WWF’s Global Conservation Programmeassets.panda.org/downloads/WWF_GlobConsProg_2001-2002.pdf · ii WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2001/2002 introduction Julian Huxley, Max

WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2001/2002


Compiled, edited and designed by:Tim DavisDJEnvironmentalBerrynarborDevon EX34 9TBUK

Picture research: Tim Davis and the WWF-Canon Photolibrary

Printed by: Toptown Printers Ltd, Barnstaple, Devon, UK

Cover photos: Main photo: Wing feathers of a Cuban parrot, Los Indios Ecological Reserve, Cuba (WWF-Canon/Michel Roggo)Top: Atlantic rainforest in Itatiaia National Park,Brazil (WWF-Canon/Michel Gunther)Bottom: Coral reef(WWF/UNEP/TOPHAM/Ezequiel Bece)Back: A freshwater pool at the heart of theChihuahua Desert, Mexico (WWF-Canon/EdwardParker)Inset: Bayel tribes-people pole mokoros along thechannels in the Okavango Delta, Botswana(WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey)

Published in October 2001 by WWF–World WideFund For Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund),Gland, Switzerland. Any reproduction in full or inpart of this publication must mention the title andcredit the above-mentioned publisher as thecopyright holder.

No photographs from this publication may bereproduced on the World Wide Web without priorauthorization from WWF.

The material and the geographical designations inthis report do not imply the expression of anyopinion whatsoever on the part of WWFconcerning the legal status of any country,territory, or area, or concerning the delimitation ofits frontiers or boundaries.

© text 2001 WWF

i

contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

WWF’s Global Conservation Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Freshwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Oceans and Coasts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Species. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Climate Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Toxic Chemicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Financial overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

WWF around the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

The view from here —birdwatchers atop a dune in theChihuahua Desert, Mexico, aWWF Global 200 Ecoregion.

WWF-Canon/Edward Parker

ii WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2001/2002

introduction

Julian Huxley, Max Nicholson, Guy Mountfort andothers. No doubt WWF has not achieved all thesuccesses they may have hoped for, but byfollowing Peter Scott’s maxim for perseverance,the organization has nonetheless contributedsignificantly to some impressive achievementsover the years.

Huxley and his colleagues launched what theycalled ‘a New Ark’ based on four pillars:

n to preserve before it is too late as much aspossible of what survives of this naturalheritage

n to feed the hungry in spirit and theundernourished in mind and to hand down ournatural world intact

n to learn more about the environment, and

n to gauge and promote any potential economicgain from conservation.

These were indeed far-reaching ideals whichstill influence the organization today. Some of theearliest work focused on species conservation,using powerful icons such as African rhinos tomobilize public support to fight the environmentaldeclines that Huxley and his colleagues werewitnessing. WWF has not saved as many speciesas we would have wished, and the past 40 yearshas sadly seen many extinctions. However, thereare a few notable animals that now have a muchbrighter future as a result of WWF’s support andwork with partner organizations:

n African rhinos. There are now more rhinos inthe wild in Africa than at any time since theearly 1980s — just over 13,000 in 1999, upfrom 8,300 in 1992.

n Mountain gorillas. Despite war in Rwanda andthe pressures of shifting refugee populations,recent reports show numbers of mountaingorillas have increased by more than 10 per cent,growing from 320 to 355 individuals in the wild.

Shortly before publication of this report,WWF celebrated the 40th Anniversary ofits founding on 11 September 1961. Fourdecades on, WWF has become one of

most respected names in environmentalconservation, with an impressive record ofsuccess.

But what does ‘success’ really mean inconservation terms?

In September 2000, we produced the thirdLiving Planet Report, a review of the state of theworld and the human impact upon it. T h eadditional data and refined analysis presented inthe report confirms the fact that our planet has lostapproximately one-third of its natural wealth inthe last 30 years — during three-quarters ofW W F ’s life.

Conservation is a high-risk business. Not everybiome or habitat, or species of animal or plant wedeal with can be saved, and often the degree ofurgency has to be assessed to decide where toplace scarce resources and effort in the face ofsometimes insurmountable obstacles. And justwhen everything seems to be going in the rightdirection, events beyond one’s control cansuddenly change and put everything at risk again.

This sounds fairly disheartening, and sometimesit is. However, one of W W F ’s founders, the late SirPeter Scott once wrote: " We shan’t save all wewould like to, but we shall save a great deal morethan if we had never tried". This dogged spirit liveson within the 3,700 staff that WWF now employsaround the world — people who are used to a lifewhere two steps forward can often be followed byone or even two frustrating steps backwards.

I would like to think that the present-day WWFmatches the vision of those great names who,along with Peter Scott, laid our foundations — Sir

Introduction iii

n Siberian tigers. In the 1930s, Siberian tigerswere almost extinct; now there are just under500. Still an endangered species, the majorthreats to them are loss of habitat and poachingfor use in traditional Asian medicines.

n Iberian lynx. Now found only in fragmentedhabitat in Spain and Portugal, this is the world’smost endangered cat species. In 1995, WWF andpartner organizations in 17 European countrieslaunched a Large Carnivore Initiative to securethe survival of the brown bear, Eurasian andIberian lynx, wolf, and wolverine. T h ei n i t i a t i v e ’s action plans have been approved bythe Council of Europe and the Bern Convention.

n Golden lion tamarin. This is one of the best-known forest conservation efforts in Brazil. Astrikingly beautiful, squirrel-sized primate thatexists only in the lowland Atlantic forest of thestate of Rio de Janeiro, the tamarin hassignificantly increased in number since 1984due to protection, expansion of habitat, areintroduction programme, and the support oflandowners. Early 2001 marked the birth of the1,000th golden lion tamarin. However, thespecies remains one of the most endangeredanimals on earth.

In order to survive, however, species requiretheir habitats to remain intact. This is why WWF’sglobal conservation priorities focus attention on theplanet’s three most important biomes: forests,freshwater ecosystems, and oceans and coasts. It isin these areas that WWF has made significantcontributions over the years.

In 1975, WWF launched itsfirst Tropical RainforestCampaign which raised funds andhelped establish several dozennew national parks or reserves inAfrica, Asia, and South America.Since then WWF has helpedmany forest conservation areasaround the world, supportingtheir establishment, maintenanceand protection. Only 8 per cent ofthe world’s forests are currentlyunder protection and WWF’s goalis to reach 40 per cent by 2050.

But as long as the worldneeds wood, simple protection is

not enough. Over the past decade WWF hasestablished and now supports the work of theForest Stewardship Council (FSC) to oversee theindependent certification of wood and woodproducts that come from well-managed forests. Todate more than 200 forests covering at least 20million ha in 35 countries have beenindependently certified under the FSC schemeand more than 20,000 products worldwide carrythe FSC label. In addition, the Global Forest andTrade Network, coordinated by W W F, bringstogether some 700 companies, including B&Q,I K E A and Home Depot, committed to producingand purchasing forest products from well-managed forests and to supporting independentcertification. These members range from forestowners and timber processors to architects andhome improvement chain stores.

One of the earliest freshwater conservationinitiatives that WWF engaged in was a grant ofUS$574,000 to purchase 65km2 of land near theGuadalquivir River in Spain which later led, underthe guidance of another WWF founder and nowVice-President Emeritus, Dr Luc Hoffmann, to theestablishment of one of the world’s best knownwetland protected areas — Doñana.

As with forests, mobilizing the right level ofpolitical and public support for freshwaterconservation is also important. WWF was a majorsupporter of the Ramsar Convention — theConvention on Wetlands of International Importance— when it was created in 1971. Since then, W W Fhas been working closely with governments underthe framework of the convention to conservewetlands worldwide. To d a y, 127 nations areContracting Parties to the Convention, and more

than 1,000 wetlands totalling over81 million ha around the worldhave been designated for inclusionin the Ramsar List of Wetlands ofInternational Importance. In May1999, WWF started a special pushto protect at least 25 million hamore.

Undoubtedly one of thelongest running battles forconservation of the oceans andtheir resources has centred uponthe world’s great whales. WWF’svigorous lobbying culminated invirtually the whole SouthernOcean being declared a whale

Siberian tiger.WWF-Canon/Jean-Louis Klein

WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2001/2002iv

sanctuary in 1994. The sanctuary’s boundary abutsthe Indian Ocean Sanctuary’s southern extremity,together covering around 100 million squarekilometres and protecting about one-third of theworld’s oceans from whaling. Sperm whales andall Southern Hemisphere baleen whales, with theexception of the tropical Bryde’s whale, migrate tothe Southern Ocean around Antarctica in summerto feed. The declaration of the ocean as a whalesanctuary was crucial for allowing the recovery ofthese populations, originally the most abundant inthe world, after being decimated by whalers.

WWF is also looking (as the authors of the‘New Ark’ recommended) at the economic aspectsof marine conservation. In February 1996, WWFand Unilever formed a partnership to createeconomic incentives for sustainable fishing byestablishing the now independent MarineStewardship Council (MSC). Capitalizing on thevast surge of consumer concern about the state ofthe planet, the MSC developed the first-ever globalcertification standards and labelling scheme forsustainable seafood products. The MSC labelprovides real market incentive for well-managedfisheries all over the world, and at the same timegives consumers the chance to use their purchasingpower to favour a healthy, well-balanced marineenvironment. To date, four fisheries have earnedthe MSC label.

When WWF refined its global conservationpriorities to meet the challenges of the newmillennium, two of the most all-pervasive andinsidiously invisible threats to the future of theEarth were included: the spread of toxic chemicals,and the long-term impacts of climate change. Infact, WWF has been working on both issues for afew years, with some success.

In 1997, WWF acted as a key force in thecreation and subsequent improvement of the KyotoProtocol, an international agreement to reducegreenhouse gas emissions to curb global warming.Recently, WWF has worked hard to attempt toensure both the environmental integrity of theprotocol and its ratification. Despite the politicalthreats to the treaty presented by the withdrawal ofthe US government, it is now in place and readyfor final ratification by those governments whohave signed the accord.

Similarly, WWF has been involved, throughlobbying and consultation, in the completion of a

global treaty that calls for the elimination of eightsynthetic chemicals that are toxic to both wildlifeand humans. Severe restrictions on the productionand use, with the ultimate aim of elimination, of afurther four are also included in the treaty. TheStockholm Convention is now in the process ofratification.

Here then are a few successes to which WWFcan claim to have been a significant contributorduring its 40-year lifetime. They have all only beenmade possible through the cooperation andcollaboration with a wide range of partners.

Will they all hold for a further 40 years? Onething is sure, we cannot rest on our laurels. Evenwith many successes under our belt we must workhard to achieve our goals. Continued eff o r t ,working closely with partners, leveraging ouroutreach and influencing corporate giants will buildon past successes. We cannot afford to relax ourguard. We thought the Kyoto Protocol was safeuntil a change in US politics undermined it; wethought Donaña was secure until a mine reservoirspilled toxic waste there in 1998; the ongoing‘ s c i e n t i f i c ’ whaling by Japan in the Southern OceanWhale Sanctuary is a continuous threat; we thoughtthat Galapagos was protected until demand for sea-cucumbers in Asian food markets led to overfishingof its waters, while in January 2001 a tanker ranaground there spilling a large amount of diesel fuel.

It is for these reasons that we view ‘success’ w i t hcaution when assessing the impact of our work.

In this year’s report you will find otherexamples of recent achievements by WWF aroundthe world. None would have been possible withoutthe help and support of the many thousands ofdonors, supporters, collaborators, and partners whohave worked with us and helped us in a myriad ofdifferent ways. To each and every one of you,WWF is immensely grateful. With your help wewill persevere in our efforts to leave our chiuldrena Living Planet.

Chris HailsProgramme DirectorWWF International

WWF’s global conservation priorities

1WWF’s Global Conservation Priorities

conservation (ecoregions), where WWF will applyits effort and support.

Firstly, there is the conservation of the threebiomes of Forests, Freshwater Ecosystems, andOceans and Coasts. These contain the bulk of theworld's biodiversity and provide the environmentalgoods and services upon which all life ultimatelydepends.

Secondly, WWF has identified a small numberof flagship Species whose conservation is ofspecial concern and which act as powerful iconsfor the conservation of other species and habitats.

And thirdly, WWF has targeted two of the mostglobally pervasive and insidious of the threats tobiodiversity: the spread of Toxic Chemicals andthe phenomenon of Climate Change. Both ofthese have grave and often invisible impacts uponthe security of all life on Earth.

For each of the six global issues WWF hasestablished programmes with clear conservationtargets that identify those actions required forWWF to achieve its ambitious mission.

The Global 200 Ecoregions

Biodiversity is not spread evenly across the Earthbut follows complex patterns determined byclimate, geology and the evolutionary history ofthe planet. These patterns are called ‘ecoregions’.WWF has identified the most valuable andsometimes vulnerable ecoregions in the worldwhich best represent the breadth of biodiversityand ecological processes. The list of priority

WWF’s mission is to stop thedegradation of the planet’s naturalenvironment and to build a futurein which humans live in harmony

with nature, by:

n conserving the world’s biological diversityn ensuring that the use of renewable natural

resources is sustainable, andn promoting the reduction of pollution and

wasteful consumption.

WWF works to conserve nature and ecologicalprocesses through a combination of action on theground, national and international advocacy workto establish appropriate policies, and internationalcampaigns to highlight and demonstrate solutionsto crucial environmental problems, through linkingfield and policy work.

