World Wide Fund for Nature#Conservation Foundation
{{short description|International non-governmental environmental organization}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = World Wide Fund for Nature
| image = WWF logo.svg
| image_size = 125px
| alt = WWF logo
| caption = Logo used since 2000{{efn|The logo's panda symbol has been in use since 1986.}}
| abbreviation = WWF
| formation = {{start date and age|df=yes|1961|04|29}}
| founders = {{plainlist|
- Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld{{cref|b}}
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- Julian Huxley
- Max Nicholson
- Peter Scott
- Guy Mountfort
- Godfrey A. Rockefeller[http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2010/WWFPresitem15151.html In Memoriam: Godfrey A. Rockefeller] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514141843/http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2010/WWFPresitem15151.html |date=14 May 2012 }}, World Wildlife Fund, 29 January 2010.
}}
| type = International NGO
| tax_id =
| registration_id =
| status =
| purpose = {{plainlist|
}}
| headquarters = Rue Mauverney 28
Gland, Switzerland| region = Worldwide
| methods = {{hlist|Lobbying |Research |Consultancy}}
| leader_title = President
| leader_name = Adil Najam
| leader_title2 = Director General
| leader_name2 = Kirsten Schuijt
| revenue = {{increase}} {{US$|433 million|link=yes}} (2022){{cite web|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/about/financials|title=Financial Info |website=World Wildlife Fund|access-date=November 29, 2023}}
| revenue_year =
| website = {{url|https://wwf.panda.org/}}
{{url|https://worldwildlife.org/}} (US)| footnotes = {{cnote|b|Also WWF's first president.{{cite web |url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/History/item353.html |title=WWF – Who We Are – History |publisher=Worldwildlife.org |access-date=19 August 2012 |archive-date=6 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206092509/http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/History/item353.html |url-status=live }}}}
}}
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 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries and supporting around 3,000 conservation and environmental projects.{{cite web |url=http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/project/ |title=WWF conservation projects around the world |access-date=6 February 2009 |archive-date=12 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212212431/https://wwf.panda.org/404error/ |url-status=live }} It has invested over $1 billion in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives since 1995.{{cite web |title=WWF – Endangered Species Conservation |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org |website=World Wildlife Fund |access-date=18 April 2018 |archive-date=17 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417223651/https://www.worldwildlife.org/ |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web |url=https://wwf.panda.org/discover/about_wwf/how_were_run/finance/ |title=How is WWF run? |access-date=13 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613100459/https://wwf.panda.org/discover/about_wwf/how_were_run/finance/ |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-date=13 June 2022 }}{{cite book |title=WWFN-International Annual Review |year=2020 |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |url=https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwfintl_annualreview2020.pdf |access-date=13 June 2022 |page=60 |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010020615/https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwfintl_annualreview2020.pdf |url-status=live }}
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."{{cite web |url=https://wwf.panda.org/mission_principles_goals.cfm |title=WWF's Mission, Guiding Principles and Goals |author= |date= |website=WWF |access-date=13 January 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113210818/https://wwf.panda.org/mission_principles_goals.cfm| archive-date=13 January 2019}} 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 the debt-for-nature swap, and its current work is organized around these six areas: food, climate, freshwater, wildlife, forests, and oceans.
WWF has faced criticism for its corporate ties{{Cite news |last=Paddison |first=Laura |date=2013-10-15 |title=WWF's president on business partnerships and greenwashing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/wwf-president-business-partnerships-greenwashing |access-date=2024-03-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} and for support of conservation measures that have resulted in violent conflict with local people.{{cite web |title=Green Violence: 'Eco-Guards' Are Abusing Indigenous Groups in Africa |url=https://e360.yale.edu/features/green-violence-eco-guards-are-abusing-indigenous-groups-in-africa |access-date=7 July 2020 |website=Yale E360 |archive-date=19 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719233424/https://e360.yale.edu/features/green-violence-eco-guards-are-abusing-indigenous-groups-in-africa |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Beaumont |first=Peter |date=2020-11-25 |title=Report clears WWF of complicity in violent abuses by conservation rangers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/25/report-clears-wwf-of-complicity-in-violent-abuses-by-conservation-rangers |access-date=2024-03-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} WWF is part of the Steering Group of the Foundations Platform F20, an international network of foundations and philanthropic organizations.{{cite web |title=F20 – For a transformation that leaves no one behind – F20 – For a transformation that leaves no one behind |url=https://www.foundations-20.org/ |access-date=18 November 2020 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116175950/https://www.foundations-20.org/ |url-status=live }}
History
File:Prins Bernhard (l) bij de auto, Bestanddeelnr 924-6551.jpg with a WWF field vehicle, 1971]]
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 30 years of experience in linking progressive intellectuals with big business interests through the Political and Economic Planning think tank.{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/sixties/ |title=WWF in the 60s |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=19 August 2012 |archive-date=26 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126165134/http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/sixties/ |url-status=live }}Kate Kellaway (7 November 2010). [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/nov/07/wwf-world-wildlife-fund-huxley How the Observer brought WWF into being] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209040023/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/nov/07/wwf-world-wildlife-fund-huxley |date=9 December 2019 }} The Observer.Scott, P. (1965). The launching of a new ark: first report of the president and trustees of the World Wildlife Fund, an international foundation for saving the world's wildlife and wild places and countries; 1962–1965 (Collins). 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.
