Building a

sustainable
future
“WWF has a proud track record of delivering
conservation results in some of the world’s
most biologically rich areas, and on some of
the most pressing threats to that biodiversity.
To meet today’s environmental challenges, we
are redoubling our efforts and capitalizing on
the strengths of our global network to tackle
the critical issues facing our generation – the
loss of biodiversity, the impact of humanity’s
growing footprint on natural systems, and the
overwhelming threat of climate change.”
James P. Leape
Director General, WWF International

Introduction 01 Tackling drivers 10

Priorities for action 02 Large-scale, lasting
Saving nature 02 conservation 12
Living within our means 06 Ready for the future 13

Cover and inside cover credits ©

Martin HARVEY / WWF-Canon, Michel ROGGO / WWF-Canon, Cat HOLLOWAY / WWF-Canon, Elizabeth KEMF / WWF-Canon, Brent STIRTON / Getty Images / WWF-UK, Wim VAN PASSEL / WWF-Canon
 Introduction
© Edward PARKER / WWF-Canon

Our planet is at a critical point A bold and ambitious

The decisions, actions, and inactions of one species – ours –
conservation approach
over the next decade will determine the fate of all life on Earth.
Over the past half-century, WWF and many other groups have
Biodiversity and natural habitats are disappearing at an worked to conserve the world’s most exceptional ecosystems
alarming and unprecedented rate due to our overconsumption and endangered species, promote sustainable use of natural
of natural resources and activities that are changing the climate. resources, and reduce pollution and wasteful consumption –
This is degrading the ecosystems that supply all life with with impressive results.
freshwater, food, clean air, shelter, and more. As a result millions
of people around the world, in rich and poor countries alike, WWF has now embarked on a bold approach to further
face uncertainties over food security and water availability, and catalyze change on a large scale. With the twin goals of
increased vulnerability to natural disasters and diseases. conserving biodiversity and reducing humanity’s impact on
nature, our conservation framework1 strategically focuses on the
Things will get much worse if we continue along the same path. most critical places, species, and issues. It uniquely combines
traditional conservation with work to address the global
In order to survive and prosper for generations to come, dynamics driving today’s threats to our natural world. And it
we must urgently change our course towards a healthy draws on the combined strengths of our diverse partners to
planet where people and nature thrive together in a stable implement concrete conservation solutions at every level, from
environment. This means preserving biodiversity and lightening local to global.
humanity’s impact on natural habitats – starting now.
This brochure captures some of our recent successes and
shows how, in cooperation with our valued partners, we will
amplify these. The goals are as ambitious as the challenges
are great, but with your support we can do it. Together we will
forge innovative, lasting solutions that build a future where
Left: Polar bear, Norway
people live in harmony with nature – a Living Planet.
Above: Bird watchers,
Chihuahua Desert, Mexico 1
see WWF: A Roadmap for a Living Planet
02 / Priorities for action / Saving nature

Conserving biodiversity
The issue
Conserving endangered prevent disastrous loss of
species and critical habitats biodiversity. Human activities
has been at the heart of are expanding in some of the
WWF’s work from the very world’s most biodiverse areas,
beginning. We have achieved large gaps remain in the global
landmark successes for some protected area network, and
endangered species and many protected areas are
helped establish protected not well managed. Looming
area networks in forest, over this is climate change –
freshwater, and marine which both compounds and
ecosystems around the world. is compounded by ongoing
degradation and destruction of
But huge challenges lie ahead natural ecosystems, and which
in building the sustainable, threatens to drive catastrophic
well-managed landscapes levels of species extinction
that are necessary to across the planet. © Chris HAILS / WWF-Canon

Right: Bengal tiger cub,

Kanha National Park, India
Far right: Flooded forest
during rainy season,
Rio Negro, Brazil