WWF is a network organization with almost 5million regular supporters, over 50 country orregional offices and 4 Associate Organizations. Bycareful application of its resources and expertise,and through strategic partnerships withgovernments, different sectors of business andindustry, civil society groups and indigenouspeoples across the world, WWF conducts thoseactivities which are necessary to fulfil itsaspirations and attain its mission.

Through conservation successes in a few well-chosen areas, and effective communication of theresults, WWF aims to create the momentumnecessary to challenge the root causes of thedegradation of our planet’s environment.

Global issues

To maximize its impact, WWF has chosen a set ofglobal priorities for its work. These priorities coversix globally important issues, and some of themost important places in the world for biodiversity

Black rhino. WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey


ecoregions identified by WWFscientists is known as ‘TheGlobal 200 Ecoregions’ (seemap opposite).

The Global 200 recognize thefact that, whilst tropical forestsand coral reefs harbour the mostbiodiversity and are thetraditional targets ofconservation organizations,unique manifestations of natureare found in temperate andboreal regions, in deserts andmountain chains, which occurnowhere else on Earth andwhich risk being lost for ever ifthey are not conserved.

WWF has selected a subsetof the Global 200 where it isbest placed to carry outconservation programmes at anecoregional scale. WWFencourages others to tackle thechallenges of conserving theremaining priority ecoregions.

Relationship between theglobal issues andecoregions

There is a clear synergy bothbetween and amongst these twosets of priorities. The six globalissues are a set of globallyimportant processes which areWWF’s priorities forconservation action; the Global200 identify those largelandscapes WWF has prioritizedfor broad-based conservationaction.

Work on the global issuesboth inside and outsideecoregions, for example in thearea of sustainable forestmanagement or improving theway in which fresh water is usedin agriculture, will support theconservation of ecoregions.Conservation of the Global 200will address the long-termsecurity of their biodiversity by

integrating the six issues withother conservation approaches,addressing the full range ofsocio-economic factors whichare the root cause of biodiversityloss, leading to concreteconservation solutions.

Global conservation targets

Forests

WWF’s vision for forests is forthe world to have moreextensive, more diverse andhigher quality forest landscapeswhich will meet human needsand aspirations fairly, whileconserving biological diversityand fulfilling the ecosystemfunctions necessary for all lifeon Earth.

To achieve this, WWF’sForests for Life Programmeaims to halt and reverse the lossand degradation of forests andall kinds of woodlandsworldwide. This will require theestablishment of forest protectedareas; sustainable managementof unprotected forests;restoration of degraded forests;minimizing forest loss due toclimate change and pollution;and responsible trade in forestproducts.

Three global targets havebeen set:

n By 2010, the establishmentand maintenance of viable,representative networks ofprotected areas in the world’sthreatened and mostbiologically significant forestregions

n By 2005, 100 million ha ofcertified forests, distributedin a balanced manner amongregions, forest types and landtenure regimes

n By 2005, at least 20 forestlandscape restorationinitiatives underway in theworld’s threatened,deforested or degraded forestregions to enhance ecologicalintegrity and human well-being.

Freshwater Ecosystems

All life on Earth is dependentupon water, yet as a resourcewater has been treated thus faras having unlimited supply.Many places, however, are nowwater stressed, where demandoutstrips annual supply. Healthyfreshwater wetlands the worldover will enhance the quality oflife, but this will only beachieved when nature isrecognized and valued as thesource of water.

The goal of WWF's LivingWaters Programme is toconserve and restore freshwaterecosystems and their processesfor the benefit of people andwildlife. To achieve thisrequires a holistic approach tofreshwater managementthrough integrating ecologicalconcerns with basic humanneeds and cultures; promotionof the conservation offreshwater ecosystems and theirprocesses by emphasizingmanagement of entire watercatchments; and maximizingbeneficial impacts andminimizing detrimental impactson freshwater resources ande c o s y s t e m s .


n By 2010, 250 million ha ofhigh-priority freshwaterecosystems worldwide areprotected and/or sustainablymanaged

3WWF’s Global Conservation Priorities


n By 2010, ecologicalprocesses are maintained orrestored in at least 50 largecatchment areas of highbiodiversity importance

n By 2010, private sectorpractices and relatedgovernment policiesconcerning key water-usingsectors are established and/orchanged in order to sustainthe integrity of the freshwaterecosystems on which theydepend and/or impact.

Oceans and Coasts

To keep and restore theenormous riches of the world’soceans, governments,communities, environmentalists,industries and other interestgroups around the world mustwork closely together. It isessential that we use our oceansand coasts wisely for the benefitof current and futuregenerations.

Through its Endangered SeasProgramme, WWF approachesthe conservation of oceans andcoasts by promoting globally theestablishment of a system ofmarine protected areas, and bythe introduction of measures toensure that fishing is carried outin a sustainable manner.

Two global targets have beenset:

n By 2020, the establishmentand implementation of anetwork of effectivelymanaged, ecologicallyrepresentative marineprotected areas covering atleast 10 per cent of theworld’s seas

n Maintain the status of all fishstocks that are currently

exploited sustainably and, by2020, halve the number offish stocks that areoverexploited or depleted, ascurrently categorized byFAO.

Species

WWF’s vision is a world inwhich the intrinsic, aesthetic,economic and ecological valuesof species are recognized andrespected worldwide and that, asa result, environmentaldegradation and unsustainableuse no longer threaten thesurvival of wild plants andanimals and their crucialhabitats.

WWF’s Species ConservationProgramme seeks to conserveviable populations of selectedspecies that are of particularconservation concern. Whilstimportant in their own right,species are also critical for themaintenance of fundamental

ecological processes, and asindicators of the health ofnatural places.

The species and speciesgroups which form the focus ofthis programme are: African andAsian elephants, African andAsian rhinoceroses, the giantpanda, great apes, great whales,marine turtles, and the tiger.


n By 2010, populations of keyspecies of global concern arestabilized or increased andtheir critical habitatssafeguarded

n By 2010, at least ten speciesof global concern are nolonger endangered byoverexploitation.

WWF articulates its speciesconservation work throughSpecies Action Plans andinfluencing the decisions madeby the Convention onInternational Trade inEndangered Species of WildFauna and Flora (CITES) andthe International WhalingCommission (IWC). At the heartof this work lies the concept ofspecies viability and thecorresponding need to conservewildlife in managed landscapeslarge enough and varied enoughto ensure their long-term well-being within contextsincreasingly dominated by socialand economic concerns.

An issue of wide concern inspecies conservation is theinternational commercial tradein endangered species. Jointlywith IUCN–The WorldConservation Union, WWF runsthe TRAFFIC (Trade RecordsAnalysis of Flora and Fauna inCommerce) programme whose

Mountain gorilla.WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

WWF’s Global Conservation Priorities 5

mission is to ensure that trade inwild plants and animals is not athreat to the conservation ofnature.

Toxic Chemicals

Within one generation, by 2020,WWF would like to see an endto threats to the Earth’sbiological diversity from toxicindustrial chemicals andpesticides, especially endocrinedisrupting, bioaccumulative, orpersistent chemicals.

In pursuit of this vision,WWF’s Toxic ChemicalsProgramme investigates toxicchemicals and their relationshipto biodiversity and humanhealth; works to phase out andban chemicals that threaten life;and seeks to identify andpromote safe, effective, andaffordable alternatives.


n By 2007, eliminate or reduceat least 30 of the mosthazardous industrialchemicals and pesticides,with special emphasis onpersistent organic pollutants(POPs) and endocrinedisrupting chemicals (EDCs)

n By 2007, scientific,educational and regulatoryinitiatives will be firmly inplace, enabling decision-makers (governments,industry, consumers) to makeinformed choices about toxicchemicals and theiralternatives.

These targets will beintegrated into WWF’s work onthe other global issues, as wellas the Global 200 Ecoregions. Inall cases the ‘precautionary

principle’will be used as thebasic approach.

Climate Change

W W F ’s hopes that, by 2030,the supply and use of energ yand raw materials will havebeen transformed, and thatpolicy-makers, the privates e c t o r, and investors — drivenby pressure from civil society— will have taken action toreduce carbon dioxideemissions and curb human-induced global warming. Onlyin this way can serious damageto the world’s most importantareas from climate change bea v o i d e d .

WWF’s Climate ChangeProgramme aims to ensure thatindustrialized nations achieve apermanent downward trend intheir domestic emissions ofcarbon dioxide as a first steptowards substantial reductions inemissions.


n By 2010, a 10 per cent

reduction below 1990emissions in industrializedcountry carbon dioxideemissions

n By 2010, initiatives should beunderway in thirty developingcountries to implementsolutions leading to asignificant reduction in carboni n t e n s i t y, in particular from thecombustion of fossil fuels

n By 2010, fifty countries areimplementing adaptationstrategies in keyecoregions/biomes andsectors of their economies onthe basis of national plans forthe reduction of vulnerabilityto climate change.

Ecoregion actionp r o g r a m m e s

In addition to the sixprogrammes outlined above,WWF has identified andchosen to work in a subset of77 individual or combinedecoregions. To guide this workWWF will follow the principlesestablished for ecoregionconservation (see box on page6). Our ultimate goal is toconserve the full array ofbiodiversity of each of thesespecial areas. Using currentinformation, and in conjunctionwith partners, each ecoregionalaction programme willestablish a vision for the long-term conservation of thee c o r e g i o n ’s biodiversity, and aset of targets which need to beachieved to reach that vision.These targets will address thefull range of socio-economicchange necessary within theecoregion and will alsocontribute to the achievementof the targets of the sixglobally important issues.


Delivering conservation— how WWF works

The principles which outlinethe rationale of ecoregionconservation will be theprinciples which guide anddirect W W F ’s ecoregionalaction plans. These plans willemploy the tried and testedmethods that WWF has usedover the years — e.g. protectedarea establishment,environmental education,capacity building, advocacy forpolicy change — but on ageographically larger scale andengaging a broader range ofissues and partners than everbefore. In addition, as weanalyse the pressures bearingupon ecoregions, certain‘ c o m m o n ’ problems wille m e rge, such as adverse traderules, perverse subsidies whichdrive agricultural expansion orresource depletion, and othersocio-economic issues. W W F,together with its conservationpartners, will address theseproblems on a global basis asthey occur.

In addition to the workundertaken in thesegeographically specificactivities, short-term campaignswill be carried out to help theprogramme focusing on theglobal issues to reach theirt a rgets. These campaigns willbe an integrated set ofinnovative and high-profileinternational activities carriedout to achieve a specificconservation target within adefined timeframe.

Principles of Ecoregion Conservation

1 . W W F ’s primary purpose is the conservation of biodiversity, whichis the foundation for a future where humans live in harmony withn a t u r e .

2 . Ecoregions are the appropriate geographical unit for settingconservation goals; they represent an ambitious and visionaryscale necessary for biodiversity conservation.

3 . Sharing ideas, promoting learning processes at different scales,and practising adaptive management are critical to rapid success.

4 . WWF must be flexible in its outlook and be willing to adapt itsown structures and operations to the needs of conservation in thee c o r e g i o n .

5 . Ecoregion conservation programmes should develop a vision foran ecoregion, which is bold, engaging and ambitious to setdirections and arouse support. This vision should contain aninspirational message to motivate and engage stakeholders andp a r t n e r s .

Principles related to implementation

6 . Ecoregion conservation plans must be flexible and allow forsound judgement when a change of course or tactic is necessary.

7 . O p e r a t i o n a l l y, implementation may take place at levels below theecoregional scale, or outside the ecoregion, depending on theissue under attention. Threats analysis is an essential filter forfiguring out the scale at which we should act.

8. Personal initiative and effective, empowered leadership are vital.Appropriate emphasis must be placed on training and capacityb u i l d i n g .

9 . Knowing who and when to engage in strategic partnershipsthroughout the entire ecoregion process is crucial to realize thevision. This may include partnerships with stakeholders whorepresent a critical constituency but who may not normally beseen as conservation allies.

1 0 . An inspiring vision must be combined with up-to-date reportingand transparency of goals, actions and achievements in order tobuild the commitment and ownership of partners to stay activelye n g a g e d .

11 . Clear objectives and precise conservation targets are needed toguide, focus and monitor progress.

1 2 . Long-term flexible financing must be focused at an ecoregionallevel (rather than site level) to give the programme a confidentstart and to maintain it. Novel and ambitious financialmechanisms that go beyond traditional WWF support must beactively pursued.

1 3 . All conservation activities must be conceived and implemented inrelation to the social and political realities in which they take place.

1 4 . Appropriate institutional development is necessary to strengthenadvocacy at several scales. This includes the harnessing of thefull power of the WWF Network and key partners to make themost of political and high publicity opportunities.

7Forests

forests

Global highlights

n Following Romania’s decision to movetowards certification of its forestlandscapes, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia,Hungary, Latvia, Russia and Slovakia arealso set to pursue FSC certification of theirmanaged forests.

n Turkey committed to increase its protectedareas network by 50 per cent, announcingthe Kure Mountains National Park and, by2005, protection for eight other priorityforest areas totalling 250,000 hectares.

n The government of Cameroon committedmore than US$10 million to an EmergencyAction Plan focusing on the control ofillegal exploitation of forest and wildliferesources, involvement of localcommunities in forest management, andcross-border initiatives.

n The government of Bhutan designated 12biological corridors, totalling 3,828km2,linking several of the country’s forestprotected areas.

n The government of Georgia pledged toprotect 15 per cent of its forests by 2010,representing a 50 per cent increase in thearea of forest currently protected.

n The area of FSC-certified forest in theBrazilian Amazon rose to 870,511hectares.