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.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/about/history |title=History – WWF |website=World Wildlife Fund |access-date=27 March 2015 |archive-date=13 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413065837/https://www.worldwildlife.org/about/history |url-status=live }} Its establishment was marked with the signing of the Morges Manifesto, the founding document that sets the fund's commitment to assisting worthy organizations struggling to save the world's wildlife:"[http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/ History: Fifty Years of Environmental Conservation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103053944/http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/ |date=3 January 2013 }}". With link to [http://assets.panda.org/downloads/morgesmanifesto.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315050757/http://assets.panda.org/downloads/morgesmanifesto.pdf |date=15 March 2012 }} of "Morges Manisto". World Wide Fund for Nature. wwf.panda.org. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
{{blockquote|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.|source=Morges Manifesto}}
File:Prinses Beatrix koopt zilveren aap tbv World Wild Life Fund Zeist, Bestanddeelnr 924-9397.jpg visiting the organization, 1971]]
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld helped to found 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.{{cite book |url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001495147 |title=Implications of Rising Carbon Dioxide Content of the Atmosphere: A statement of trends and implications of carbon dioxide research reviewed at a conference of scientists |last=Eichhorn |first=Noel |date=1963 |publisher=The Conservation Foundation |place=New York |access-date=27 March 2015 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906065159/http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001495147 |url-status=live }}
In 1970, along with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a few associates, Bernhard established 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.{{in lang|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20100715155311/http://www.wwf.fi/english/international/history WWF Finland – History of WWF International] Prince Bernhard resigned his post after being involved in the Lockheed bribery scandals.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1478171/HRH-Prince-Bernhard-of-the-Netherlands.html |title=Obituary: HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands |date=4 December 2004 |publisher=The Telegraph |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081108050115/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1478171/HRH-Prince-Bernhard-of-the-Netherlands.html |archive-date=8 November 2008 |access-date=30 November 2017}}
= List of presidents =
File:Adil Najam in 2010.JPG from Pakistan is WWF's current president since 2023.]]
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#b0c4de;"
! Country
|-
|1961–1976 ||Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
|{{flagu|Netherlands}}
|-
|1976–1981 ||John Hugo Loudon
|{{flagu|Netherlands}}
|-
|1981–1996 ||Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}
|-
|1996–1999 ||Syed Babar Ali
|{{flagu|Pakistan}}
|-
|2000 ||Ruud Lubbers
|{{flagu|Netherlands}}
|-
|2000–2001 ||{{interlanguage link|Sara Morrison|fr}}
|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}
|-
|2001–2010 ||Chief Emeka Anyaoku
|{{flagu|Nigeria}}
|-
|2010–2017 ||Yolanda Kakabadse
|{{flagu|Ecuador}}
|-
|2018–2022 || Pavan Sukhdev
|{{flagu|India}}
|-
|2023–present || Adil Najam{{cite web|url=https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/news/wwf-international-announces-wolfson-scholar-new-president|title=WWF International announces Wolfson Scholar as new President|date=17 April 2023|publisher=Wolfson College, University of Oxford|accessdate=6 July 2023}}
|{{flagu|Pakistan}}
|}
= Recent developments =
File:People's Climate March 2017 20170429 4331 (34351241115).jpg, 2017]]
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.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/history/eighties/ |title=WWF in the 80's |author= |date= |website=WWF |access-date=13 January 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113210304/https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/history/eighties/| archive-date=13 January 2019}}
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 these religions with conservation around the world.
In the 1990s, WWF revised its mission statement to:{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}
{{blockquote|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.{{cite web |url=http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/ |title=About global ecoregions |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=19 August 2012 |archive-date=22 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100422143720/http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/ |url-status=dead}} 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.
{{blockquote|We shan't save all we should like to, but we shall save a great deal more than if we had never tried.|Sir Peter Scott}}
Harvard University published a case study on WWF titled "Negotiating Toward the Paris Accords: WWF & the Role of Forests in the 2015 Climate Agreement":{{cite web |title=Negotiating Toward the Paris Accords: WWF & the Role of Forests in the 2015 Climate Agreement |url=https://case.hks.harvard.edu/negotiating-toward-the-paris-accords-wwf-the-role-of-forests-in-the-2015-climate-agreement/ |access-date=13 May 2021 |website=HKS Case Program |archive-date=29 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329181746/https://case.hks.harvard.edu/negotiating-toward-the-paris-accords-wwf-the-role-of-forests-in-the-2015-climate-agreement/ |url-status=live }} In 2023, 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.{{cite web |title=Dr Adil Najam appointed new President of WWF International|url=https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?8360941/Dr-Adil-Najam-named-as-new-President-of-WWF-Intern/ |date=3 April 2023|publisher=WWF site|access-date=21 January 2024 }}
Conservation Foundation
{{Further|Russell E. Train}}
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 WWF. In 1990, it completely merged into WWF.{{cite web|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/about/history|title=History {{!}} WWF|website=World Wildlife Fund|access-date=22 January 2019|archive-date=13 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413065837/https://www.worldwildlife.org/about/history|url-status=live}}
=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.{{cite web |url=http://theconservationfoundation.org/page.php?PageID=2 |title=The Conservation Foundation |website=theconservationfoundation.org |access-date=27 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402133429/http://theconservationfoundation.org/page.php?PageID=2 |url-status=dead}} In 1996, the organization obtained general consultative status from UNESCO. For the Illinois group see [https://theconservationfoundation.org/ About Us]
Panda symbol
WWF's giant panda logo originated from a panda named Chi Chi that had been transferred from the Beijing Zoo to the 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.{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/sixties/ |title=WWF – WWF in the 60's |publisher=WWF |access-date=10 August 2014 |archive-date=26 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126165134/http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/sixties/ |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/sixties/ |title=WWF in the 60's |access-date=7 November 2010 |archive-date=26 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126165134/http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/history/sixties/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/giantpanda/panda.html |title=WWF – Giant Panda – Overview |publisher=Worldwildlife.org |access-date=19 August 2012 |archive-date=9 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809023057/http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/giantpanda/panda.html |url-status=live }}
The logo, simplified and made geometric in 1978, then was stylized and made less detailed in 1986 at the time that the organization changed its name, with the revised version featuring solid black shapes for eyes."[http://www.logodesignlove.com/world-wildlife-fund World Wildlife Fund logo sketches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926095736/https://www.logodesignlove.com/world-wildlife-fund |date=26 September 2019 }}". Logo Design Love. 7 June 2011; updated by Jerry Kuyper, 9 June 2011. logodesignlove.com. Retrieved 21 June 2017. In 2000, a change was made to the font used for the initials WWF in the logo."[https://www.famouslogos.us/wwf-logo/ WWF Logo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014173541/https://www.famouslogos.us/wwf-logo/ |date=14 October 2019 }}". Famous Logos. famouslogos.us. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
Organization and operation
=Policy-making=
File:Oasi WWF Stagni Casale 15 agosto 2012 n11.jpg
Policies of 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.