Creating parks that perform Conserving rare species

To help park managers assess whether protected areas are With our partners, we have helped bring several species back
actually doing their conservation job, WWF has teamed up with from the brink of extinction through a mix of on-the-ground
various groups – including IUCN (the International Union for conservation and protection, engagement and empowerment of
Conservation of Nature), the World Commission on Protected local communities, and national and international policy work.
Areas (WCPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, US Department of Commerce, and the World restoring populations: In the Russian Far East, our partnership
Bank – to create management effectiveness tools. Ranging with the Russian government and local communities has seen
from long-term monitoring frameworks to simple scorecards, the Amur (or Siberian) tiger population bounce back from no
these tools have been adopted by all the major international more than 40 individuals in the 1940s to around 500 in 2007 –
environmental organizations and used to assess more than making this now the largest unfragmented tiger population in
1,000 terrestrial and marine protected areas to date – leading the world.
to real improvements in protection.
putting policy to work: On-the-ground anti-poaching efforts
involving local people: An assessment of Tanzania’s Mafia are a key part of the Amur tiger’s incredible recovery – but
Island Marine Park showed that many local communities did it is equally important to address the drivers of tiger part
not feel adequately involved in park management. So instead consumption, which in turn drives poaching. One victory
of creating expensive, centralized ranger units, the park towards halting the global trade in illegal tiger parts came
helped 11 villages to establish their own enforcement units, in 2007, when the parties to the Convention on International
with support from WWF and others. These local teams have Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
successfully reported a series of illegal incidents. opposed captive breeding of tigers for trade in their parts. In
doing so, they agreed with WWF and TRAFFIC (the joint WWF/
IUCN wildlife trade programme) and others that this would only
stimulate demand for wild tiger parts and so undermine the
efforts of the traditional medicine community to encourage the
use of alternatives. WWF and TRAFFIC offered technical support
and guidance to China for phasing out its ‘tiger farms’.
 03

Into the future

We can conserve most of life The work includes engaging
on Earth by conserving the with partners to:
most exceptional ecosystems
and habitats. At the same time, n build sustainable landscape
special conservation efforts mosaics that include
are needed for threatened networks of effectively
species whose survival is not managed protected areas,
guaranteed by saving their managed areas that are
habitat alone. not formally protected, and
corridors linking habitats
Building on our past successes together
and experience, WWF is
concentrating efforts on n restore populations of
35 global priority places and the most ecologically,
36 global priority species economically, and culturally
groups. Strategically focusing important species
© Michel ROGGO / WWF-Canon
our work in this way will
help safeguard the world’s n design conservation
most outstanding places and strategies that better deal
valuable species – as well as with, and help mitigate,
the many other species which climate change impacts
share these habitats and/or are
vulnerable to the same threats. n advocate for favourable
policies that support
biodiversity conservation.

Adapting to climate change

As well as fighting climate change, we also need to prepare for ensuring continued freshwater ecosystem services:
its impacts. WWF is carrying out vulnerability assessments and Climate change will affect water quantity, water quality, and
promoting mitigation strategies that help both communities water timing in freshwater ecosystems, adding new pressures
and species adapt to changing conditions. More and more we to already stressed and degraded river basins around the
are linking climate change to biodiversity and development world. WWF is helping water resource managers to identify
work, from the local level to the global. vulnerability to climate change impacts and develop strategies
to adapt to these, through: improved water management,
strengthening coastal defences: Projects in coastal areas of including for flood retention, water security, and pollution
several countries are looking at strengthening the resilience of reduction; strengthened societies, through enhanced
mangrove forests – important defence barriers against rising livelihoods and increased institutional capacities; and
seas and severe storms – through restoration and improved enhanced ecosystem resilience, through restoring freshwater
protection. And in Fiji, WWF is helping coastal villages protect ecosystems. WWF and partners are working to restore
themselves by planting trees and building dykes to stabilize floodplains in Europe’s Lower Danube Basin and China’s
beaches. Yangtze Basin, for example, to increase their capacity to store
flood water and so reduce damage from floods, the predicted
climate change impact for these regions.