Despite the significant achieveme

made by WWF in forestconservation over the past 40years, the world’s forest

landscapes continue to deteriorate. More thanever we need to reach out to new and existingpartners to form a powerful, global alliance toreverse the trends that are bringing the world’sforests to the brink of ruin.

In addition to our current partners, suchas the World Bank, IUCN–The Wo r l dC o n s e rvation Union and the Fore s tS t e w a rdship Council (FSC), we need towork with other NGOs, labour unions, andconsumer groups if we are to succeed intackling the threats to forests posed byineffective or inadequate governmentpolicies and the disastrous practices ofsome irresponsible members of the timberi n d u s t ry.

WWF’s new targets for protecting,managing, certifying and restoring forests willhelp to bring together the people andresources needed for effective long-termaction.

In particular, our work on forest landscaperestoration brings the opportunity to workwith people and aid agencies in the fightagainst poverty.

Chris ElliottDirector, WWF Forests for Life Programme

Mixed boreal forest along the PechoraRiver, Komi State, Russia.

WWF-Canon/Hartmut Jungius

W W F ’s vision for forests

WWF’s vision for the world’s forests(developed jointly with IUCN–The WorldConservation Union) is for a world withmore extensive, more diverse and higherquality forest landscapes that will meethuman needs and aspirations fairly, whileconserving biological diversity and fulfillingthe ecosystem functions necessary for alllife on Earth.


Ta r g e t s

To achieve its vision for forests,WWF’s Forests for LifeProgramme has set three globaltargets:

n By 2010, the establishmentand maintenance of viable,representative networks ofprotected areas in the world’sthreatened and mostbiologically significant forestregions

n By 2005, 100 million ha ofcertified forests, distributedin a balanced manner amongregions, forest types and landtenure regimes

n By 2005, at least 20 forestlandscape restorationinitiatives underway in thew o r l d ’s threatened, deforestedor degraded forest regions toenhance ecological integrityand human well-being.

These targets are a challengeto the world. WWF cannotachieve them alone, but needs toinspire and mobilize multiplepartners, using a diversity oftools. While WWF’s aim willremain constant, the approachwill vary from region to regionto respond to local realities, witha particular effort to protect,manage and restore forests infocal Global 200 forestecoregions.

The targets can also beinterpreted in the context ofreducing the ecological footprintof developed countries on therest of the world. Certificationof tropical timber imports toimprove forest management(target 2) and a reduction ofconversion of forests toagricultural uses for export

markets (target 3) are examplesof this.

Particular attention will bepaid to issues which cut acrossthe targets, whether they arethreats (forest fires, illegallogging, climate change), policyissues (subsidies, trade barriers,investment flows) oropportunities (community forestmanagement).

Forest conservationh i g h l i g h t s

Overview

WWF has developed the mostwidely utilized managementassessment tool in the world.The ‘Rapid Assessment andPrioritization Methodology’ isbeing used in Russia to assessover 200 protected areas, whilein South Africa, the well-respected KwaZulu Natal NatureConservation Service is usingthe system to assess 110protected areas. Plans are welladvanced to assess the naturalreserve, regional and nationalparks in France and protectedareas in China.

An analysis by WWF offorest protection in Global 200ecoregions showed that themajority of these important areas— rich in habitats and rarespecies, and natural processesthat support life — remainvulnerable to deforestation anddegradation. The studyhighlighted the world’s ten mostvulnerable forest ecoregions as:Southern Pacific Islands(currently with only 0.2%protection); Naga-Manapuri-Chin Hills (0.8%); Solomons-Vanuatu-Bismarck moist forests(1%); Cameroon Highlands(1%); Gulf of Guinea mangroves(1.1%), Madagascar mangroves

(1.3%); Palawan moist forests(1.4%); Philippines moist forests(1.8%); Southern Mexican dryforests (2.1%); and East Africanmangroves (2.2%). The resultswere derived by calculating theproportion of the current area offorest protected within eachGlobal 200 ecoregion.

Gifts to the Earth, developedby WWF as a means of receivingand recognizing conservationcommitments by governments,business and industry,o rganizations or individuals,continues to prove an eff e c t i v emeans of achieving protection ofthe Earth’s forests. At a high-level event hosted by HRH T h eDuke of Edinburgh at St James’sPalace in London in April 2001,two significant new Gifts wereannounced. Mrs NinoChkhobadze, Minister ofEnvironment for Georg i a ,received a Gift to the Earthcertificate on behalf of PresidentEduard Shevernadze forcommitting his government toprotect 15 per cent of existingforest cover in Georgia by 2010.This will represent a 50 per centincrease in the area of forestcurrently protected in thec o u n t r y. At the same event, theTurkish government announcedthe declaration of the KureMountains as a National Parkand also made a commitment toprotect eight other priority forestareas (totalling 250,000ha) by2005. This Gift increased theprotected areas network inTurkey by 50 per cent.

WWF and the CertifiedForest Products Council (CFPC)gave enthusiastic backing to theXylem Rainforest Fund (XRF)after it stated its commitment toinvest in certified forestmanagement companiesrecognized by the Forest

Forests 9

Stewardship Council (FSC). TheXylem Rainforest Fund is a newinvestment vehicle targetingforest management companiesthroughout the tropics andsubtropics. To ensure that itsinvestments meet the highestinternational standards forresponsible business practice,XRF has committed to the strictenvironmental, social andeconomic criteria laid down bythe FSC. The target fund size isUS$500 million. With thiscommitment, XRF joins theGlobal Forest and TradeNetwork coordinated by WWF.The network now boasts morethan 700 member companies ororganizations worldwide. Thesegroups are dedicated tosourcing, producing andinvesting in independentlycertified products from well-managed forests.

If the ten global companiesthat dominate the timberindustry were to adopt FSCmanagement processes, thegrowing demand of the world’sconsumers for wood productscould continue to be met fromas little as 600 million ha offorest — an area about twice thesize of India, or one-fifth of theworld’s forests. This is theassessment of a WWF reportlaunched in March 2001 entitledThe Forest Industry in the 21stCentury. Such support for theFSC approach would providethe critical mass necessary tochange forestry practicesworldwide, and bring to a haltthe destruction of old-growthforests and the degradation offragile forest ecosystems.Among the ten companies listedby WWF are InternationalPaper, Georgia Pacific,Weyerhaeuser, Stora-Enso, andSmurfit Stone Container, which

Tropical forests in the Greater Annamites

The chain of mountains that extends along the border betweenLaos and Vietnam marks the eastern boundary of the finalstages of the Mekong River and characterizes the GreaterAnnamites ecoregion. The forests and rivers support a richdiversity of animals and plants, such as tiger, Asian elephant,gibbons, the highly endangered Javan rhinoceros, and severalspecies discovered only in recent years, like douc langur, one ofthe world’s most beautiful and endangered primates.

For people, the forests are an important natural resource for twocountries recovering from years of social turmoil and economiccollapse. Areas are converted for agriculture, forests are felledfor timber, and dams are constructed to provide energy. Suchactivities are putting increasing pressure on the region’s naturalwealth. However, the governments of both Laos and Vietnamare committed to sustainable development and are makingefforts to ensure economic growth does not take place at theexpense of the natural resource base.

Among the greatest threats to the richness of the GreaterAnnamites are the exceptionally high levels of hunting, wildlifetrade and plant collection. Traditional use of the forests for food,medicine and shelter have become increasinglycommercialized, with many plants and animals taken to supplylarge markets in China and elsewhere. Unless control measuresare taken, Asiatic black and sun bears, elephants, pangolins,tigers, turtles and other species risk becoming extinct in the wildin the Annamites within the current generation.

To address these threats, the two countries have establishedprotected areas throughout the Greater Annamites. Themanagement of these areas is now under extensive review toensure that they are providing effective shelter. To further haltthe loss of forests, the Vietnamese government has also placeda ban on the export of timber and launched an ambitiousprogramme to establish an additional five million ha of forestlandscapes. WWF is assisting with the development of aconservation programme for the entire ecoregion, in partnershipwith both governments and other stakeholders.

To date, major assessmentshave been made of thebiological importance of theecoregion and the socio-economic threats andopportunities for conservationsuccess. These planningexercises have been matchedby field projects aimed atimproving management ofnatural resources by localcommunities and promotingpractices that will not exhaustthe forest resource.

Conserving ecoregions

An old woman collectingfirewood in the CentralAnnamites. WWF/Tran Viet Duc


between them process around 20per cent of the world’s industrialwood. The five largest woodbuyers are Home Depot, Lowes,IKEA, Kimberly-Clark, andProctor & Gamble. HomeDepot, Lowes, and IKEAalready actively support FSCand Stora-Enso has FSCcertification for its forests inSweden. WWF is calling on theremaining processors and buyersto seek full FSC certificationand to take the lead in savingthe world’s forests. (A copy ofthe full report is available onwww.panda.org/forestandtrade)

In addition to its targets forforest p ro t e c t i o n a n dm a n a g e m e n t, WWF has adopteda third target that concentrateson the re s t o r a t i o n of lost ordegraded forests. Forestlandscape restoration brings anew approach to theconservation of the world’sforests: restoring forestfunctionality for the benefit of avast range of stakeholders,including future generations.Restoration is not only abouttree-planting but about restoringthe goods and services thatforests provide. It will includenatural regeneration, managingand enriching ‘non-productive’secondary forests, improving thequality of degraded forests, insome situations by encouragingthe use of beneficial agroforestrysystems, and planting trees whenappropriate. The new approachwill be particularly beneficial toW W F ’s conservation efforts ine c o r e g i o n s .

A network of forestlandscape practitioners across arange of partner organizationshas been set up. These includethe World Bank, which, in itsnew Forest Strategy, explicitlyrefers to the joint WWF/IUCN

project ‘Forests Reborn’:"Under its new strategy, theBank will support … and makesignificant contributions toforest landscape restoration.The Bank can take advantage ofthe vast experienceaccumulated... and furtherdevelop the concept through theemerging Forests Reborninitiative developed jointly withbilateral donors, WWF, IUCN,and other organizations". WWFis also seeking closecollaboration with institutionssuch as the Centre forInternational Forestry Research(CIFOR) and the UK’s OverseasDevelopment Institute (ODI).

Forest landscape restorationprojects are already underway intwo freshwater ecosystems: theKinabatangan Floodplain inSabah, Malaysia, and the LowerDanube Islands in Bulgaria. Inboth cases the entire watershedis the ‘landscape’ being used forplanning purposes. WWF istaking the landscape approach inits forest restoration work inChina, East Africa, and theMediterranean.

The first ever FSC-certified tree tobe felled in Austria, in FreibachForest, Corinthie, in October 2000.

WWF-Austria

Africa and Madagascar

Thirty-four percent of WWF’sconservation investment inAfrica is spent on forests,focusing on protected areamanagement, policy andadvocacy work, sustainableforest management, and localcommunity initiatives. The pastyear has been one ofconcentrated and sustainedconservation effort in forestwork, resulting in significantconservation achievements in allsub-regions.

Forest conservationactivities in Central A f r i c acontinued to be scaled upthrough implementation of theWestern Congo Basin MoistForest ecoregion actionprogramme, the most importantactivity for which was thedevelopment of a vision for thefuture. The vision covered theentire Congo basin forests,taking in not only the We s t e r nCongo Basin ecoregion, butalso three other ecoregions: theNE Congo Basin Moist Forests,Central Congo Basin MoistForests, and the CongolianCoastal Forest. The biologicalvision resulted from a scientificanalysis of patterns in plant andanimal life, ecologicalrequirements, and trends inbiodiversity loss in the CongoBasin carried out by biologists,conservation specialists,government representatives,local NGOs and otherstakeholders. It represents thefirst step towards thedevelopment of a conservationaction plan for the entirecomplex of ecoregions.

A significant achievementfollowing on from this was theadoption at an Experts’ Meetingin Cameroon of the principle of

Forests 11

ecoregion conservation and ofWWF’s biodiversity vision mapfor the Congo Basin. Thisdecision was taken to preparethe agenda for the firstMinisterial Meeting to evaluateprogress since the ‘YaoundéDeclaration’of March 1999.The concept of ecoregionconservation for the CongoBasin’s forests has thereforebecome not only WWF’sagenda, but also that of CentralAfrican governments.

The Permanent EvaluationCommittee, established by thegovernment of Cameroon toensure that conservationcommitments are followed upwithin the country, adopted anEmergency Action Plan toaddress issues in the forestryand wildlife sectors. A highlypositive initiative to which thegovernment has committed anestimated US$10.8 million, thePlan focuses on the control ofillegal exploitation of forest andwildlife resources, involvementof local communities in forestmanagement, and cross-borderinitiatives.

Cameroon has also gazettedtwo new National Parks —Campo-Maan (254,964ha) andMbam et Djerem (416,964ha)— bringing the total of forestprotected areas to 1,651,400ha(some 3.5% of the nationalterritory or 8.25% of the humidforest zone). The governmenthas also agreed to mergeBoumba Bek and Nki forests toprotect the corridor betweenthem, forming a single protectedarea of 750,000ha.