WWF has been opposed to the extraction of oil from the Canadian tar sands and has campaigned on this matter. From 2008 to 2010, tWWF 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;{{cite web |url=http://www.co-operative.coop/upload/ToxicFuels/docs/WWF_CFS_Unconventionals_report.pdf |title=Unconventional Oil |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708080954/http://www.co-operative.coop/upload/ToxicFuels/docs/WWF_CFS_Unconventionals_report.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=5 June 2015}} (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;{{cite web |url=http://www.co-operative.coop/upload/ToxicFuels/docs/CCS-in-the-Alberta-oil-sands-a-dangerous-myth.pdf |title=Carbon capture and storage in the Alberta oil sands – a dangerous myth |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205501/http://www.co-operative.coop/upload/ToxicFuels/docs/CCS-in-the-Alberta-oil-sands-a-dangerous-myth.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=5 June 2015}} (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;{{cite web |url=https://www.co-operative.coop/upload/ToxicFuels/docs/opportunity-cost-report.pdf |title=Opportunity cost of tar sands development |work=co-operative.coop |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906001129/https://www.co-operative.coop/upload/ToxicFuels/docs/opportunity-cost-report.pdf |archive-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=25 September 2018}} and (4) the expansion of tar sands extraction poses a serious threat to the caribou in Alberta .{{cite web |url=http://www.co-operative.coop/upload/ToxicFuels/docs/caribou-report.pdf |title=Save the caribou - stop the tar sands |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304100633/http://www.co-operative.coop/upload/ToxicFuels/docs/caribou-report.pdf |url-status=dead}}
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 consent by governments and/or keeps their commitment to international instruments relating to the protection of biodiversity and natural resources.{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/tackling_the_causes/ |title=Tackling the Causes |access-date=13 December 2010 |archive-date=2 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102133022/http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/tackling_the_causes/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/policy/ |title=Advocacy & policy |access-date=13 December 2010 |archive-date=28 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228074857/http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/policy/ |url-status=live }}
In 2012, David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK, spoke out against the way shale gas is used in the UK, saying: "...{{nbsp}}the Government must reaffirm its commitment to tackling climate change and prioritise renewables and energy efficiency."{{cite web |url=http://www.securingthefuture.co.uk/energy/12572-take-foot-off-the-pedal-on-shale-gas-charities-warn-government |title='Take foot off the pedal on shale gas', charities warn Government |last=Buckler |first=Scott |website=www.securingthefuture.co.uk |access-date=10 September 2012 |archive-date=1 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101124059/http://www.securingthefuture.co.uk/energy/12572-take-foot-off-the-pedal-on-shale-gas-charities-warn-government |url-status=live }}
= Collaboration =
File:Oasi naturale wwf Le Cesine.jpg, a natural wetlands in Italy, managed by WWF since 1979]]
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/ |title=What does the World Wild Life Fund do? |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=19 August 2012 |archive-date=19 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419175316/http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/ |url-status=live }}
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.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}
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.{{cite web |last=Frangoul |first=Anmar |date=8 October 2020 |title=Prince William launches £50 million Earthshot Prize, with a nod to John F. Kennedy |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/08/prince-william-launches-50-million-earthshot-prize.html |access-date=14 October 2020 |website=CNBC |archive-date=14 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014182852/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/08/prince-william-launches-50-million-earthshot-prize.html |url-status=live }}
In March 2021, WWF announced an extension of its partnership with H&M to address sustainable supply chain practices.{{cite web |last=Glover |first=Simon |title=H&M extends partnership with WWF |url=https://www.ecotextile.com/2021032627584/fashion-retail-news/h-m-extends-partnership-with-wwf.html |access-date=26 March 2021 |website=Ecotextile News |date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330100034/https://www.ecotextile.com/2021032627584/fashion-retail-news/h-m-extends-partnership-with-wwf.html |url-status=live }}
Notable initiatives and programs
= Campaigns =
{{Multiple image
| align =
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| width = 220
| image1 = Ora della Terra Verona Piazza Bra Arena 2013 WWF Verona Paolo Villa 9886.JPG
| caption1 =
| image2 = Ora della Terra Verona Piazza Bra Arena 2013 WWF Verona Paolo Villa 9954.JPG
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| footer = Earth Hour 2013 at the Verona Arena amphitheatre, Piazza Bra, Verona, Italy, before (top) and while the street lighting was switched off
}}
= 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/ |title=Living Planet Report |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=19 August 2012 |archive-date=19 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419173713/http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/ |url-status=live }} In 2019, WWF and Knorr jointly published the Future 50 Foods report identifying "50 Foods for Healthier People and a Healthier Planet".{{cite web |url=https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-02/Knorr_Future_50_Report_FINAL_Online.pdf |title=Future 50 Foods: 50 foods for healthier people and a healthier planet |last=Drewnowski |first=Adam |date=February 2019 |website=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=4 April 2019 |archive-date=25 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325002921/https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-02/Knorr_Future_50_Report_FINAL_Online.pdf |url-status=live }} In 2018, WWF, TRAFFIC and IFAW launched the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online with 21 tech companies.{{Cite web |title=End Wildlife Trafficking Online |url=https://www.endwildlifetraffickingonline.org/2021-progress-update |access-date=30 December 2022 |archive-date=30 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230180625/https://www.endwildlifetraffickingonline.org/2021-progress-update |url-status=live }} In 2017, Instagram accounts, Sal Lavallo and Jessica Nabongo ate a trafficked, endangered pangolin at a hotel in Gabon.{{cite web |title=Instagram influencers eat pangolin in Gabon - call it 'armadillo' |url=https://africageographic.com/stories/video-instagram-influencer-eats-pangolin-gabon-calls-armadillo/ |website=africageographic.com |access-date=23 March 2023 |language=en |date=6 June 2019 |archive-date=13 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213095831/https://africageographic.com/stories/video-instagram-influencer-eats-pangolin-gabon-calls-armadillo/ |url-status=live }} There is often no penalty to social media accounts for cruelty to animals on social media platforms.{{cite web |last1=Shrivastava |first1=Rashi |author1-link=Forbes |title=Hundreds Of Social Media Videos With Billions Of Views Show Wild Animals Being Tortured, Report Finds |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2022/11/22/hundreds-of-social-media-videos-with-billions-of-views-show-wild-animals-being-tortured-report-finds/?sh=43079376fa5d |website=forbes.com |access-date=23 March 2023 |language=en |date=Nov 22, 2022 |archive-date=21 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521110846/https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2022/11/22/hundreds-of-social-media-videos-with-billions-of-views-show-wild-animals-being-tortured-report-finds/?sh=43079376fa5d |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Dalton |first1=Jane |title=Anger as Instagram refuses to remove 'vile' videos of animal cruelty |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/instagram-animal-cruelty-abuse-video-pet-dog-fight-tiger-alan-mcelligott-a9692446.html |website=independent.co.uk |publisher=The Independent |access-date=23 March 2023 |language=en |date=28 August 2020 |archive-date=13 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213094802/https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/instagram-animal-cruelty-abuse-video-pet-dog-fight-tiger-alan-mcelligott-a9692446.html |url-status=live }}