We have achieved landmark successes for some endangered species and

helped establish protected area networks in forest, freshwater, and marine
ecosystems around the world.
04 / Priorities for action / Conserving biodiversity continued
© Martin HARVEY / WWF-Canon

Protecting ecosystems
Since the mid-1990s, WWF has helped establish over 150 watering the Congo Basin: Years of effort by WWF, the
million hectares of protected areas around the world. With our Ramsar Convention, and the Central African Regional Program
partners, we are at the forefront of all aspects of protected for the Environment (CARPE; a USAID initiative), led to the
area work – from campaigning, planning, establishing, and creation of the world’s largest freshwater protected area in
managing to securing sustainable financing, influencing policy, 2008: the 6.5 million hectare Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe wetland
and ensuring that such areas bring benefits to people. Our in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Containing the largest
focus is on landscape-level conservation, which incorporates freshwater body in Africa, the region is a biodiversity hotspot,
the presence and participation of communities, governments, plays a critical role in regulating flooding, is a major carbon
and industries to mitigate key threats and implement sink, and is a vital source of water for agriculture and millions
landscape management in a way that benefits both people of people.
and nature.
banking on a cleaner Yangtze: For the past few years,
safeguarding the Great Barrier Reef: A three-year campaign WWF has partnered with HSBC for better conservation of
by WWF and partners saw the area of Australia’s Great Barrier freshwater ecosystems globally, and along China’s Yangtze
Reef Marine Park under strict protection increase from 4.6 per River in particular. We have worked with local authorities and
cent to 33 per cent – creating the world’s largest network of communities in Hubei and Anhui Provinces to re-link 17 major
marine highly protected areas. WWF has also helped reduce floodplain lakes to the river to date – improving water supplies,
human impacts on the park: we helped draft a fisheries increasing wildlife and fisheries, and enhancing local peoples’
management plan for the reef’s second-largest fishery; secured livelihoods. Restoration of Hong Lake reduced pollution levels
the introduction of mandatory marine turtle excluder devices so much that in less than one year, the lake water became
on trawl vessels operating in the park; and successfully drinkable once more and the globally endangered oriental
campaigned for government efforts to reduce agricultural white stork returned for the first time in 12 years.
run-off into the park. In addition, with the Queensland Tourism
Industry Council, we highlighted the reef’s extreme vulnerability
Images from top left:
to climate change. Herd of African elephants, Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Juvenile shark in gillnet, Mafia Island, Tanzania
Mekong Delta, Vietnam
 05

© Elizabeth KEMF / WWF-Canon

© Jason RUBENS / WWF-Canon

keeping the Heart of Borneo beating: Since 2003 WWF has is working with local communities to limit such conflicts through
been working with other conservation groups towards a trans- strategies that include planting crops that elephants do not like
boundary protected area in the ‘Heart of Borneo’, one of the to eat, deterring elephants with chilli and tobacco-based barri-
world’s most important biological treasure troves. We worked ers, and using domestic elephants to chase wild elephants away
closely with the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia, and from village farmland. One project in Kenya has trained over
Brunei Darussalam to help them reach a common conservation 100 local Maasai in ‘conflict avoidance’ techniques, resulting in
vision for this unique, shared area. In 2007, the governments fewer deaths of both elephants and humans. Long-term solu-
signed a groundbreaking agreement supporting the creation of tions include working with governments on land-use planning
a network of protected areas and sustainable management of that ensures both humans and animals have the space they
the region. We are now working to ensure these commitments need, and that land uses likely to cause conflicts with wildlife are
are carried through. kept far from, or buffered from, wildlife habitats.

improving livelihoods: WWF has helped communities set

Conserving communities up and manage their own wildlife reserves – which allow local
and wildlife wildlife populations to thrive and bring much-needed benefits
to rural communities. One such programme in Namibia saw par-
A large part of our species conservation work involves ticipating communities earn nearly US$1.5m from their ‘conser-
working with, and helping to improve the livelihoods of, local vancies’ in 2001, in the form of wages, communal income, and
communities. profits on community-owned enterprises.

mitigating human-wildlife conflict: As human development combating poverty: In 2006, WWF joined forces with the Af-
encroaches ever further into elephant habitat in Africa and rican Union, the World Bank and the United Nations Food and
Asia, elephants are forced to turn to human crops for food Agriculture Organization to launch a new sustainable fishing
– with disastrous consequences. Conflicts with crop-raiding fund for Africa. The first of its kind, the fund is providing US$240
elephants cost hundreds of human lives and cause major million over ten years to help restore depleted fisheries in the
economic losses every year, and result in retaliatory killings of large marine ecosystems of Africa and reduce poverty among
elephants that threaten the survival of some populations. WWF coastal communities.
06 / Priorities for action / Living within our means