Arguably the most importantdevelopment in Cameroonresulting from the YaoundéDeclaration is the very positivereforms in the forest andwildlife sectors. Anti-poaching

Protecting larger landscapes in Gabon

By linking landscapes across national frontiers, protected areascan contribute to effective forest conservation at a much larger,ecoregional scale. The DGIS-WWF Tropical Forest Portfolio iscontributing to developing this approach in three countries:Gabon, Cameroon, and Congo.

The 30,000km2 Minkébé Forest in north-east Gabon is probablythe largest intact rainforest block left in the Western CongoBasin Moist Forests ecoregion in Central Africa. In 1997, theGabonese government made a Gift to the Earth by designating6,000km2 of this wilderness stronghold as a forest reserve,prohibiting logging. For the reserve to be seen to conservenatural processes in a global context, an ecoregional approachis being pursued that will link conservation efforts acrossnational borders. This requires coordinated efforts at national,landscape and site levels.

At the national level it will mean knowing that key policydecisions are made in the national and provincial capitals; theproject is actively engaging partners in these strategic places.At the landscape level, DGIS-WWF and its partners ECOFAC(‘Ecosystèmes Forestiers d'Afrique Centrale’ — a regionalprogramme of the European Union) and PRGIE (‘ProgrammeRégional de Gestion de l'Information Environnementale’ — aregional programme of the World Bank), in collaboration withthe various government agencies, are currently creating a trans-border complex of protected areas and management zones inthe Gabon-Congo-Cameroon border region, where Minkébé isone of the cornerstones. And at the site level, an effectivepatrolling service has been established in which teams led bywell-qualified people are able to discuss knowledgeably issueswith resource users and authorities, as well as collect biologicaland socio-economic information.

patrols and enforcement havebeen strengthened, and externalaudits of the logging sector haveled to fines and suspension forcompanies not conforming totheir licence requirements. Some20 new forest concessionsattributed in a clearer and moretransparent process give hopefor change from past practices inCameroon.

Significant progress wasalso made on the developmentof a tri-national park betweenLobeke in Cameroon,Nouabalé-Ndoki in theRepublic of Congo, andDzanga-Ndoki in the CentralAfrican Republic, with the

possibility of merging the threeprotected areas into a singleSangha National Park coveringsome 2 million ha.

The current focus of WWF’sforest work in West Africa is onadvocating for conservationaction in the Guinean MoistForest ecoregion in partnershipwith the region’s governmentsand other international NGOssuch as ConservationInternational, BirdLifeInternational, and Flora andFauna International (FFI).

In Madagascar, W W Fmaintained support for theg o v e r n m e n t ’s strategy tostrengthen the country’s


protected area network, backedby public environmentalawareness programmes. Duringthe past year, WWF supporteddevelopment of village forestmanagement plans involvinglocal communities. Six of thesehave since been approved bythe Madagascan ForestService, and project staff andthe villagers are currentlyworking on contracts totransfer management of villageforests to local people.Training in selective loggingwill be given, with the firstmonetary returns from the saleof selectively harvested woodexpected within a year. T h elegal transfer of managementresponsibility and theeconomic benefits derivedshould help to convince othervillages of the potentialbenefits of the forest, and leadto a decrease in forest clearing.

In East Africa, WWFcontinued to support ongoingprojects within the AlbertineRift Montane Forest ecoregion,while exploring opportunities toscale up and integrate individualprotection activities into a singleconservation plan for the wholeecoregion. In the coming year,activities will be scaled upwithin the Inhambane CoastalForests ecoregion, whichextends over the four countriesof Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania,and Mozambique.

Interventions by theInternational GorillaConservation Programme(IGCP) — a partnership betweenW W F, the African Wi l d l i f eFoundation and FFI — saved 5per cent of the ‘Parc desVo l c a n s ’ in Rwanda (the homeof the mountain gorilla) fromimminent conversion tofarmland for smallholders. IGCP

Temperate forests in the Caucasus

Located where the continents of Europe and Asia meet, theCaucasus ecoregion forms a strip of land between the Blackand Caspian Seas covering 440,000km2 and five countries:Armenia, Azerbaidzan, Georgia, Russia, and Turkey. Here, plantand animal species from Europe, Central Asia and the MiddleEast, and North Africa mingle with endemics found nowhereelse. Some 1,600 plant species are unique to this part of theworld. Among fauna are curiosities such as the long-clawedmole-vole and the rare Caucasian leopard. Widespreadthroughout the Caucasus a century ago, this big cat is now nearextinction.

From a biodiversity standpoint, forest landscapes are the mostimportant feature of the Caucasus, covering approximately 20per cent of the ecoregion. They range from broadleaf, darkconiferous, pine, and open woodlands, to floodplain forests.Formerly widespread in the lower mountain slopes andlowlands, they have receded as land has been cleared foragriculture and grazing.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union a decade ago, thepeople of the Caucasus have faced severe economic crises,resulting in an expansion of illegal logging and trade in timberand other resources, and a dependence by local communitieson firewood for fuel that is between 200 and 300 per centhigher than in the 1980s. Poaching has increased significantly,affecting animals such as leopard, brown bear, bison, red deer,and ibex.

WWF’s vision is to improve the protected areas network in theCaucasus ecoregion in order to conserve the remainingpopulations of plants and animals. New protected areas havebeen established and existing ones extended. The successfulestablishment of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park hasbeen the result of a long-term cooperation between Georgia’sDepartment of Protected Areas, the German aid agency

‘Kreditanstalt fuerWiederaufbau’ (KfW) andWWF’s Georgia Project Officein Tbilisi.

From its base in the Georgiancapital, WWF conducts itsecoregional operations.Activities include promotion ofFSC certification, theconservation of cultural andnatural heritage, promotingenvironmental awareness inschools and educationcentres, and trainingprogrammes for journalists,teachers and decision-makers.


Ibex. WWF-Canon/Helmut Diller

Forests 13

undertook sensitive lobbying atthe highest level in Rwanda,highlighting the ecological andeconomic importance of the parkat national and internationallevels. IGCP was also successfulin preventing the construction ofa road that would have bisectedthe park.

In Tanzania, WWF supportedthe development of managementplans for three forest reserves,including the newly gazettedZaraninge Local Authority ForestReserve — the biggest stretch ofcoastal forest in the country,covering 17,869ha. Three newsacred (k a y a) forests coveringabout 447ha were designated asNational Monuments in Kenyaduring the year. This brings thetotal number of protected k a y aforests to 43, covering a total areaof 3,000ha.

Despite the unsettledpolitical situation in Zimbabwe,2,500,000ha of wildlife areas inthe Campfire districts weremaintained, while 900,300ha ofZambezian woodlands andmiombo forest were establishedas new communalconservancies in the Capriviprovince of Namibia. T h i sbrings the total area ofconservancies in Namibia to2,253,700ha.

WWF’s work in southernAfrica also takes in the Fynbosecoregion (see page 42). Here,the major achievement in thepast year has been thecompletion of the Cape ActionPlan for the Environment(CAPE). The Plan is the resultof two years of analysis,consultation and planning,coordinated and managed onbehalf of the South Africangovernment by WWF-SouthAfrica and involving a widerange of stakeholders.

Quiver tree and wildflowers in theGeogab Nature Reserve, WesternCape, South Africa.

WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

Asia and the Pacific

Over the last 30 years, theAsia/Pacific region has lost 30per cent of its forest cover.Given this high rate of forestloss, it is perhaps appropriatethat WWF concentrates a higherpercentage of its Asia/Pacificresources on forest conservation(45%) than it does on the otherissues of global importance. Theforests of Indochina, Malaysia,Indonesia, and the South Pacificform the principal focus.

In Indochina, WWF hasheightened the awareness of andinterest for FSC standardsamong policy-makers, localauthorities and industry,contributing also to proposednational standards for forestry inVietnam. Several newenterprises are now interested inacquiring FSC certification.

WWF-Malaysia has beenvery active in its forestcertification efforts, striving topromote FSC in the country andharmonizing FSC standards withthe national certificationstandard (MC&I) for greatermarket acceptance, as well as

preparing assessment and chainof custody documents for fieldinspections.

Elsewhere, WWF-Japanhelped the 1,070ha HayamiForest, south-east of Osaka, tobecome the first Japanese forestto earn FSC certification. It alsoassisted with the training ofcertification assessors. WWF-New Zealand is currentlyworking on fundraising,standards development, andexpanding industry interest inthe FSC. In China, WWF co-hosted the first-everinternational certificationconference, while in Hong KongWWF has been working on themarket side of forestcertification, attempting tocreate a forest trade network.And in Vietnam, communityinvolvement in conservationwas stepped up through forestprojects focusing on enrichmentplanting, buffer zones, andresource mapping.

Within the Philippine MoistForests ecoregion, the DGIS-WWF Tropical Forest Portfolioproject on Sibuyan Island isfocusing its efforts oncommunity organizing to bringabout sustainable alternativelivelihoods for thousands ofdisgruntled islanders who havelost access to land due to thecreation of the Mt Guiting-Guiting Nature Park. Indigenouscommunities consisting of over400 families reside in and aroundMt Guiting-Guiting. Akey aspectto providing these communitieswith sustainable alternatives toillegal forest cutting and clearingis defining and delineating theirancestral domains and obtaininglegal rights over them. W W F, incollaboration with A n t h r o p o l o g yWatch, the Legal A s s i s t a n c eCentre for Indigenous Filipinos


and the Philippine A s s o c i a t i o nfor Intercultural Development,has assisted the S i b u y a nMangyan Ta g a b u k i d in theirapplication for a Certificate ofAncestral Domain Title and theformulation of their A n c e s t r a lDomain SustainableDevelopment and ProtectionPlan.

Local communities inMalaysia became involved inWWF work to developecotourism in the highlandforests of Ulu Padas. WWF-Indonesia meanwhile focusedefforts to improve people’slivelihoods and economicoutlook in several nationalparks, and in developing VillageConservation Agreements indozens of villages in Sumatraand Kalimantan. And in PapuaNew Guinea, WWF involvedcommunities in the developmentof a community-based forestryand conservation project.

Increasingly, WWF officesare playing a significant role inthe conservation decision-making of governments andmajor donors. The AsianDevelopment Bank, for instance,asked the WWF Indochina officeto take part in the ForestrySector Review in Cambodia. InMalaysia, WWF was appointedto the country’s National TimberCertification Council, assistedthe Economic Planning Unit indeveloping an integrated land-use plan in the Peninsular’sMain Range, and was invited bygovernment to help identifynational conservation prioritiesfor the next ten years. InIndonesia, WWF’s WallaceaProgramme was made a memberof the Provincial SteeringCommittee for integrated coastalmanagement in Bali.

In Nepal, the government

declared a 900 sq km extensionto the Royal Bardia NationalPark as a Gift to the Earth. Theextension will afford moreprotection to wildlife and betterwatershed management in thefragile Churia Hills. Also inBardia, which lies within theEastern Himalayas ecoregioncomplex, community-managedschemes at 12 sites helpedregenerate 568ha of naturalforests, while community usergroups protected 1,400ha of

forest in Dhorpatan HuntingReserve.

In Pakistan, the DGIS-WWFTropical Forest Portfolio hasbeen primarily focusing itse fforts on replanting mangrovesand bringing these forestedareas under sustainablecommunity management.H o w e v e r, it became apparent byanalysing the root causes ofbiodiversity loss in Pakistan’smangrove ecosystems that thegreatest impacts were from

Conserving and valuing places where nature,culture and people meet

One of the most recurrent preoccupations of conservationorganizations and protected area managers has for a long timebeen how to reconcile nature conservation with meeting theneeds of people living in or around protected areas, or in otherfragile, important ecosystems. As poverty strikes most of thepriority conservation areas within the Global 200 Ecoregions,this becomes even more pressing, because long-termconservation is not possible where people have no security ofmeeting day-to-day survival challenges.

Ecotourism has been promoted as a primary tool for addressingthe conservation-and-people interface at the community level inthose areas. For more than a decade, WWF has beenmonitoring ecotourism and nature-oriented tourismdevelopments, and has more than once drawn attention to thethreats and impacts they pose to nature when not properlyplanned and implemented. However, under certaincircumstances, tourism can be a positive tool for conservationand sustainable development.

Over the last few years, community-based ecotourism hasbecome an increasingly important facet of WWF’s projects theworld over, for example in the Arctic, southern Africa, Brazil,Central and Eastern Europe, and Malaysia. In all these places,WWF has become a visible player in the drive towardsecologically sustainable and socially beneficial ecotourism withlocal communities. Realizing the relevance of this issue for theconservation of forests, freshwater ecosystems, and marine andcoastal areas, as well as the growing relevance it has as acomponent of ecoregion conservation plans, WWF hasdeveloped a database on worldwide expertise on ecotourism,and a set of guidelines on community-based ecotourism. Inaddition, a series of tourism policy papers addresses suchfundamental subjects as climate change and tourism; tourismcertification; and trade, tourism and the environment. Trainingapproaches and other materials are also in the pipeline.

Forests 15

activities ‘upstream’ from wherethe project is working.Pollution, the diminishingsupply of freshwater due toagriculture, andoverexploitation of fish stockswere identified as theconstraining factors. Currently,e fforts to conserve themangrove forests ofBalochistan, and the livelihoodsthat depend on them, are beingnegatively impacted by thesefactors. WWF-Pakistan is nowworking with local and nationalgovernment authorities toaddress the issues of pollution,agricultural policy and illegalfishing while continuing with itswork at the community level,e ffectively linking its field-based programme with regionaland national policy initiatives.