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/ |title=Publication & Resources |access-date=28 March 2010 |archive-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425162427/http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/ |url-status=dead}}
= Promotions =
File:The Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve WWF Central Asia 4.jpg
- No One's Gonna Change Our World was a charity album released in 1969 for the benefit of WWF.{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/story-of-the-song-across-the-universe-by-the-beatles-in-1968-and-beady-eye-in-2011-2265187.html |title=Story of the Song: Across the Universe by The Beatles in 1968 and |date=8 April 2011 |website=The Independent |access-date=6 March 2019 |archive-date=7 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307054127/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/story-of-the-song-across-the-universe-by-the-beatles-in-1968-and-beady-eye-in-2011-2265187.html |url-status=live }}
- 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.{{cite book |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/191183717 |title=Yanomamo : an ecological musical for soloists, chorus, narrator & stage band |last1=Rose |first1=Peter |last2=Conlon |first2=Anne |last3=Dept |first3=World Wide Fund for Nature UK Education |date=1993 |publisher=London : Josef Weinberger in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=6 March 2019 |archive-date=23 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323015836/https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/191183717 |url-status=live }} 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).{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GoaBAwAAQBAJ&q=S+Club+7+world+wide+fund&pg=PT35 |title=S Club 7 |last=Golden |first=Anna Louise |date=17 June 2014 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=9781466873940 |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=23 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323015834/https://books.google.com/books?id=GoaBAwAAQBAJ&q=S+Club+7+world+wide+fund&pg=PT35 |url-status=live }} 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 titled 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.wwf.org.ph/newsfacts.php?pg=det&id=25 |title=The Harmonics of being Environmentally Sound |date=18 August 2006 |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature – Philippines |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720233747/http://www.wwf.org.ph/newsfacts.php?pg=det&id=25 |archive-date=20 July 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=30 June 2010}}
- In June 2012, WWF launched an online music download store with fairsharemusic from which 50% of the profit goes to the charity.{{cite web|url=https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2010/06/22/nonprofit-newswire-british-website-connects-music-lovers-and-charities/|title=Nonprofit Newswire {{!}} British Website Connects Music Lovers and Charities|last=Trachtenberg|first=Bruce S.|date=22 June 2010|website=Non Profit News {{!}} Nonprofit Quarterly|access-date=6 March 2019|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111702/https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2010/06/22/nonprofit-newswire-british-website-connects-music-lovers-and-charities/|url-status=live}}
- In April 2015, Hailey Gardiner released her solo EP, titled The Woods. In honor of Earth Day, and 15% of the proceeds made toward the purchase of the EP were donated to WWF.{{cite web |url=http://www.gardinersisters.com/blog/rdinersisters.com/2015/04/the-woods.html |title=The Woods |website=Gardiner Sisters |access-date=6 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111650/http://www.gardinersisters.com/blog/rdinersisters.com/2015/04/the-woods.html |url-status=live }}
= Environmental education =
From 1997 to 2007, WWF's office in China 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.{{Cite book |last=Efird |first=Rob |title=Greening East Asia: The Rise of the Eco-Developmental State |date=2020 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-74791-0 |editor-last=Esarey |editor-first=Ashley |location=Seattle |chapter=Nature for Nurture in Urban Chinese Childrearing |jstor=j.ctv19rs1b2 |editor-last2=Haddad |editor-first2=Mary Alice |editor-last3=Lewis |editor-first3=Joanna I. |editor-last4=Harrell |editor-first4=Stevan}}{{Rp|page=145}}
Controversies and disputes
= ARD documentary and ''PandaLeaks'' book =
The German public television ARD aired a documentary on 22 June 2011 that claimed to show how WWF cooperates with corporations such as Monsanto, providing sustainability certification in exchange for donations{{nbsp}}– essentially greenwashing.{{cite web |url=http://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/servlet/content/3517136?documentId=7495082 |title=Der Pakt mit dem Panda: Was uns der WWF verschweigt (Pact with the Panda: What the WWF Conceals) |date=22 June 2011 |work=DasErste.de |publisher=tagesschau.de ARD |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728032810/http://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/servlet/content/3517136?documentId=7495082 |archive-date=28 July 2011 |access-date=25 July 2011 }} See also: [http://programm.ard.de/TV/Programm/Sender/?sendung=281117723794509 program overview for rebroadcast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402035644/http://programm.ard.de/TV/Programm/Sender/?sendung=281117723794509 |date=2 April 2018 }}, 2 April 2012, programm.ARD.de, noting the objections raised by WWF supporters after the initial broadcast, and retracting two claims made in the film; retrieved 16 July 2017. WWF has denied the allegations.{{cite web |url=http://www.wwf.de/themen/huismann-kritik-pakt-mit-dem-panda-faktencheck |title=WWF-Mitarbeiter treffen Chief Kasimirus Sangara |last=WWF |access-date=9 July 2011 |archive-date=9 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709171451/http://www.wwf.de/themen/huismann-kritik-pakt-mit-dem-panda-faktencheck |url-status=live }} By encouraging high-impact eco-tourism, the program alleges that WWF contributes to the destruction of habitat and species it claims to protect while also harming indigenous peoples.{{cite thesis |last=Harryman |first=Ian |date=Spring 2016 |title=Ecological Problem Solving: A Comparative Study of Primate Conservation |type=Undergraduate Honors |publisher=University of Colorado, Boulder |url=https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2266&context=honr_theses |access-date=15 July 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
The filmmaker and investigative journalist Wilfried Huismann was sued by WWF over his documentary and the book Schwarzbuch WWF published in 2012, which was based on the documentary. In an out of court settlement, he agreed to remove or revise certain claims. Speaking on behalf of WWF Germany, Marco Vollmar indicated "[Huismann] draws a distorted picture of false statements, defamations and exaggerations, but we will accept that as expressions of opinion." (Translated from the original German: "{{Lang|de|ein Zerrbild aus falschen Aussagen, Diffamierungen und Übertreibungen, aber das werden wir als Meinungsäußerungen hinnehmen.}}"){{cite web |url=https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/schwarzbuch-wwf-einigung-zwischen-wwf-und-huismann-steht-bevor-a-844243.html |title=environmental organization and critics before agreement |last=Seidler |first=Christoph |date=20 July 2012 |website=www.spiegel.de |publisher=Spiegel Online |access-date=15 July 2019 |archive-date=12 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312121837/http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/schwarzbuch-wwf-einigung-zwischen-wwf-und-huismann-steht-bevor-a-844243.html |url-status=live }}