Living within our means

The issue
WWF has played a key role
over the last 25 years in
raising global awareness
of the need for sustainable
resource use and sustainable
livelihoods. The ecological
footprint indicator – which
was developed as a monitor
of human demand on
ecosystems – shows that
people are already using
nearly 30 per cent more
natural resources than the
Earth can replenish, and
predicts we will be using two
planets’ worth by 2050 … if
© Paul FORSTER / WWF-Canon

these resources have not run

out by then. Our emissions of
CO2 into the atmosphere also
threaten dangerous climate
change, which could undo
conservation wins.

Curbing CO2 emissions

WWF was one of the first conservation organizations to implementing solutions: WWF helped the Philippines
recognize the enormous dangers posed by climate change and government set up a wind power plant in 2005 that was a first
take up the challenge of finding long-lasting solutions to tackle for Southeast Asia, and has also joined with private sector
the problem. partners to develop additional wind farms in the country.

pushing for an international policy framework: We worked We have also been working with foresighted companies since
hard to see the Kyoto Protocol come into force, and are now 1998 to help them voluntarily reduce their greenhouse gas
keeping up the pressure on governments in current climate emissions and create products that consume less energy.
negotiations, demanding that the new international climate Sony, for example, has committed to increase energy efficiency
agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012 has firm in all its production facilities and to switch its fuel from oil
commitments for reducing CO2 emissions. to renewable energy and natural gas. To date, 18 major
companies have signed up to our Climate Savers programme: if
harnessing public pressure: In 2006 our online campaign they reach all their carbon-cutting targets, by 2010 they will have
tool, WWF Passport, resulted in 35,000 emails urging drastic reduced their CO2 pollution by over 14 million tonnes each year,
cuts to CO2 emissions being sent to politicians across Europe. equivalent to taking 2 million cars off the road. More importantly,
This huge public support was a strong contribution to the these companies are demonstrating that substantially reducing
political debate, and helped EU government officials fight emissions is compatible with growing company outputs and
heavy industry pressure for weak caps on emissions. Similarly profits. This adds an important voice of support to the ambitious
our 18-month international PowerSwitch! campaign saw targets we are seeking for the international climate agreement
activists taking more than 600,000 individual actions against that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.
coal power stations, the biggest climate polluters. The mix of
this public response and WWF lobbying put massive pressure
on governments to reduce CO2 emissions and support
renewable energy solutions. By the end of the campaign in
2006, political will for reducing CO2 and boosting renewable
energy was at an all-time high.
 07

Into the future

The urgent challenge The work includes engaging
is to find ways to allow with partners to:
development and maintain
a high standard of living n promote renewable energy
while using far fewer natural and energy efficiency
resources and drastically
reducing our CO2 emissions n promote sustainable
– reducing humanity’s fisheries, forestry,
ecological footprint down agriculture, and other
to ‘One Planet Living’ and industries
allowing space for wildlife
and wilderness. n promote sustainable water
use and reduce footprint
WWF is specifically focusing impacts to freshwater
on six footprint areas that ecosystems
we believe need addressing
© Martin HARVEY / WWF-Canon
most urgently: carbon, n demonstrate practical
cropland, grazing land, and economically feasible
fishing, forest, and water. ways that governments,
companies, communities,
and consumers can change
their consumption patterns,
Left: Toxic cloud hanging over
Mexico City, Mexico
improve livelihoods, and
Right: WWF staff monitor logging reduce their environmental
operations, Gabon, Central Africa impact.

