclone and storm activity, and recession of glaciers worldwide.

The changes occurring in the natural habitat of plants and animals threaten the wildlife. Disappearance of arctic glaciers threatens polar bears, and logging of the rainforests affects the great apes—orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees. In addition to the devastation of the habitat, there is also fragmentation of natural habitats due to either logging for commerce or agriculture. Such changes make it harder for the animals to migrate and reproduce. Moreover, the disappearance of one species can lead to a chain reaction where other species dependent on it may also disappear.

Another threat to wildlife is the introduction of non-native species. Foreign species may have no natural predators in a new area and can take over the habitat, pushing native species out. The best known example of this is the introduction of cane toads in Australia.

All these threats to wildlife led to the foundation of a number of various wildlife and conservation societies. These organizations mainly protected single species, such as turtles, tigers, elephants, pandas, and others. There was, however, the lack of a more global approach until the foundation of World Wildlife Fund in the mid-1900s. Since then, the organization has grown to a worldwide network of regional organizations in over one hundred countries.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was founded on September 11, 1961, by Julian Huxley, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Max Nicholson, Guy Mountford, and Sir Peter Scott. Its original logo, the black-and-white panda, was created by Peter Scott (1909–1989), an ornithologist, conservationist, and painter. Before co-founding the WWF, he founded the Severn Wildfowl Trust in 1948. In 1982, he founded the Wildscreen Festival, which every two years showcases films about the natural world. Peter Scott made numerous television appearances as an ornithologist, popularizing wildfowl. He was also a vice-president of the British Naturalist's Association and an award in his name was instituted after his death.

PRIMARY SOURCE

WORLD WILDLIFE FUND

See primary source image.

SIGNIFICANCE

The first WWF advertising campaign featuring a poster with a black-and-white panda appeared in 1961, and became the official poster of the newly founded organization. Hands surrounding the panda symbolized that human intervention is important in saving wildlife and that the future of wildlife is in our hands. This has extra significance as the human hand led to the destruction of many species and yet it is humans who must find the remedy. The logo of the organization remains a panda, and is fitting, as the panda is one of the most endangered species on the planet. In the years since the original poster, additional campaigns have featured plush animal manufacturers making animals with the WWF logo available for purchase in stores, with a percentage of the sales donated to the World Wildlife Fund. The goal of the WWF organization is to achieve harmony between people and nature. In order to achieve its goals, the WWF focuses on selected areas and works with local communities, governments, and businesses.

The initial focus of the WWF in the 1960s and 1970s was species conservation. It has launched programs like Project Tiger in India and Save the Rhino. The organization was funding conservation projects with small grants in the 1960s. The situation changed in 1970 after the establishment of A Nature Trust. This fund supports not only grants but also administration of the WWF.

During the 1980s, the WWF became involved with United Nations Environmental Program. This meant that the focus of the organization became wider than just wildlife protection. It now aimed at environmental protection and conservation of the natural environment in general as well. These new goals also led to a change in the name of the organization to World Wide Fund for Nature. The original name, however, was retained in North America.

Since 1990, it has become clear that effective wildlife protection is not just the protection of a single species but the protection of biodiversity. Therefore, considerable effort is now placed by WWF and other organizations on protecting entire biosystems such as oceans, rivers, and lakes, and to stop deforestation. Part of this action was the recognition of eco-regions. The Global 200 project identified 238 regions in the world consisting of all of the climatic regions. They include terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments. Each eco-region is unique, contains distinct species and environmental conditions, and has an important role in sustaining global biodiversity. In contrast to reserves and national parks, the boundaries of these regions are not fixed.

A unique challenge for conservationists is presented by illegal trade in wildlife. The collaboration between the WWF and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) resulted in the establishment of a new organization—Trade Records Analysis of Fauna and Flora in Commerce (TRAFFIC)—in 1976 to monitor trade in wildlife. TRAFFIC mainly monitors priority species that are hunted for commercial purposes, such as elephants, tigers, rhinos, and marine turtles.

The future of wildlife conservation is dependent on the ability to educate people about the necessity of protecting the environment in general, maintaining biodiversity, and protecting individual species. WWF education programs address these goals: some are aimed at children through the Eco-Schools Project, while others are specific projects aimed at business, industry, agriculture, and local governments. These activities come in the form of special educational courses for the purpose of recognizing and developing management strategies that will consider environmental impact as well as risks associated with industry.

Saving wildlife is a complex process, and human involvement is very important for the success of that process. There is a necessity for improved legislation worldwide to prevent the predicted disappearance of 20 percent of the world's species in the next thirty years. This can be assisted by the involvement of as many people as possible in local and global conservation projects.