In 2014, Huismann published a revised edition of his 2012 book, originally titled The Silence of the Pandas. The original edition had become a bestseller in Germany, but was banned from Britain until 2014 when it was released under the title of PandaLeaks – The Dark Side of the WWF after a series of injunctions and court orders.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/04/wwf-international-selling-its-soul-corporations |title=WWF International accused of 'selling its soul' to corporations |last=Vidal |first=John |date=4 October 2014 |work=The Guardian |access-date=13 December 2016 |archive-date=12 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012115015/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/04/wwf-international-selling-its-soul-corporations |url-status=live }} The book criticizes WWF for its involvement with corporations that are responsible for large-scale destruction of the environment, such as Coca-Cola, and gives details into the existence of the secret 1001 Club, whose members, Huismann claims, continue to have an unhealthy influence on WWF's policy making. WWF has denied the allegations made against it.{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/a_quick_guide_to_the_silence_of_the_pandas_documentary.cfm |title=A quick guide to the silence of the pandas documentary |publisher=WWF |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402101410/http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/a_quick_guide_to_the_silence_of_the_pandas_documentary.cfm |url-status=live }}
= Corporate partnerships =
WWF has been accused by the campaigner Corporate Watch of being too close to business to campaign objectively.{{cite web |url=http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=1873 |title=PANDA-ING TO THE SOYA BARONS? |date=30 September 2009 |publisher=Corporate Watch |access-date=9 December 2009 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725200841/http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=1873 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2009/apr/02/greenwash-ikea-diy-earth-hour |title=Ikea – you can't build a green reputation with a flatpack DIY manual |author=Fred Pearce |date=2 April 2009 |publisher=Guardian UK |access-date=9 December 2009 |location=London |archive-date=5 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105221419/http://www.theguardian.com/global/2009/apr/02/greenwash-ikea-diy-earth-hour |url-status=live }} WWF claims partnering with corporations such as Coca-Cola, Lafarge, Carlos Slim's, and IKEA will reduce their effects on the environment.{{cite web |url=http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/businesses/ |title=Changing the nature of business |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=19 August 2012 |archive-date=23 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423014312/http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/businesses/ |url-status=live }} WWF received €56 million (US$80 million) from corporations in 2010 (an 8% increase in support from corporations compared to 2009), accounting for 11% of total revenue for the year.
For its 2019 fiscal year, WWF reported 4% of its total operating revenue coming from corporations.{{cite web|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/about/financials|title=Funding and Financial Overview {{!}} WWF|website=World Wildlife Fund|access-date=19 February 2020|archive-date=28 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328020912/https://www.worldwildlife.org/about/financials|url-status=live}}
=Alleged human rights abuses by paramilitaries =
In 2017, a report by Survival International claimed that WWF-funded paramilitaries are committing abuses against the indigenous Baka and Bayaka in the Congo Basin, who "face harassment and beatings, torture and death" as well as corrupting and aiding in the destruction of conserved areas. The report accused WWF and its guards of partnering with several logging companies who carried out deforestation while the rangers ignored wildlife trafficking networks.{{cite web |url=https://assets.survivalinternational.org/documents/1683/how-will-we-survive.pdf |title=How will we survive? |year=2017 |website=Survival International |access-date=6 March 2019 |archive-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106101003/https://assets.survivalinternational.org/documents/1683/how-will-we-survive.pdf |url-status=live }}
In 2019, an investigation by BuzzFeed News alleged that paramilitary groups funded by the organisation are engaged in serious human rights abuses against villagers, and the organisation has covered up the incidents and acted to protect the perpetrators from law enforcement. These armed groups were claimed to torture, sexually assault, and execute villagers based on false accusations. In one instance found by BuzzFeed News investigators, an 11-year-old boy was allegedly tortured by WWF-funded rangers in front of his parents;{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomwarren/wwf-world-wide-fund-nature-parks-torture-death |title=WWF Funds Guards Who Have Tortured And Killed People |last1=Warren |first1=Tom |last2=Baker |first2=Katie J. M. |date=4 March 2019 |website=www.buzzfeednews.com |access-date=4 March 2019 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304183207/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomwarren/wwf-world-wide-fund-nature-parks-torture-death |url-status=live }} WWF ignored all complaints against the rangers. In another incident, a ranger attempted to rape a Tharu woman, and when she resisted, he attacked her with bamboo stick until she lost consciousness. While the ranger was arrested, the woman was pressured not to press charges, resulting in the ranger going free. In 2010, WWF-sponsored rangers reportedly killed a 12-year-old girl who was collecting tree bark in Bardiya National Park. Park and WWF officials allegedly obstructed investigations in these cases by "falsifying and destroying evidence, falsely claiming the victims were poachers, and pressuring the families of the victims to withdraw criminal complaints".{{cite web |url=http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/mar/04/wwf-accused-of-funding-guards-who-allegedly-tortured-killed-scores-of-people |title=WWF accused of funding guards who 'tortured and killed scores of people' |last=McVeigh |first=Karen |date=4 March 2019 |website=The Guardian |access-date=4 March 2019 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304182635/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/mar/04/wwf-accused-of-funding-guards-who-allegedly-tortured-killed-scores-of-people |url-status=live }}
In July 2019, Buzzfeed reported that a leaked report by WWF accused guards of beating and raping women, including pregnant women, while torturing men by tying their penises with fishing lines. The investigations were cut short after paramilitary groups threatened investigators with death. The investigators accused WWF of covering the crimes. Releasing an official statement, WWF claimed that the report was not made public to ensure the safety of the victims and that the guards were suspended and are awaiting prosecution. However, Buzzfeed accused tWWF of attempting to withhold the report to the U.S. congressional committee that was investigating the human rights violations by instead providing highly redacted versions.{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomwarren/leaked-report-wwf-backed-guards-raped-pregnant-women |title=Leaked Report: WWF-Backed Guards Raped Pregnant Women and Tortured Villagers at a Wildlife Park Funded by the US Government |website=BuzzFeed News |date=11 July 2019 |access-date=19 July 2019 |archive-date=19 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719193505/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomwarren/leaked-report-wwf-backed-guards-raped-pregnant-women |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/?349754 |title=Statement on safeguarding human rights in conservation, and addressing allegations of human rights abuse {{!}} WWF |website=wwf.panda.org |access-date=19 July 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806061217/http://wwf.panda.org/?349754 |url-status=live }}
In the Central African Republic, WWF officials were reportedly involved in an arms deal, where the organization paid for 15 Kalashnikov assault rifles and ammunition; but part of the money went unaccounted for and they were apparently defrauded by the CAR army representatives selling the weapons.