Engaging businesses
Recognizing the need to make the global corporate economy furnishing global results: Since 2002, WWF has been
a real force for good for the environment, we have teamed up cooperating with home furnishing giant IKEA to jointly promote
with large multinationals, including Canon, Nokia, and The responsible forestry and, more recently, cotton and climate
Coca Cola Company to name a few, to help them improve their projects in many countries. The cooperation has led to millions
environmental performance and move towards sustainability. of hectares of forests in China, Russia, Romania, and Latvia
achieving Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certification and
cementing an honest partnership: In 2000, Lafarge, the hundreds of farmers in India and Pakistan receiving training in
world leader in construction materials, became the first sustainable cotton production.
industrial group to work with WWF as a Conservation Partner,
as a means to improve its environmental performance and
help raise awareness about conservation and sustainability.
Measurable achievements include a 14 per cent reduction in
the company’s global CO2 emissions and the development
of rehabilitation plans for 80 per cent of its quarries to help
ensure biodiversity restoration. However, WWF has not held
back from criticizing Lafarge when it has disagreed with some
of the company’s actions. For instance, WWF joined other
NGOs calling for Lafarge to drop plans for a huge quarry on
the Scottish island of Harris. In 2004, Lafarge finally decided
not to pursue these plans, and the company is continuing to
work with WWF on a broad range of environmental issues.

People are already using nearly 30 per cent more natural resources
than the Earth can replenish.
08 / Priorities for action / Living within our means continued

© Brent STIRTON / Getty Images /WWF-UK

© Cat HOLLOWAY / WWF-Canon

Showing the bottom line

As a science-based organization, we know the persuasive WWF has played a key role over
power of firm evidence. Two examples show that switching to
sustainable resource use makes good business sense.
the last 25 years in raising global
awareness of the need for sustainable
increasing profits: Wasteful water use in the production of
‘thirsty’ crops such as rice, sugarcane, and cotton is literally
resource use and sustainable
sucking major food-producing countries dry, including the US, livelihoods.
China, and India. WWF set up pilot projects to show that using
less water to grow these crops can lead to bigger profits. In
2006, a WWF cotton project in Pakistan demonstrated a 35 per
cent increase in the number of farmers making good profits,
alongside a reduction in their use of irrigation and chemicals.

demonstrating value: In 2004, WWF produced the first study

assessing the economic value of marine turtles on a global
scale. By comparing the revenue generated from killing turtles
or collecting their eggs with that generated from turtle-based
tourism, the research found that, on average, marine turtles are
worth nearly three times more to local communities alive than
dead. This study has helped WWF convince governments and
coastal communities of the real value of species conservation.
 09
© KLEIN & HUBERT / WWF

One planet living

Reducing the huge footprint of industrialized countries without Other developments are following suit all around the world.
sacrificing the comforts and advantages of a modern, mobile Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City will be the world’s first zero-carbon,
lifestyle is not a utopian dream – it’s already happening. zero-waste, car-free city powered entirely by alternative energy
sources. And two Chinese cities, Shanghai and Baoding,
Developed by WWF partner BioRegional, London’s BedZED are exploring urban low-carbon development with WWF and
development has halved the ecological footprint of an average other partners through the Low-Carbon City Initiative. In
Londoner without the people living there needing to change Baoding, home to 650,000 people, 150 new alternative energy
a thing. The homes were built with reclaimed steel and companies have emerged since 2002, making use of wind
timber from responsibly managed forests, with 52 per cent of and solar power, bio-diesel, and energy efficiencies. Over 30
materials sourced within a 56 km radius. The homes are also communities have installed hot-water solar-power systems,
energy efficient, needing only 10 per cent of the heating of and 30 more projects are adopting BIPV (Building Integrated
regular houses. Rainwater is harvested and sewage water is Photovoltaics). The city’s booming economy, which is partly
recycled. Hot water and electricity are provided by solar panels built on the sustainable energy sector, shows that development
and an onsite combined heat-and-power plant running on tree and sustainability can go hand in hand.
surgery waste.

Images from top left:

Hawksbill turtle, Fiji
Villager under waterfall, Sepik
River, Papua New Guinea
Solar power station, Australia
10 / Priorities for action / Tackling drivers

Tackling the drivers behind the threats

The issue
Plants, animals, and habitats
face a range of direct and
indirect threats, including
land clearing, wildlife trade,
pollution, and climate change.
Our conservation work directly
addresses these threats – but
this alone is not enough. We
also need to tackle the drivers
behind these threats: the
social, economic, and political
reasons why these threats
exist in the first place.
© martinbeaulieu.ca / WWF-Canon