The government of Bhutanannounced as a Gift to the Earththe designation of 12 biologicalcorridors, totalling 3,828km2,linking several of the country’sprotected areas.

A u s t r a l i a ’s Federal Ta x a t i o nLaw Amendment Act No. 8 wasenacted, providing substantiallygreater tax incentives for thedonation of land of conservationimportance to conservationo rganizations. A d d i t i o n a l l y, theNew South Wales governmentadopted a proposal for a statutoryconservation trust to dramaticallyaccelerate vegetationconservation on private land.W W F - A u s t r a l i a ’s proposal formulti-species recovery planningand integration of threatenedspecies recovery into regionaland national planning andimplementation processes wasadopted by the A u s t r a l i a ngovernment and incorporatedinto the new Recovery PlanningGuidelines.

Within W W F ’s A s i a / P a c i f i c

‘Forest Futures Programme’,launched in September 2000 topromote changes in policies andpractices for sensitivemanagement of timber- p r o d u c i n gwoodlands, campaigns will becarried out to promote FSCcertification and fight against

illegal logging. Also on theagenda is development of aForest Trade Network for theAsia/Pacific region. Regionale fforts will also focus ondecreasing A s i a ’s ‘footprint’—its impact on the Earth and itsnatural resources — particularlytimber consumption in China andJ a p a n .

Europe and the Middle East

WWF has been placing strongemphasis on certification withits ‘European CertificationInitiative’. Working inpartnership with other majorEuropean NGOs, WWF haspromoted the Forest StewardshipCouncil (FSC) as the onlyenvironmentally appropriate,socially beneficial, andeconomically viable forest

certification scheme currentlyavailable at a global scale.

Whilst other certificationschemes have been developed inEurope, especially the Pan-European Forest Certificationscheme (PEFC), they are mainlysupported by representative

organizations of Europeanprivate forest owners who fearthat stronger FSC guidelinescould interfere with theirmembers’ usual forestrypractices. Through in-depthanalyses and regional reviews,WWF has countered PEFCclaims of guaranteed good forestmanagement.

To encourage small forestowners to join the FSC, WWFhas developed a groupcertification kit designed to helpgroups of forest owners andmanagers with the applicationand control proceduresnecessary for attaining FSCcertification at low cost.

Over 15 million ha of forestsin 17 European countries arenow certified according to FSCstandards. Existing partnershipshave been strengthened — e.g.with AssiDomän, one of

The WWF wetlands centre at Sandspit, Sindh, Pakistan, helps to raiseawareness of the importance of mangrove forests.


Europe's leading forest productscompanies — and new onesstarted. More companies arejoining the Global Forest andTrade Network, including giantslike IKEA, B&Q in the UK,OBI in Germany, Decospan inBelgium, and Castorama inFrance. A poster campaignfeaturing James Bond actorPierce Brosnan promoting theFSC brand continues to appearwidely across Europe, while inthe UK BBC Wildlife now printsits magazine on FSC-certifiedpaper.

In April, Romania’s president,Ion Illiescu, announced at theSummit on Environment andSustainable Development in theDanube-Carpathian region thatRomania will soon initiate FSCcertification. A trial area of32,000ha is to be assessedaccording to FSC principles andcriteria for responsible forestry.R o m a n i a ’s woodlands cover 6.2million ha and include some ofE u r o p e ’s last remaining virg i nforests. By mid-2002, W W Festimates that up to 120,000ha ofR o m a n i a ’s forests could becertified.

Other countries in Centraland Eastern Europe, such asBulgaria, Croatia, Estonia,H u n g a r y, Latvia, Russia andSlovakia are also set to pursuethe first FSC certifications oftheir forests and forestproducts. The Latviangovernment, for example, hasalready announced itscommitment to FSC standardson public lands, representingtwo-thirds of all forested landin the country. WWF will alsotrack the implementation ofnational FSC standards inG e o rgia and Armenia, countrieswith valuable forests in theCaucasus ecoregion, and in the

Forests, grazing land and snow-covered peaks in the centralCaucasus, Georgia.

WWF-Canon/Hartmut Jungius

Danube/Carpathians ecoregionwhere at least five countrieshave indicated a desire to adoptFSC standards.

During 2001, WWFlaunched the ‘European ForestScorecards’ report, giving anassessment of how 19 Europeancountries treat their forests.Even though some countriesscored highly, and Switzerlanddid particularly well in its socialand cultural care of forests, theoverall impression was that eachcountry must improve itsstewardship of forests if they areto meet commitments made atthe Rio Earth Summit in 1992and the 1993 Helsinki Pan-European MinisterialConference on the Protection ofEurope’s Forests. Out of apossible maximum score of 100points on forest protection, eventhe highest-scoring country,Slovakia, scored only 66 points,the average being just 45. OnlyGreece, Latvia and Poland havemade clear commitments toretain and increase the area andquality of forest protected areasto a level needed to sustainviable populations of plant andanimal life.

WWF was successful inprotecting a few key forests inthe Mediterranean, where theoriginal forest cover has beenreduced to 16 per cent. Inaddition to the legal protectionof 35,000ha of virgin foresthabitats in Tu r k e y ’s Kuremountains, in Croatia jointe fforts by the CroatianMinistry of Environment, theNGO Green Action (Friends ofthe Earth-Croatia), the CroatianForest Research InstituteJastrebarsko, and W W Fresulted in an agreement toimprove the protection of theVelebit forests which hostsome of the few remnant old-growth forests in theMediterranean. Threats to theforests, which extend over200,000ha, come from waterpollution, forest fires, andtransboundary air pollution, aswell as excessive roadconstruction and tourism.

Other forest protected areaprojects in process include anexciting trans-boundary reserveplanned by the governments ofTurkey and Georgia. Set in aremote region which hassuffered conflict in pastcenturies, this bilateral initiativewill be a significant steptowards further protection of theGlobal 200 Caucasus ecoregion.In Hungary, WWF has set up aconservation research project forthe Euro-Siberian steppe oakwoods, which exemplify thenatural richness of the countrieslooking to accede to theEuropean Union.

To counter possible threatsfrom the increasing volume oftourists visiting forest reservesand protected areas in Europe,W W F ’s innovative PAN Parksscheme is working to reducethe impacts of tourism in

Forests 17

European protected areas. Apilot project carried out inBialowieza forest in easternPoland highlighted the touristicvalues of Europe’s larg e s tremaining lowland primaryforest, which also hostsE u r o p e ’s oldest and strongestpopulation of bison.

WWF will continue toinfluence decision-making inEuropean forest policy. WWFwants to see forest legislationimproved to guarantee moreenvironmentally friendly woodproduction, improved naturalquality of forests, increasedforest protection and reducedpollution.

Latin America and theCaribbean

Nearly one billion hectares ofnatural forest blanket thecontinents of the Latin Americaand Caribbean region. WWFcontinues to champion forestconservation projects from thedry forests of Mexico’sChihuahuan Desert to thetemperate rainforests ofsouthern Chile and Argentina.Despite these efforts,agricultural expansion, cattleraising, unsustainable timberexploitation, and harmfulconstruction projects continue tothreaten the biological andlandscape diversity of theregion’s forests.

In order to reduce thesethreats, WWF has collaboratedwith a large and diverse groupof partners, from the smallestcommunity organization to thelargest international aid anddevelopment agencies. In therealm of forests, thesecollaborations have focused onprotected areas, sustainableforest management through

The Valdivian forests

The Valdivian forests of southern Chile and Argentina are oneof the world’s five temperate rainforests and house some of themost rare and unique species of plants and animals on theSouth American continent. The long isolation of this region fromother tropical or temperate forests has led to the developmentof extraordinary levels of endemism, making the ecoregion averitable biogeographic island and one of the rarest forests onthe planet.

Unusual species derive in large part from those of the ancientsupercontinent, Gondwanaland. Chief among them is theremarkable alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), a tree thatfrequently reaches more than 100 metres in height andsurpasses 3,000 years in age. The stands of alerce, like theneighbouring stands of monkey puzzle and southern beech ofthe Valdivian ecoregion, shelter both the endangered pudu deerand the Andean deer.

An estimated 72,000km2 of Valdivian forest blanketed both slopesof the southern Andes at the time of the European arrival inSouth America. Conversion to exotic plantations and pasture,logging for firewood and woodchip, infrastructure projects,burning, and overgrazing have reduced this figure by 60 per cent.

WWF has helped reverse this trend of forest destruction anddegradation by tackling threats from local to national levels. Forexample, WWF has successfully promoted the sustainableharvest of the Chilean hazelnut by local women’s groups,e ffectively diminishing the pressure on less-renewable forestresources. At the same time, WWF and local NGOs andstakeholders have moved the Valdivian ecoregion to the top of thenational conservation agenda in Chile and Argentina. By helpingmould the Non-timber Forest Products Network, the Wo r k i n gGroup on Private Conservation, and the Coastal Coalition, WWFand its partners have successfully spearheaded a progressiveconservation programme that will ultimately conserve theremaining forests and improve the social and economic conditionsof the ecoregion’s local indigenous and m e s t i z o c o m m u n i t i e s .

Monkey puzzle trees in the Valdivian forest. WWF-Canon/Edward Parker



voluntary certification, andforest restoration.

WWF continues to be aleader in supporting anddeveloping protected areas in theregion, and has made significantstrides away from the traditionalmodel that perceives humanbeings as threats toconservation. In Colombia, forexample, WWF has beenessential in helping to further theconcept of private reserves andhas been instrumental insupporting the establishment ofseven new private reserves inthe Central Andes.

WWF-Brazil, supported byWWF-US, continues to movetoward the eventual approval ofthe Amazon Region ProtectedAreas Project (ARPA). ThisUS$270 million dollar project,financed in part through theGEF, will represent anachievement of globalimportance: the promulgation of28.5 million ha of new protectedareas and the improvedmanagement of 12.5 million haof existing parks and reserves.

Bolivia continues to lead theway in terms of forestcertification, with nearly onemillion ha of certified forestsrepresenting almost 35 per centof the regional total of 2.8million ha. WWF’s Boliviaoffice has provided projectcoordination for thestrengthening of communitycertification efforts in Bolivia,Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador,Guatemala, and Mexico.

The FSC certification of140,658ha of native forestlocated in the municipal districtof Paragominas, in the state ofPará, Brazil, has increased by 20per cent the certified forest areain the Brazilian Amazon. Thecontribution, by forest ownersCikel Brasil Verde SA, bringsthe total in Brazil as a whole to870,511ha. Some 50 timber-providing tree species aremanaged in Cikel’s new certifiedforest and the company plans tohave the rest of its forests(another 65,753ha) certified by2003. The company annuallyproduces 120,000 cubic metres

of sawn wood, plywood andother products.

WWF’s Central Americanoffice continues to pioneer theimprovement of communitycertification with the indigenousand mestizo communities ofnorthern Guatemala andsouthern Mexico.

Forest restoration, the newestof WWF’s three targets, hassignificant potential in the LatinAmerica and Caribbean region,especially in the Valdivianforests of Chile and Argentina,the Interior Atlantic Forests ofBrazil, Argentina, and Paraguay,and the many degradedlandscapes throughout theCentral American Isthmus. Farmore than simply tree planting,forest landscape restoration aimsto regain complete ecologicalintegrity and enhance humanwell-being by improvingrepresentation of forest speciesand communities, increasingforest resilience to climatechange, and connecting foresthabitats outside protected areas.

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

Africa Asia Europe LatinAmerica

NorthAmerica

ConservationPolicy

Campaigns

12,805

9,566

14,216

12,453

1,135

6,293

2,578

W W F ’s Global Conservation Programme —Expenditure on Forest Conservation FY 2 0 0 1

CHF,000

19Freshwater

freshwater

Global highlights

n Launched in May 1999, WWF’s LivingWaters Campaign exceeded its globaltarget to protect 25 million hectares offreshwater wetlands over three years oneyear ahead of schedule.

n Niger became the first of the four LakeChad basin countries in Africa to designateits part of Africa’s fourth largest lake as aRamsar site.

n In the Mediterranean, WWF workedclosely with the MedWet Initiative tosecure the designation, on WorldWetlands Day, 2 February, of ten wetlandscovering nearly 2 million ha.

n WWF contributed to the WorldCommission on Dams’ new guidelines toimprove the technical, social andenvironmental performance of dams.

n The Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland,shared by Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, wasdeclared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve inBrazil in November 2000, with the Bolivianpart (3 million hectares) designated awetland of international importance underthe Ramsar Convention in September2 0 0 1 .

n WWF’s report on bottled water sparked anew debate on all continents on theimplications of the bottled water market fortap water supplies and the environment.

Conserving the world’s freshwater

environment and its wildlife is oneof society's most challenging tasks.And yet, despite the growing

awareness of the value of wetlands and freshwater to our very survival, we continue todestroy, pollute, and degrade this fragile andprecious resource at a frightening rate.

Faced with declining water availabilityand quality, many governments andindustries have re s o rted to engineeringsolutions, such as the construction of larg edams for water storage and canals forc a rrying water to areas suffering short a g e sor drought. WWF's challenge is to convincethe world’s leaders to work with naturerather than against it.

WWF’s priorities will be the protection andsound management of wetlands, changing thelaws, policies, and practices associated withdams, dikes, and rivers, and influencing theway in which water is used by industry andagriculture as well as in people’s daily lives.