The Kathmandu Post, which cooperated with BuzzFeed News on the investigations in Nepal, claimed there was intense lobbying efforts and political pressure to release WWF-funded rangers arrested for murder. They interviewed activists who claimed they were promised donations for pressuring victims of abuse to drop charges against the rangers. When the local Tharu community protested, WWF officials carried out a counter-protest in favour of the accused and used park elephants to block Prithvi Highway.{{cite web |url=http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2019-03-03/nepals-park-officials-who-beat-and-tortured-a-man-were-rewarded-by-the-government-and-the-world-wide-fund-for-nature.html |title=Nepali park officials tortured a man to death. Then, the government and the World Wide Fund for Nature rewarded them. |date=3 March 2019 |website=Kathmandu Post |access-date=5 March 2019 |archive-date=5 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305060452/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2019-03-03/nepals-park-officials-who-beat-and-tortured-a-man-were-rewarded-by-the-government-and-the-world-wide-fund-for-nature.html |url-status=live }}
An investigation by Rainforest Foundation UK found evidence of widespread physical and sexual assault by "eco-guards" employed by the Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo funded by WWF. These include two cases of gang rape, two extrajudicial killings, and multiple accounts of torture and other forms of mistreatment committed by park guards.{{cite web |url=https://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/widespread-human-rights-abuses-in-africas-largest-forest-park |title=Widespread human rights abuses in Africa's largest forest park |date=4 March 2019 |website=Rainforest Foundation UK |access-date=7 March 2019 |archive-date=8 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308003035/https://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/widespread-human-rights-abuses-in-africas-largest-forest-park |url-status=live }}
In reply to the investigations, WWF stated that it takes any allegations seriously and would launch an independent review into the cases raised. The organisation stated it has stringent policies designed to ensure it and its partners are safeguarding the rights and well-being of indigenous peoples and local communities, and should the review uncover any breaches, it is committed to taking swift action.{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?343750/WWF-Response-to-BuzzFeed-allegations |title=WWF response to Buzzfeed reports |date=4 March 2019 |website=wwf.panda.org |access-date=6 March 2019 |archive-date=6 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006170744/https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?343750%2FWWF-Response-to-BuzzFeed-allegations |url-status=live }}
These accusations were central to a four-day, sit-in protest carried out by members of Extinction Rebellion's XR Youth Solidarity Network at WWF-UK's headquarters in September 2021.{{cite web |date=1 September 2021 |title=WWF office sit-in enters second day as XR keeps up London protests |url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/01/wwf-office-sit-in-enters-second-day-as-xr-keeps-up-london-protests |access-date=20 October 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021034735/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/01/wwf-office-sit-in-enters-second-day-as-xr-keeps-up-london-protests |url-status=live }}
= Initialism dispute =
{{see also|WWF vs. WWF}}
In 2000, the World Wide Fund for Nature sued the World Wrestling Federation (now named WWE) for unfair trade practices. Both parties had shared the initials WWF since 1979. The conservation organization claimed that the professional wrestling company had violated a 1994 agreement regarding international use of the WWF initials.[http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3_1038611 InternetNews Realtime IT News – Wildlife Fund Pins Wrestling Federation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114234625/http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3_1038611|date=14 November 2006}}[https://corporate.findlaw.com/contracts/operations/agreement-wwf-world-wide-fund-for-nature-and-titan-sports-inc.html Text of the 1994 legal agreement with the World Wrestling Federation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061013110155/http://contracts.corporate.findlaw.com/agreements/wwf/worldwildlife.1997.01.20.html|date=13 October 2006}}
On 10 August 2001, a UK court ruled in favour of the World Wide Fund for Nature. The World Wrestling Federation filed an appeal in October 2001, but later withdrew its appeal. On 5 May 2002, the World Wrestling Federation changed its Web address from WWF.com to WWE.com, and replaced every WWF reference on the existing site with WWE, officially announcing its name change to World Wrestling Entertainment a day later with a "Get the 'F' Out" marketing campaign. The company's stock ticker also switched from WWF to WWE shortly after.
The wrestling organization's abandonment of WWF did not end the two organizations' legal conflict. Later in 2002, the World Wide Fund for Nature petitioned the court for $360 million in damages, but was not successful. A subsequent request to overturn by the World Wide Fund for Nature was dismissed by the British Court of Appeal on 28 June 2007. In 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment won a limited decision which permitted it to continue marketing certain pre-existing products with the abandoned WWF logo. However, WWE was mandated to issue newly branded merchandise such as apparel, action figures, video games, and DVDs with the WWE initials. Additionally, the court order required the company to remove both auditory and visual references to WWF in its library of video footage outside the United Kingdom.