Ending unsustainable subsidies Changing business practices

One major driver of overfishing – which, if not brought under The increasing globalization of business, industry, and
control, is predicted to cause the collapse of all species agriculture means that without environmentally appropriate
currently fished for food by 2050 – is government subsidies standards, these sectors are likely to increase biodiversity
that artificially maintain more fishing vessels than the oceans loss and humanity’s ecological footprint. We are therefore
can sustainably support. working with progressive industry and other leaders to change
the way that business is done.
In 2001, thanks in part to pressure from WWF, World Trade
Organization members committed to draft rules to phase creating market links: Illegal logging is a major threat to
out harmful fishing subsidies. Similarly, the EU committed to forests worldwide. To encourage and support companies,
end the use of public money to expand or maintain Europe’s communities, and NGOs committed to responsible forest
fishing fleet. We are now working to see these commitments management and trade, WWF set up the Global Forest
implemented. and Trade Network (GFTN) in 1991. Through this global
partnership, we help timber companies achieve credible
certification and find markets for their products, while
helping purchasing companies access timber that has been
responsibly grown and harvested. Interest in the network has
grown enormously: today there are over 300 participating
companies employing 2.7 million people worldwide and
representing 12 per cent of the global forest trade, by value.

Tackling threats to plants, animals, and habitats is not enough –

we also need to tackle the social, economic, and political reasons
why these threats exist in the first place.
 11

Into the future

WWF has identified five global The work includes:
drivers that are particularly
relevant to our twin goals of n understanding and engaging
conserving biodiversity and with the key actors –
reducing humanity’s ecological organizations, businesses,
footprint. These are: public communities, and individuals
sector finance, private sector – behind each driver
finance, business practices,
laws and regulations, and n anticipating future trends
consumer choices and and changes so we can be
attitudes. Addressing these proactive.
drivers will allow us to better
target our strategies, actions,
investments, and expertise.

© Edward PARKER / WWF-Canon

Left: Climate change

demonstration, Canada
Right: FSC symbol being spray-
painted onto stacks of processed
timber, Brazil

Aiding consumer choice

working for sustainable agriculture: Conversion of WWF helped create two highly successful certification
natural forests to plantations is another key threat to forests schemes – the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Marine
worldwide. WWF helped establish two industry-led roundtables Stewardship Council (MSC) – that enable consumers to choose
on palm oil and soy, two crops whose rapidly expanding from responsibly-sourced products. These independent,
cultivation has led to much forest clearing. These groups of not-for-profit organizations work with producers, processors,
committed companies and other stakeholders – who in the retailers, and other stakeholders to identify, certify, and
case of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil represent more promote environmentally responsible, socially beneficial,
than one-third of global palm oil production – have made real and economically viable practices around the world.
progress in setting standards for the sustainable production,
processing, and trade of these two commodities, including FSC: Since the FSC was established in 1994, WWF has
minimizing forest conversion and protecting high conservation supported the efforts of hundreds of forest owners, producers,
value forests. and traders worldwide to achieve FSC certification. The area
of FSC-certified forest has increased from 20 million ha to
making fishing gear more selective: Non-selective fishing 100 million ha over the last six years, and over 20,000 FSC
gear is a contributor to overfishing and also threatens a host products – from furniture to building materials to paper – are
of species that are accidentally caught as bycatch. Through now available from major retailers.
partnerships with governments, fisheries, and others, we
are helping Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries replace traditional MSC: Founded by WWF and Unilever in 1997, the MSC has
longline hooks with circle hooks that can dramatically reduce so far certified 28 fisheries around the world, including 40
marine turtle bycatch. Some 140,000 hooks have already been per cent of the world’s prime whitefish catch. Nearly 1,500
replaced and 300 longline boats have converted their fishing MSC-certified seafood products are available on supermarket
gear. Several Central American longliners associations have shelves around the world, including large chains in France,
now announced plans to form an independent organization to Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. In 2006 the world’s largest
reform their fisheries toward sustainability. retailer, Wal-Mart, announced that it will purchase all of its
wild-caught fish products for the North American market from
MSC-certified fisheries within five years, thus further increasing
global demand for responsibly-sourced seafood.
12

Large-scale, lasting conservation

We are aiming for large-scale To further harness this power
transformational changes that and drive change at a grand
lead to lasting conservation, scale, we have embarked on a
sustainable development, and number of long-term initiatives.
sustainable lifestyles – a Living These include conservation
© Michel ROGGO / WWF-Canon