Jamie PittockDirector, Living Waters Programme

W W F ’s vision for freshwater

WWF’s vision for freshwater ecosystemsis that healthy wetlands around the worldwill enhance the quality of life and peoplewill be convinced as to the value ofnature as the source of water.

Ta r g e t s

To achieve its vision for freshwater, WWF’s

Living Waters Programme has set three global

targets:

n By 2010, 250 million hectares of high-priority

White pelicans and lesser flamingos atLake Nakuru, Kenya.

WWF-Canon/Donald Miller


freshwater ecosystemsworldwide are protectedand/or sustainably managed

n By 2010, ecologicalprocesses are maintained orrestored in at least 50 largecatchment areas containinghigh-priority freshwaterecosystems.

n By 2010, private sectorpractices and relatedgovernment policiesconcerning key water-usingsectors are established and/orchanged in order to sustainthe integrity of the freshwaterecosystems on which theydepend and/or impact.

To address these targets,WWF has identified threethemes with which to engage thewidest possible diversity ofpeople and decision-makers tomake strategic shifts in the useof freshwater ecosystems andresources:

n ‘Web of Life’— conservingnetworks of representativefreshwater ecosystems andbiodiversity

n ‘Rules of the Game’ —changing the direction ofconventional approaches towater resources management

n ‘Markets and Lifestyles’ —improving resource use inwater intensive products.

By focusing on these themesand targets, WWF aims to haltand reverse the loss offreshwater plants and animalsand the wetlands in which theyoccur, and to prevent thedisruption of natural processesthat support life in rivers, lakes

and groundwaters. WWF willalso contribute to economic andsocial well-being by promotingenvironmentally soundmanagement of freshwaterresources that improves accessand availability to water fordrinking, food production,energy generation, and othersocial uses.

Freshwater conservationh i g h l i g h t s

Overview

Floods, drought, and conflictsover water increasinglydominate the headlines in manycountries. Although not asimmediately dramatic, the long-term loss of freshwaterecosystems may result in equalhardship for people in manyparts of the world. Conservingwetlands is therefore beingrecognized as the right approachto responding to the needs ofpeople, as well as wildlife. In2001, WWF played a strong rolein keeping attention on theseissues.

WWF’s ‘Living WatersCampaign’ worked worldwide tomake the year a significantturning point in how freshwaterplaces and resources aremanaged for people and nature.Through campaigning activitieslike those outlined below andliterally hundreds of projectsaround the world to conserveand restore natural wetlands,WWF operated at all levels totackle the growing freshwatercrisis:

n The EU’s new WaterFramework Directive, theDanube ‘Heads of State’Summit, and the Bonn WaterConference in advance of the

World Summit onSustainable Development allpointed to promising,potentially exciting newdevelopments.

n With over 10 million ha ofwetlands committed forprotection during the year,WWF exceeded its globaltarget for the protection of 25million ha one year early.

n The Pantanal, the world’slargest wetland was declareda UNESCO Biospherereserve in Brazil inNovember 2000, with itsBolivian part (covering 3million ha) designated awetland of internationalimportance under the RamsarConvention in September2001, as well as a Gift to theEarth.

n During the first-everinternational ‘WorldWetlands Week’ — a newconcept launched by WWF inFebruary 2001 — Algeriaprovided a highpoint withceremonies to mark theprotection of wetlands,including rare desertecosystems such as gueltasand oases, totalling nearly 2million ha.

n Of the four countries —Cameroon, Chad, Niger, andNigeria — that share LakeChad, Niger became the firstto designate its part ofAfrica’s fourth largest lake asa Ramsar site, honouring acommitment made inN’Djamena in July 2000 atthe Heads of State summit ofthe Lake Chad basincountries. The other countriesare expected to follow

Freshwater 21

Niger’s example by the nextWorld Wetlands Week inFebruary 2002.

n The importance of mountainwetlands to water supply andriver basin management wereamongst topics discussed at asymposium organized byWWF and the RamsarConvention Bureau in Evian,France in March 2001. Themeeting endorsed a set ofdraft guidelines for theconservation of mountainwetlands, which will besubmitted for adoption at the8th Conference of Parties tothe Ramsar Convention inNovember 2002.

n A report on bottled waterreceived unprecedentedtelevision, internet, radio andprint media coverage on allcontinents, and demonstratedthat bottled water was not asustainable alternative tocareful management of tapwater supplies and theenvironment upon which itdepends.

n On World Water Day, 22March 2001, WWF launcheda website highlightingglobally important ‘Rivers atRisk’ and inviting people totake action, such as reducingtheir consumption of waterin the home, that wouldbenefit freshwaterecosystems.

n WWF contributed and gavestrong backing to therecommendations of thereport of the WorldCommission on Dams —Dams and Development —released at the end of 2000.This was underscored by

Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa is home to one of the richestfreshwater fish faunas in the world. The lake falls within thenational territories of Malawi (Lake Malawi), Mozambique (LakeNiassa), and Tanzania (Lake Nyasa) and although overfishedand subject to increasing silt deposition in parts, it is largelyunspoiled. The lake probably holds more species of fish thanany other lake in the world — about 14 per cent of the world’sfreshwater species (99% of which are endemic to the lake).

The deterioration of natural resources within the lake and itscatchments, particularly in Malawi, are of increasing concernand several policy and legislative measures have been put inplace to conserve the resources. The lake’s exceptional fishfauna is at particular risk from fishing pressure which isconcentrated in the shallow waters where most of the fishcongregate. Pollution and sedimentation of the lake areassociated with nutrient influxes, reduced light penetration, andchanges in algae.

WWF’s approach to conservingthe lake is founded on earliercollaborative initiatives. Since1998, WWF has beendeveloping a common visionamong stakeholders, and bettercoordination of efforts toconserve the lake and itscatchments. For example, in1999 WWF’s southern Africaoffice in Harare, Zimbabwe, inconjunction with the PeaceParks Foundation, co-funded atrilateral meeting at whichparticipants from the threecountries concluded that thelake is a shared ecosystem.They agreed that a much widerarea than just the lake needs tobe protected, that tourismshould be enhanced, and thatjobs should be created tocontribute to poverty alleviation.

All three countries have since adopted similar environmentalpolicies and laws. However the institutional capacity toimplement them remains weak. As one innovative solution tothis issue, Malawi has adopted a National Fishery andAquaculture Policy that is attempting to place the managementand control of the fisheries resources in the hands of localcommunities. Recognizing the need to control and monitor themanagement of all resources in the lake basin in a coordinatedway, the concept of a ‘Transfrontier Natural ResourcesManagement Area’ is now firmly on the policy agenda of thethree riparian countries.


Catch of the day — an eeltaken from Lake Malawi.

WWF/Anthony Ribbink


follow-up studies on damsand flooding, the economicsof water diversion projects,and on renewable — non-hydropower — energysources.

The ongoing loss of wetlandsand their dynamic naturalprocesses are among the maincauses of the steep decline inthe health of freshwater systemsworldwide. To ensure futuresupplies of freshwater, food andother materials that wetlandsprovide on a daily basis requiresimproved protection for andmanagement of wetlands. Atpresent, 65–70 million ha offreshwater ecosystems haveformal protection under theRamsar Convention or asUNESCO Biosphere Reserves.This figure probably representsless than 10 per cent of theglobal freshwater ecosystemresource. (The global total underRamsar was 81 million ha inJune 2001 but this includesmarine/coastal wetlands).

Over the past two yearsWWF has made remarkableprogress in adding more than 30million ha to the global total ofwetlands committed forprotection. WWF will build onthis with the aim of achievingprotection for a further 40million ha by 2005. This canonly be achieved by continuingthe effective partnershipsdeveloped with the RamsarConvention Bureau and its 125signatory governments, and withleading companies in the privatesector, as well as privatelandowners. WWF will givespecial attention to securingprotection for networks ofwetland sites in key ecoregions,promoting better management ofthese areas, and reducing threats

Consuming the Earth’s natural capital

Globalization is creating vast opportunities and benefits formany countries, industries and individuals worldwide. But it isalso bringing new and enormous challenges that are cultural,economic, environmental, and political in nature, as well asgrowing unease and discontent. The benefits of globalizationare not evenly shared, and many people are being left behind.

Globalization, and the expansion of the world economy —driven by increases in trade and investment flows — are alsohaving dramatic implications for the quality of the environment:marine life in the oceans, forests in tropical countries, anddrinking water supplies all over the world that are beingdepleted at faster and faster rates.

According to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2000, the naturalwealth of the Earth’s forests, freshwater ecosystems, andoceans and coasts decreased by about 33 per cent between1970 and 1999. The current pattern of globalization, driven bytrade liberalization and the expansion of the world economy, isset to further environmental destruction unless markets aregeared to serve sustainable development outcomes andenvironment is put at the heart of trade liberalization efforts.

During the 1970s, humanity as a whole passed the point atwhich it lived within the global regenerative capacity of theEarth. Since then, the world economy has been running at anecological deficit: natural capital — resources such as natural ormanaged forests, oceanic fisheries, and agricultural land — isbeing depleted at a faster rate than the interest — the goodsand services (crops, fish, meat, wood, energy, etc.) — theyprovide. Hence we are witnessing a decline in the wealth of theEarth’s forest, freshwater and marine ecosystems as weattempt to squeeze more from them than they can produce. Butfor how long? Economic growth and expansion of world tradecan only last for as long as the Earth’s natural systems cansustain a depletion of their capital stock.

WWF's Living PlanetIndex shows thatfreshwater biodiversity isdeclining at a rate fasterthan life in marine andterrestrial ecosystems.Over half the world'swetlands were destroyedduring the 20th century.Today, half of the world'spopulation lacks adequatesanitation, a fifth cannotaccess clean drinkingwater, and two-thirds willface serious watershortages by 2025.

Source: Living Planet Report2000

Freshwater species population index 1970–1999

1 9 7 0 1 9 7 5 1 9 8 0 1 9 8 5 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 5 2 0 0 0

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

l

Freshwater 23

to them from harmful activitiesin upstream catchments.

The creation of dams, riverdiversions and otherconstruction projects have allhad serious impacts onecoregions and their freshwatercomponents. The newguidelines presented by theWorld Commission on Damsprovide an opportunity tochange practices on the ground.The challenge for all thoseinvolved is to use the guidelinesto improve the technical, socialand environmental performanceof dams everywhere. WWF isworking with partnerorganizations, governments andrelevant sectors in business andindustry to put the guidelinesinto practice. Partnerships arebeing explored with, forexample, the Mekong RiverCommission, the Niger BasinAuthority, and stakeholdersinvolved in the ‘Nile BasinDialogue’, as well as with keycountries, to work towardsadopting best practices for riverbasin management. WWF isalso advocating thatinternational financialinstitutions — among the mainsources of funding for dams indeveloping countries — sign upto a verifiable ‘code of conduct’as part of their commitment tosocial and environmental issues.

Many industrial sectors use,treat, or pollute water in thecourse of manufacturing theirproducts. Water supply anddrinks companies are a sector ofspecial relevance since theirproduct is water, albeit indiverse forms followingtreatment, processing orbottling. Manufacturingprocesses that use large amountsof water or which result inpolluting effluents have the

Women mixing mortar for a cistern at Lake Nakuru, Kenya.WWF-Canon/Donald Miller

greatest impacts on freshwaterwetlands and their life forms. Inextreme cases such as the AralSea, they have led to theeconomic and environmentalcollapse of an entire region.WWF is initiating dialogue withseveral major companies withthe aim of promoting practicesthat respect natural watersources and at the same timeprovide better services orproducts to consumers. It ishoped that partnering with theprivate sector may lead tomarket-led approaches that putpressure on all water users toimprove their practices, increasethe efficiency of water use, andreduce pollution.


In Africa, WWF continued tofocus on four main freshwaterecosystems: Lake Bogoria andLake Nakuru in Kenya; andKafue Flats and BangweuluWetlands in Zambia. In addition,the process for conserving theLake Malawi section of the RiftValley Lakes ecoregion gotunderway.

Notable targets met duringthe year under the Lake BogoriaNature Reserve and SaiwaSwamp National Park projectincluded the completion of theSaiwa education centre,publication of the management

plan for the National Park, andfurnishing of the educationcentre at Lake Bogoria.

The Nakuru projectcontinued to make great stridesdespite many obstacles, such asinadequate rainfall, extensiveuse of restricted pesticides, andencroachment on natural forestcover. A positive step forwardwas the assumption ofresponsibility by 24 villagecommunities for planning andcoordinating their ownconsensus-based environmentalaction plans. A further 16villages are currently engaged inthe process and more areexpected to follow. Othersuccesses at Nakuru were theupswing in water conservationwith the excavation of 101 newearthen dams by farmers tocontain run-off, the training of3,000 women in conservationskills, and the production of15kg of assorted tree seeds bythe first community-managedseed orchards. Despite adverseweather conditions, 108 self-supporting tree nurseries raised115,000 seedlings. Lesserflamingos returned to LakeNakuru after a two-yearabsence. On the negative sidethere were poor indications ofthe health of the localenvironment when the long-termstudy on the flamingosconfirmed the build-up of heavy


metals and algal toxins in tissuesamples, and further revealedthat liver damage in the birdswas widespread.