Starting with the 1,000th episode of Raw in July 2012, the WWF "scratch" logo is no longer censored in archival footage. In addition, the WWF initials are no longer censored when spoken or when written in plain text in archival footage. In exchange, WWE is no longer permitted to use WWF initials or logo in any new, original footage, packaging, or advertising, with any old-school logos for retro-themed programming now using a modification of the original WWF logo without the F.
= Mekong River dolphins report =
In June 2009, Touch Seang Tana, chairman of Cambodia's Commission for Conservation and Development of the Mekong River Dolphins Eco-tourism Zone, argued that WWF had misrepresented the danger of extinction of the Mekong dolphin to boost fundraising.{{cite web |url=http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/06/24/2001s496246.htm |title=Cambodia Rejects CNN, WWF Reports about Mekong Dolphin |publisher=CRIEnglish.com |date=24 June 2009 |access-date=2 March 2013 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020104928/http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/06/24/2001s496246.htm |url-status=dead }} The report stated that the deaths were caused by a bacterial disease that became fatal due to environmental contaminants suppressing the dolphins' immune systems.{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?167401/Mekong-dolphins-on-the-brink-of-extinction |title=Mekong dolphins on the brink of extinction |access-date=21 September 2016 |archive-date=16 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916220758/http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?167401%2FMekong-dolphins-on-the-brink-of-extinction |url-status=live }} He called the report unscientific and harmful to the Cambodian government and threatened WWF's Cambodian branch with suspension unless they met with him to discuss his claims.{{cite web |url=http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2009/06/cambodia-threatens-to-suspend-wwf-after.html |title=Cambodia threatens to suspend WWF after dolphin report |date=24 June 2009 |access-date=2 August 2017 |archive-date=3 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803054541/http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2009/06/cambodia-threatens-to-suspend-wwf-after.html |url-status=live }} Touch Seang Tana later said he would not press charges of supplying false information and would not make any attempt to prevent WWF from continuing its work in Cambodia, but advised WWF to adequately explain its findings and check with the commission before publishing another report. Criticism of the validity of reports critical of government action or inaction, where 'approval' has not been sought before publication, is common in Cambodia.{{cite web |url=https://www.voacambodia.com/a/cambodian-government-s-request-for-meetings-seen-as-intimidation/5086837.html |title=Cambodian Government's Request for 'Meetings' Seen as Intimidation |date=17 September 2019 |access-date=24 April 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225232817/https://www.voacambodia.com/a/cambodian-government-s-request-for-meetings-seen-as-intimidation/5086837.html |url-status=live }}
In January 2012, Touch Seang Tana signed the "Kratie Declaration on the Conservation of the Mekong River Irrawaddy Dolphin" along with WWF and the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, an agreement binding the parties to work together on a "roadmap" addressing dolphin conservation in the Mekong River.{{cite web |url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/authors-report-dolphins-will-not-face-charges-official-says |title=Authors of report on dolphins will not face charges official says |access-date=22 August 2009 |archive-date=25 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225143430/http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/authors-report-dolphins-will-not-face-charges-official-says |url-status=live }}
= Accountability =
The Charity Navigator gave WWF a 3-star overall rating, a 2-star financial rating, and a 4-star accountability and transparency rating for the 2018 fiscal year.[https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4770 World Wide Fund] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101133405/https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4770 |date=1 November 2020 }} – Charity Navigator
= Manipulation of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions data from nuclear energy =
In 2009, in a scorecard report that they authored on carbon emissions in G8 countries, WWF portrayed the greenhouse gas emissions of countries who use low-carbon nuclear power in their mix as a higher amount of emissions than realistically calculated. For example, for France, WWF displayed a false value of 362 gCO2eq/kWh which is over 400% larger than the actual emissions in France. WWF explained the manipulation as follows:{{cite web |date=2009 |title=G8 Climate Scorecards |url=https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/g8_scorecards_report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802110719/https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/g8_scorecards_report.pdf |archive-date=2 August 2021 |access-date=1 April 2021 |website=WWF}} [https://ipfs.io/ipfs/bafybeidizf6s4i4jnskffewdmbcuaorlmkumsggctrfwpdwicjiwgxm7uq Alt URL]{{cite web |title=The WWF cheats on the climate scorecards {{!}} Nuclear Power? Yes Please |url=http://nuclearpoweryesplease.org/blog/2009/07/11/the-wwf-cheats-on-the-climate-scorecards/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114121845/http://nuclearpoweryesplease.org/blog/2009/07/11/the-wwf-cheats-on-the-climate-scorecards/ |archive-date=14 January 2012 |access-date=1 April 2021}}
{{Blockquote|text=WWF does not consider nuclear power to be a viable policy option. The indicators "emissions per capita", "emissions per GdP" and "Co2 per kWh electricity" for all countries have therefore been adjusted as if the generation of electricity from nuclear power had produced 350 gCo2/kWh (emission factor for natural gas). Without the adjustment, the original indicators for France would have been much lower, e.g. 86 gCo2/kWh.}}
The scorecard for Sweden was also "adjusted" in similar way, where WWF replaced the actual emissions of 47 gCO2eq/kWh with 212 gCO2eq/kWh.