Planet in which people live in of vast priority places like

harmony with nature. the Arctic, the Amazon, and
Borneo, and changing the
Our conservation framework minds and actions of key
provides the roadmap for stakeholders for critical issues
doing so. WWF’s tremendous such as climate change and
strengths are turning this overfishing.
ambition into concrete action.
For all our work, we are
Active in over 100 countries committed to finding science-
and with a proven track-record based, cost-effective solutions;
of successfully working with to seeking dialogue and
diverse partners at every forming partnerships; to
level – from on-the-ground involving local communities
conservation to national and and indigenous peoples;
international policy to private and to following the highest
sector engagement – we standards of excellence and
Above: Aerial view of flooded have the unique ability to accountability.
forest, Rio Negro, Brazil.
forge collaborative, creative
Bottom right: Young children
with small carp, Tonle Sap River, solutions that meet the needs
Cambodia of both people and nature.

An Amazon-sized initiative
The world’s largest expanse of tropical rainforest – home to at Building on this solid foundation, in 2007 we launched a ten-
least 10 per cent of the world’s known species and more than year initiative to vastly scale up our efforts. By forming powerful
30 million people – forms the focus of one of WWF’s ambitious partnerships with diverse partners – Amazonian governments,
new initiatives. aid agencies, local communities, local and multinational
businesses, other conservation organizations, and research
WWF has already played a unique role in conservation of institutions – we seek to conserve the entire Amazon Basin
the Amazon over the past 40 years, developing scientific through a combination of good governance, clear land tenure,
knowledge, experience, and key partnerships with local, sustainable commodity production, forest-friendly infrastructure
regional, and international players. We have invested more development, and biodiversity conservation.
than US$30 million in conservation in the region since 2001
and are working with the government of Brazil and other These efforts will ensure the survival of Amazon species and
partners on the Amazon Region Protected Areas Programme ecosystems, and hence continued provision of environmental
(ARPA), which has already helped create more than 20 goods and services that sustain people and economies locally,
million hectares of protected areas since 2002. We have also regionally, and in the wider world. Sufficient forest cover will also
helped with sustainable management of natural resources maintain regional rainfall and build resilience to climate change,
and improved conditions for the people who rely on them, ensuring a healthy Amazon that will continue to regulate climate
for example by developing FSC certified forestry and forest regionally and globally.
management, successfully lobbying for tighter international
trade regulations for big-leaf mahogany, and promoting
sustainable freshwater fisheries.
 Ready for the future / 13

Join us for a Living Planet

WWF’s innovative, ambitious indigeneous peoples,
approach is more vital now farmers, fishers, landowners,
than ever before. But we can consumers, activists, and
only achieve it with your help. donors.

Partnerships are a key part of Together we will develop and

our success – and absolutely implement lasting solutions for
essential for driving change conserving biodiversity and
at the scale needed. We reducing humanity’s ecological
work with, and seek support footprint. Together we will build
from, everyone, at every a future in which people live in
level – politicians, policy harmony with nature.
makers, business and industry
leaders, bankers, development Together we are working for
and conservation workers, a Living Planet.
local community members,

“We have only this generation to get sustainability and the

environment right. We all need to work together as never
before to get there.”
James P. Leape
Director General, WWF International
© Zeb HOGAN / WWF-Canon
WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the
planet’s natural environment and to build a future
in which humans live in harmony with nature, by:

n conserving the world’s biological diversity

n ensuring that the use of renewable natural
resources is sustainable
n promoting the reduction of pollution and
wasteful consumption.

© WWF International 2008

The geographical designations given here do not imply
the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part
of WWF concerning the legal status of any country,
territory, or area, or concerning the delimitation of its
frontiers or boundaries.

Back over credits ©

Zeb HOGAN / WWF-Canon, Roger LeGUEN / WWF-
Canon, Jurgen FREUND / WWF-Canon, Michel ROGGO
/ WWF-Canon, Martin HARVEY / WWF-Canon

Written by Jennifer Rietbergen

Edited by Emma Duncan
Designed by millerdesign.co.uk
Printed on FSC Revive 75 silk

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