In Tanzania, WWF workedwith the Tanzania NationalParks authority to complete thefirst survey of theTarangire/Manyara basin,resulting in a draft action planfor the wetlands. The focus offuture efforts will be support forthe practical conservation workin Lake Manyara and TarangireNational Parks, and oninfluencing policy decisionsaffecting the parks. Elsewhere,WWF worked closely with theJournalists EnvironmentalAssociation of Tanzania toincrease both journalists’and thegeneral public’s understandingof the importance of wetlandsystems across the country. Thefirst of three training workshopsfor print and broadcastjournalists was completed anddozens of articles and broadcastswere produced.

In Zambia, the final draft ofthe Zambia We t l a n d sConservation Strategy andAction Plan was produced andnow awaits the formalannouncement by thegovernment of the We t l a n d sPolicy for Zambia. A c t i v i t i e sunder the W W F - N e t h e r l a n d s -sponsored Partners for We t l a n d sproject at Kafue Flats includeddevelopment of a detailedbibliography and documentationof the hydrology of the KafueRiver and Flats, and a base mapfor the proposed conservationarea in Mazabuka. The projectalso worked with communities inthe Mazabuka conservation zoneand completed an assessment forthe reintroduction of wildlifespecies. Rapport with thecommunities in the Bangweulu

wetlands was enhanced byCommunity Development Unitmeetings and a new proposal tomonitor and conserve animalpopulations, in particular thelechwe. Elsewhere in Zambia,WWF is promoting furtherconservation commitments bythe government, with planneddesignations of parts of theupper Zambesi floodplain andLake Tanganyika as new Ramsars i t e s .

In the Niger River basin, abasin-wide initiative has beendeveloped by WWF inpartnership with WetlandsInternational and the NigerianConservation Foundation (NCF).The ‘Niger Basin Initiative’includes actions at national andlocal levels, such as formalwetland protection, theestablishment or reinforcementof ‘wetland reference groups’,and support to field projects. Asa result of this approach, in JuneNiger designated a major area ofthe Niger floodplain, near theborder with Benin and Nigeria,as a Ramsar site. A fielddemonstration project hassubsequently been initiated therein partnership with the SwissDevelopment Cooperation.

During 2002, WWF’s EasternAfrica office will exploreopportunities for adopting anecoregion approach toconserving the Eastern RiftValley Lakes. The ecoregioncovers ten African states:Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya,Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda,Democratic Republic of Congo,Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia.To capture people’s imaginationand promote the ecoregionalconcept, flamingos will serve asa ‘pink thread’linking thedisparate lakes spread acrossthese countries. This initiative

seeks to build on lessons fromWWF’s earlier work and willpromote a more integratedapproach to species and habitatconservation. Work will alsostart to develop ways ofincorporating freshwaterconcerns into WWF actionprogrammes for forestecoregions.


WWF’s Living Planet Report2000 indicated that the state offreshwater systems in theAsia/Pacific region havedeteriorated considerably since1980. In spite of this, there arecurrently only three countries inthe region that have significantfreshwater conservationprogrammes: China, Malaysia,and Australia. Given that speciesdeclines, river pollution,drinking water shortages, andwater catchment destruction areprevalent in almost everycountry of the region, anincreased focus on freshwaterissues is crucial.

Most of the recentconservation gains in the regionhave been in achieving Ramsarstatus for wetlands. In India, tensites covering nearly 1.1 millionha were added to the Ramsarlist, more than doubling thenumber of the country’sprotected wetlands. Designationsof more than 2 millionadditional ha of wetland areplanned, enabling India to meetthe commitment made duringthe May 1999 Conference ofParties to the RamsarConvention. In Australia,national legislation championedby WWF now conserves Ramsarsites by regulating upstreamdevelopments to preventsignificant impacts. The use of

Freshwater 25

Ramsar to conserve privatelyowned wetlands was entrenchedwith the voluntary listing of583ha of the MacquarieMarshes complex.

In China, more than 1,600haof cultivated land were restoredas wetlands, resulting in thereturn of migratory birds andfish. This achievement wasaccompanied by a strengtheningof the national policy onrestoring wetlands for floodmitigation. In addition, over 1.5million ha of wetlands,including in the Yangtze basin,are in the process of beingdesignated as Ramsar sites,hopefully by the time of WorldWetland Week in February2002. And in Hong Kong, newfreshwater habitats weredeveloped at the Mai PoMarshes Ramsar site.

In other developments,agreement was reached withlocal oil palm plantation ownersto reforest parts of the LowerKinabatangan Floodplain inSabah, Malaysia. The stategovernment designated27,000ha of wetlands in theLower Kinabatangan floodplainas a protected area. The area isan important refuge for orangutan, proboscis monkey, andAsian elephant, as well as beinga vital source of freshwater forover 200,000 people. InVietnam, the governmentrecognized the importance ofwetlands conservation for thecountry, and 71 freshwaterbodies were nominated forpotential protected area status.

Several major activities forfreshwater conservation arecurrently under development.They include an initiative forAsian rivers which will defineWWF’s role in the Mekong,Yangtze, and Indus river basins;

The Amur River

Situated in the Russian Far East, the Amur River, at 4,400km, isthe world’s eighth longest river. It rises in the mountains of InnerMongolia and curves through seemingly endless forests andtaiga towards the Sea of Okhotsk. The river divides Russia andChina, and is only bridged in two places.

The Amur’s catchment contains a unique mix of sub-tropicaland northern hemisphere flora and fauna, including 2,800vascular plant species (of which 800 are endemic), and about40,000 insect and 473 vertebrate species. Big cats like thefamous Amur tiger and far-eastern leopard stroll through thevirgin forests adjacent to the river, and birds such as orientalwhite stork, red-crowned and white-naped cranes nest in theAmur valley. The riverbanks and adjacent wetlands providecrucial stopovers for millions of migrating waterbirds.

Among almost 100 fish species, the famous Kaluga sturgeoncan reach weights up to 1,000kg, while important populations ofmigratory salmon still occur, although their numbers aredwindling. Declines in the number of fish are affecting the livesof the Nivkhi, Nanai, and Ulchi indigenous peoples, who arestruggling to continue their traditional ways of life.

The wetlands of the Amur River basin are being drained andconverted into agricultural land, and the surrounding forests arebeing felled or burned for the same purpose. On the Russianside 40 per cent of the forest has gone; on the Chinese sideonly 47 per cent remains. Huge amounts of polluting effluentfrom industry and agriculture wash into the river from northernChina to such an extent that the water is no longer fit fordrinking and fish become poisonous to eat. Hydropowerstations and dams are planned, with one dam built already on atributary river. The impacts of these activities on the health ofthe ecoregion are truly dramatic.

Following calls by WWF for urgent action to protect the uniquewetlands of the Amur, two new nature reserves and two wildliferefuges have been established to protect wildlife over an areaof nearly 5,000km2.

In partnership with IUCN, WWF has developed a conservationstrategy for the oriental white stork, and scientific research intothe conservation requirements of other flagship species,including Kaluga sturgeon and Amur river turtle, is underway.Other activities include the establishment of a protected areasnetwork with trans-boundary reserves, restoration of the Amurfloodplains, and the development of ecotourism opportunities.

By linking its resources in Russia, Mongolia, and China andworking with a full range of stakeholders and partnerorganizations, WWF is working to overcome cultural differencesand economic difficulties for the benefit of the Amur and itsindigenous people and wildlife.



conservation projects along theMekong River in Indochina andThailand; activities under theSepik freshwater conservationplan in the South Pacific;wetland conservation work inthree territories in Australia; amulti-million dollar freshwaterprogramme in Pakistan,involving WWF in protectingwetlands in the Indus delta; andmore work in China followingthe government’s approval ofthe National WetlandConservation Action Plan. All ofthese are expected to translateinto appreciable gains in 2002.


Arguably WWF’s biggestsuccess in Europe in 2001 wasthe Heads of State summit in theRomanian capital of Bucharestin May when leaders from 14countries of the Danube-Carpathians region gathered toconfirm and strengthen theircommitment to sustainabledevelopment. The highlysuccessful Summit marked amilestone for WWF, openingmany doors to ensure thateconomic development in theregion does not take place to thedetriment of the region’s naturalwealth. Outcomes included: acommitment to a process offormalizing ecoregion

The Danube River — five Eastern European countries committed to worktogether to prevent toxic spillages.

WWF-Canon/Michèle Dépraz

conservation in the Carpathianmountains; agreement amongthe five countries of the TiszaRiver basin to work together toprevent further toxic spillagesinto the river basin (badlydamaged by the major cyanidespill in 2000); and the specificactions taken by the Romanian,Bulgarian, Moldovan, andUkrainian governments to fulfilcommitments made under the‘Lower Danube Green Corridor ’agreement signed in June 2000.

As a consequence of theTisza cyanide incident, WWFhas started a number ofrestoration projects, as well asusing the catastrophe to raiseawareness and promote theimportance of maintainingvibrant natural river systems.Hopes are high that, with thenumerous side-arms, oxbowlakes and inundation zonesalong the length of the Tisza,the river and its wildlife willrecover. Also in Hungary, WWFhas been running a campaignentitled ‘Hungary enriches theEU’. The campaign promotesthe fact that at least 500 speciesand sub-species of plants thatoccur in Hungary are eitherextinct or are not found in EUmember countries. In view ofHungary’s application to jointhe EU, the initiative has beenenthusiastically supported by theHungarian Foreign Ministry.

In Poland, another of the‘first wave’ EU accessioncountries, WWF is vigorouslypursuing its vision for analternative development for theVistula and Odra Rivers. Therivers are currently threatenedby plans to build hydropowerstations, and canalization forshipping lanes. WWF maintainsthat additional hydropowerstations along the Vistula areuneconomic and a waste ofmuch-needed investment capitalin Poland. Channelling anddredging of the Odra River forshipping will increase the risk ofmajor floods. WWF research inthe areas worst hit by theflooding showed that the Polishgovernment had done little tomodernize flood protectionstrategies since the major floodsof 1997 (serious floodingoccurred again in 2001). Dykesviewed as being largelyresponsible for the 1997 floodswere rebuilt in the same areas,rather than allowing more spacefor floodwater. WWF is urgingthe Polish government to adoptEU standards for managementof its rivers.

Existing European Unionsubsidies for economicdevelopment and intensiveagriculture have potentiallysevere and negative effects fornature in those countries seekingto accede to the EU. With this inmind, WWF, over the next year,will focus even more stronglyon the EU’s CommonAgricultural Policy (CAP).Work on reforming the CAPaims at a reduction inenvironmentally damagingsubsidies, particularly thoseaffecting freshwater areas.Instead, WWF would like to seefunds channelled into expandedagri-environment programmes,

27

supporting Less Favoured Areasand rural development, leadingto better implementation of theEU's nature conservationnetwork, Natura 2000.

In a new initiative, WWFlaunched a Europe-wide ‘Water& Wetland Index’whichassesses the quality andmanagement of freshwaterecosystems and resources in 17countries, including EUaccession countries.Assessments of governmentperformance against a commonset of indicators will be used asa basis for developing nationalobjectives and activities forfreshwater conservation.

In the Mediterranean, WWFworked closely with theMedWet Initiative to secure thedesignation, on World WetlandsDay, 2 February, of ten wetlandscovering nearly 2 million ha.Following the encroachment ofsand dunes into one of thesewetlands, the Ouled Saïd oasisin Algeria, WWF, together withthe Ramsar Convention Bureauand the UN Convention toCombat Desertification, isundertaking a restoration projectto rehabilitate the oasis.

WWF’s first ever conser-vation success was to help in theestablishment of the DoñanaNational Park in Spain. Today,WWF is helping to shape thefuture of the Doñana area byseeking to ensure that majorhydrological and wetlandrestoration projects are based ona catchment approach. As part ofits five-year Action Plan forDoñana, WWF will evaluate allrelevant projects in the Huelva-Seville-Cádiz triangle, supportconservation strategies, anddevelop new projects incollaboration with local andinternational partners. This willinclude the development ofalternative agricultural systemsthat use less water and fewerpesticides.

WWF has identified threegroups of freshwater species andhabitats — threatenedamphibians, migratory salmonand sturgeon, and riverineforests — the status of whichserve to highlight the problemsfacing Europe’s freshwaterresources. By linking its work infreshwater areas, forests, andoceans and coasts, WWF willcollaborate with partnerorganizations to counteract thedamaging impacts of agriculturalchange on wetlands and toreconcile the restoration ofrivers with the increasing needfor navigation and flooddefence.


The Latin America andCaribbean region, particularlySouth America, contains largeriver systems that feed hugefloodplains and wetlands; six ofthe ten most biologically diverserivers in the world occur here.

Freshwater run-off from thesesystems represents about 30 percent of the world’s total.Outstanding examples are theAmazon, the Orinoco and theParaguay-Paraná rivers. In morearid areas, such as theChihuahuan Desert in Mexico,smaller river and lake systemsharbour some of the world’shighest numbers of endemicfreshwater species.

These systems are totallydependent on the maintenance ofthe hydrological flow of water.For example, in South America,the annual pulse of floodinggenerates the habitats andspecies richness found in most

Horses left to roam wild causeimpacts on both regenerating plantsand the edges of the fragile pools ofwetlands in the Chihuahua Desert,Mexico.