= Nord Stream involvement =
In 2011 Jochen Lamp, head of WWF Germany, was also head of Conservation Foundation German Baltic, sponsored by Nord Stream AG company building a controversial gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. While WWF headed by Lamp has been actively blocking the project using court cases, Nord Stream reached "an out-of-court agreement" with the Foundation, also headed by Lamp, involving transfer of 10 million EUR, after which WWF withdrew the case.{{cite web |last=KAMIŃSKI |first=Michał Tomasz |title=Parliamentary question {{!}} Funding of German ecologists by Nord Stream {{!}} E-004021/2011 {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-7-2011-004021_EN.html |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010020615/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-7-2011-004021_EN.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Parliamentary question {{!}} Answer to Question No E-004021/11 {{!}} E-004021/2011(ASW) {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-7-2011-004021-ASW_EN.html |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010020614/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-7-2011-004021-ASW_EN.html |url-status=live }}
=Controversy on investments in multiple fossil fuel developments=
Investigative journalism by NBC and later Naomi Klein, in 2008 and 2013 respectively, uncovered that WWF has invested and profits from multi-million dollar investment contracts it has put into oil, gas, coal, and tar sands developments and did not pull out of these, divesting, when confronted but indicated it would at the minimum wait until 2020 in some of its fossil fuel ventures, as early ending would have not been as profitable for them. WWF does not oppose fossil fuels but engages in what it internally terms as the "responsible development" of fossil fuels.{{cite web | url=https://redd-monitor.org/2018/06/07/wwf-scandal-part-9-wwf-invested-us2-million-in-an-oil-and-gas-fund/ | title=WWF scandal (Part 9): WWF invested US million in an oil and gas fund | REDD-Monitor | access-date=30 May 2022 | archive-date=30 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530172926/https://redd-monitor.org/2018/06/07/wwf-scandal-part-9-wwf-invested-us2-million-in-an-oil-and-gas-fund/ | url-status=live }}
=Proposal to sell non-fungible tokens=
In February 2022, WWF UK released plans to raise funds through selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens),{{cite web |title=Tokens for Nature |url=https://nft.wwf.org.uk/ |website=WWF |access-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202170021/https://nft.wwf.org.uk/ |archive-date=2 February 2022}} which are units of data stored on a blockchain. Critics point out transacting NFTs causes significant environmental impact.{{cite news |last1=Seabrook |first1=Victoria |title=WWF UK faces backlash over 'destructive' plans to sell 'eco-friendly' NFTs |url=https://news.sky.com/story/wwf-uk-faces-backlash-over-destructive-plans-to-sell-eco-friendly-nfts-12531042 |publisher=Sky News |date=2 February 2022 |access-date=2 February 2022 |archive-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202213856/https://news.sky.com/story/wwf-uk-faces-backlash-over-destructive-plans-to-sell-eco-friendly-nfts-12531042 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Josh |title=World Wildlife Foundation Launches NFT to Help Protect Endangered Species |url=https://nftmagazine.com/world-wildlife-foundation-launches-nft-to-help-protect-endangered-species/ |publisher=NFT Magazine |date=25 October 2021 |access-date=18 January 2022 |archive-date=1 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101213856/https://nftmagazine.com/world-wildlife-foundation-launches-nft-to-help-protect-endangered-species/ |url-status=dead }}
= Listing as a "foreign agent" and an "undesirable organisation" in Russia =
On 10 March 2023, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, WWF was listed as a so-called "foreign agent" in Russia for allegedly trying to influence the Russian authorities "under the guise of protecting nature and the environment".[https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-lists-world-wildlife-fund-foreign-agents-97779775 "Russia lists World Wildlife Fund, others as foreign agents"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311165407/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-lists-world-wildlife-fund-foreign-agents-97779775 |date=11 March 2023 }}, ABC News, 11 March 2023
About 20 weeks later, the Prosecutor-General of Russia designated it as a so-called "undesirable organisation" on similar grounds. This decision effectively bans the group from operating in the country.[https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-bans-wwf-citing-threats-fossil-fuel-campaigns-2023-06-21/ "Russia bans WWF, citing 'threats' from fossil fuel campaigns"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621161320/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-bans-wwf-citing-threats-fossil-fuel-campaigns-2023-06-21/ |date=21 June 2023 }}, Reuters, 21 June 2023
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 {{AUD|80,000}} for the first year, consisting of a {{AUD|50,000}} grant from the Commonwealth Government and an additional {{AUD|20,500}} in corporate donations. {{as of |2020}}, WWF-Australia is the country's biggest conservation organisation, which operates projects throughout Australia as well as the wider Oceania region.{{cite web |title=The Brief History Of WWF Australia |website=WWF-Australia |url=https://www.wwf.org.au/about-us/history/history |access-date=13 December 2020 |archive-date=23 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323015841/https://www.wwf.org.au/about-us/history |url-status=live }} Between 2019 and 2024 WWF-Australia reported an average revenue of $57 million per year. In 2024, WWF-Australia declared revenue of $52.2 million (AUD) and 138.9 full-time equivalent staff.{{Cite web |title=Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission |url=https://www.acnc.gov.au/}}
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
{{Portal|Environment|Ecology|Earth sciences}}
{{div col}}
- Centres of Plant Diversity
- Conservation movement
- Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund
- Environmental movement
- Eugene Green Energy Standard, founded by 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 WWF
{{div col end}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|World Wide Fund For Nature|
WWF
(World Wide Fund For Nature)}}
- {{official website|https://panda.org/|Panda.org}} (WWF International website)
- [http://www.worldwildlife.org World Wildlife Fund], WWF-US Website.
- {{YouTube|user=wwf|WWF}}.
- [http://www.wwf.org/ WWF's global network]
- {{hlist |[http://www.wwf.org.uk/ WWF-UK] }}
- [https://www.wwf.de/ WWF Germany]
- [https://www.wwf.org.my/ WWF-Malaysia]
- [https://www.wwf.am/ WWF Armenia]
- [https://www.wwfbhutan.org.bt/ WWF-Bhutan]
- [http://www.wwfpak.org/ WWF-Pakistan]
- [https://www.wwfindia.org/ WWF-India]
- [http://www.wwfguianas.org/ WWF Guianas]
- [https://wwf.ru/en/ WWF Russia]
- [https://www.wwf.es/ WWF Spain]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922203512/https://wwf.ru/en/ |date=22 September 2021 }}.
{{WWFN}}{{Conservation organisations}}{{Prince of Asturias Award for Concord}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Wide Fund For Nature}}
Category:International environmental organizations
Category:Nature conservation organisations based in Europe
Category:Ecology organizations
Category:Wildlife conservation organizations
Category:Environmental organizations established in 1961
Category:Organizations established in 1961
Category:Non-profit organisations based in Pakistan
Category:Non-profit organisations based in Switzerland
Category:Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom
Category:Non-profit organizations based in the United States
Category:1961 establishments in Switzerland