WWF-Canon/Edward Parker

Learning forc o n s e r v a t i o n

The job of aconservationist isincreasingly complex. Inaddition to strong technicalskills, we need a numberof other key skills to bebetter equipped to deliveron our conservationpriorities. WWF hasestablished a ‘LearningInitiative’ aimed at buildingthe skills andcompetencies we need toachieve our conservationgoals. Part of this learningis carried out through theWWF College forConservation Leadership,an 18-month learningprogramme for senior fieldstaff that combineslearning via the Internetwith traditional face-to-faceworkshops. Thisprogramme buildsexpertise in four themeareas: Leadership &Management, Strategy &Planning, Communications& Networking, andCampaigning & Advocacy.

rivers and wetlands. Hydro-logical changes resulting fromdeforestation, flow regulation, orother man-made changes mayaffect the intensity andperiodicity of flooding, thusdestroying habitats.

In its work to conserve theregion’s freshwater riches, WWFhas achieved several advancesover the past year, working onits own or in partnership.

In Brazil, UNESCO ratifiedthe 25 million-hectare PantanalBiosphere Reserve (nearly 14million ha of which arefreshwater wetlands), protectinga major part of the world’slargest flooded grassland.Colombia designated La CochaLake and surrounding wetlandsas a Ramsar site, protecting highAndean paramo wetlands whichare some of the most unique andthreatened wetland areas in theworld. In Mexico, the HuicholIndians and the governor of SanLuis Potosi expanded theHuiricuta State Reserve from183,000 to 346,000ha toencompass the Sierra de Catorcemountain range — a watershed

for desert streams and wetlandsimportant for both plant andanimal life and the localindigenous community.

Further north in thefloodplain of another of SouthAmerica’s large river systems,FUDENA, an associateorganization of WWF inVenezuela, is working to protectanother huge flooded grassland.Known locally as the Llanos,this area is home to numerousaquatic and terrestrial speciesthat depend on annualinundations of freshwater fortheir survival. Since most of thegrassland is privately owned,FUDENA is working with locallandowners and governments toestablish a network of privatenature reserves.

Within the Amazon Riverand Flooded Forest ecoregion,WWF has identified severalpriority sub-regions. One ofthese is the ‘Abanico de Pastaza’— a geological depressionlocated on the upper PastazaRiver in the extreme north-westpart of the ecoregion, in Peru.Many rare and threatened

aquatic species, including theriver otter, pink dolphin, andAmazonian manatee thrive inthis area, and numerous speciesof fish that make up animportant part of the diet oflocal communities are alsopresent in large numbers.However, in recent years thehuman population has increasedconsiderably, bringing threats tonature in the form of oilexploitation, overfishing, andillegal logging. Growingpopulations are demandinglarger harvests of timber, gameand fish for metropolitan areas.WWF will provide data andtechnical and financialassistance to INRENA — thePeruvian government agency incharge of protected areas — toestablish the Abanico delPastaza protected area. INRENAhas embraced this initiativebecause it complements its plansto establish a protected area thatbenefits from land-use planningand sustainable natural resourceuse.

The Cienaga de Zapata inCuba, at 450,000ha, is thelargest wetland in the Caribbean.Home to several threatenedendemic birds and a smallpopulation of manatees, thewetland was Cuba’s first Ramsardesignation in April 2001. TheCienaga de Zapata is part of ajoint effort by WWF and theCanadian InternationalDevelopment Agency (CIDA) toconserve and sustainablymanage some of the richestwetlands in the Caribbean.


0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000


NorthAmerica

ConservationPolicy

Campaigns

3,085

5,781

14,426

3,737

544

1,492 1,881

CHF,000

W W F ’s Global Conservation Programme —Expenditure on Freshwater Conservation FY 2 0 0 1

29Oceans and Coasts

oceans and coasts

Global highlights

n In the Tortugas, Florida, WWF teamed upwith recreational and commercialfishermen, scientists and business peopleto establish the largest no-fishing zone todate in US waters.

n Alaska salmon and New Zealand hokibecame the latest fisheries to receiveMarine Stewardship Council certification.

n The new law for the Banc d’Arguin,Mauritania, accepted by WWF as a Gift tothe Earth, clarifies its legal status as arestricted fishing zone, and grants fishingrights to the indigenous Imraguenpopulation.

n The government of Vietnam approvedW W F ’s proposal for the establishment of anational marine and coastal protected areasystem covering 495,000 hectares.

n Creation of the tri-national Ligurian SeaSanctuary in the Mediterranean by France,Italy and Monaco gives greater protectionto the region’s whales and dolphins.

n A WWF report revealed that wild Atlanticsalmon have disappeared from more than300 rivers in Europe and North America,and that catches in the North Atlantic havefallen by more than 80 per cent since1970.

Unsustainable fishing, insensitiv

coastal development, pollution,and climate change arethreatening the health of seas

around the globe, putting at risk people'slivelihoods, local economies, and future foodsupplies.

Only a tiny fraction — less than 1 per cent— of the Earth's seas are fully protected fromexploitation. Moreover, the majority of thesemarine protected areas are not yet adequatelymanaged.

To address the threats facing themarine environment, WWF's Endangered SeasProgramme is focusing on one of the commoncauses — large- and small-scale industry.Whilst industries are not all necessarily bad,they may have different priorities and notalways take into account their full impact onthe environment. WWF aims to moveconservation to the forefront of their agenda.

WWF will promote wise-use policies andinfluence decisions affecting marine resourcesby creating new market incentives andpenalties, influencing legislation andleadership, and applying pressure whereappropriate. WWF will encourage industries,particularly those concerned with fishing,petroleum, tourism, shipping, aquaculture, theinvestment sector, and polluting land-basedactivities, to adopt practices which are bothprofitable for business and beneficial to themarine environment.

By creating a ‘ripple effect’that willengage new partners and provide greatermomentum in the battle to conserve andrestore our seas, WWF can turn the tide on theescalating degradation.

Simon CrippsDirector, Endangered Seas Programme

Mangrove tree — above and below thewaterline. WWF-Canon/Jürgen Freund


WWF will work to maintain thebiodiversity and ecologicalprocesses of marine and coastalecosystems; ensure that any useof marine resources is bothsustainable and equitable; andrestore marine and coastalecosystems where theirfunctioning has been impaired.WWF will use its global reach,credibility and capacity toengage the public, decision-makers, and partners in the twoareas where WWF can and hasalready made a real difference:marine protected areas (MPAs)and sustainable fisheries.

WWF will seek to establishnetworks of MPAs that arerepresentative of a range ofbiodiversity and which are wellmanaged. This will requiregreater protection for major,threatened habitat types such ascoral reefs, sea-mounts,saltmarshes, coastal brackishand freshwater wetlands, andmangroves to ensure that thenetworks of MPAs are trulyrepresentative.

To tackle the overexploitationof the world’s remaining fishstocks, WWF will seek newmarket incentives (such as thecertification of salmon, shrimpand tuna fisheries); theelimination of the ten worst EUsubsidies contributing tooverfishing; an end to damagingfishing practices and a ban onby-catches; access agreementsthat govern the operation ofdistant-water fishing fleets; andmeasures to reduce illegal,unregulated and unreportedf i s h i n g .

By working internationally,WWF’s Endangered SeasProgramme will address issuesthat are also of importance tomany ecoregion conservationprogrammes, but which are

outside their reach (e.g.lobbying the EU to reduce theimpact of distant-water fishingfleets on non-EU countries).

Marine conservationh i g h l i g h t s

Overview

To combat the global crisis thatis engulfing marine and coastalareas, WWF’ is creating a‘ripple effect’: engagingpartners, developing modelinitiatives and buildingcoalitions to conserve the oceansand protect precious marineresources. During the past year,WWF has expanded its work onmarine protected areas toinclude the high seas, battledagainst government paymentsthat exacerbate overfishing, andpromoted new solutions torestore the seas’ natural balance.

For example, in May 2001,WWF and IUCN teamed upwith concerned governments toissue a new report and call foraction to protect the naturalriches of the deep seas fromoverexploitation. The report, TheStatus of Natural Resources onthe High Seas, confirms thatthese areas are increasinglythreatened by unregulatedfishing, oil exploration, dumpingof carbon dioxide,biotechnology, and theexploitation of gas hydrates andhydrothermal vent minerals ororganisms. WWF will continueto press for internationalagreements to regulate theprotection and use of these vitalmarine areas.

In Mauretania’s Bancd ’ A rguin National Park, W W Fjoined its partner org a n i z a t i o n sF I B A (‘Fondation Internationaledu Banc d’Arguin’), IUCN and

W W F ’s vision foroceans and coasts

WWF’s vision for thefuture of the world’soceans and coasts is tosee that governments,communities,environmentalists,industries and otherinterest groups aroundthe world work closelytogether to keep andrestore the treasures ofthe sea. People useoceans and coastswisely for the benefit ofcurrent and futuregenerations. All marinelife is respected and hasthe right and the spaceto survive.

Ta r g e t s

To achieve its vision for oceansand coasts, WWF’s EndangeredSeas Programme has set twoglobal targets:

n By 2020, the establishmentand implementation of anetwork of effectivelymanaged, ecologicallyrepresentative marineprotected areas covering atleast 10 per cent of theworld’s seas

n Maintain the status of all fishstocks that are currentlyexploited sustainably and, by2020, halve the number offish stocks that areoverexploited or depleted, ascurrently categorized by theFood and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO).

To address these targets,

Oceans and Coasts 31

several donor agencies tocelebrate new legislation thatprotects one of the mostthreatened fisheries in the world.Located in the biologically andnutrient rich waters of theSahellian Upwelling ecoregion,the Banc d’Arguin is a popularfishing ground for artisanalfishermen and distant-waterfleets from various countries.The new legislation, designed tohelp combat illegal fishing in thepark and include localcommunities in its futuremanagement, serves as anexample to neighbouringcountries (see also below under‘Africa and Madagascar’). As aresult, Senegal and GuineaBissau have also agreed to builda network of marine protectedareas throughout this importantmarine ecoregion.

In the Tortugas, 110km westof the Florida Keys, WWF hasteamed up with recreational andcommercial fishermen, scientistsand business people to designand establish the largest no-fishing zone to date in USwaters. Working with partners isalso the theme of WWF’s GreatBarrier Reef Campaign inAustralia. The campaign seeksto protect the world’s largestliving entity from destructivefishing practices, climatechange, and pollution pressures.

Other work to reduce naturalthreats and the human footprinton these vital marineecosystems is underway in theLomaiviti and Kadavu waters ofFiji. There, donors, businesses,non-governmental organizationsand the University of the SouthPacific sponsored a scientificexpedition to determine thelevel of coral bleaching causedby warming temperatures. Thesecoral reefs, which serve as

Sahelian Upwelling

The Sahelian Upwelling ecoregion includes the marine andcoastal waters of four countries: Guinea Bissau, Mauretania,Senegal, and The Gambia. Some 13 million people live withinthe boundaries of the ecoregion, mostly in, and dependent on,coastal areas.

The Sahelian upwelling is renowned for its high productivity —especially its extensive deep sea fisheries. Among a number ofthreatened species are five types of marine turtle and thecritically endangered monk seal. Vast concentrations ofoverwintering and breeding waterbirds occur, with areas suchas the Banc d’Arguin in Mauretania among the most importantwintering places for birds migrating between southern Africaand northern Europe.

Human pressure on the marine and coastal environment isincreasing, especially artisanal fishing which in recent times hasseen motorization of ‘pirogues’ (fishing boats) and theintroduction of damaging new techniques (dynamite fishing) andfishing gear (fine-meshed beach seines, turning seines).However, the greater threat comes from commercial fishing —both by national fleets and distant-water fleets. Heavilysubsidized European fleets are guaranteed access to WestAfrican waters through fishing agreements negotiated with theEU with little regard for sustainability concerns. Destruction ofthe fisheries will inevitably impact on the livelihoods of localpeople who rely on these resources in some of the world’s leastdeveloped countries.

To counter the escalating threats, WWF has promoted thecreation and improved management of marine protected areasin Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea Bissau; put the spotlighton fisheries subsidies and agreements through a series ofregional workshops on sustainable and equitable fisheriesagreements; collaborated with the regional fisheries association,the ‘Commission Sous Régionale des Pêches’, to promotesustainable fisheries management at all levels; and initiated areconnaissance of the ecoregion.

Two significant advances have come in Mauretania, with newlegislation for the Banc d’Arguin National Park (see under‘Africa and Madagascar’), and in Guinea-Bissau, with thecreation of the João Viera/Poilão National Park — a 500km2

MPA in the southern part of the Bijagos Archipelago, includingPoilão Island, the largest green turtle nesting site on the Atlanticcoast of Africa. Meanwhile in Senegal, four potential MPAs havebeen identified and are currently being surveyed.

Achieving increased commitments to marine conservationsimultaneously in three of the four countries of the ecoregionprovides a foundation for a continued regional approach. Eachcountry has recognized the importance of a concerted regionaleffort to conserve their precious natural resources, and thelivelihoods which depend on them.



essential physical barriers andincome to Pacific island states,are also threatened byoverfishing and destructivefishing practices.

In the North East Atlantic,WWF is advising inter-governmental organizations andlobbying for the protection ofkey offshore habitats. In LatinAmerica, WWF is workingclosely with local and regionalauthorities to designate anetwork of protected areas onthe Mesoamerican CaribbeanReef. On Mafia Island inTanzania, WWF staff areworking with fishermen in localcommunities to better managetheir resources and providealternative livelihoods to reducethe pressure on reef fish stocks.Off the West African coast,WWF is talking to the fisheriesindustry and the emerging oilindustry to try and guidedevelopments so that they aresensitive to community andenvironmental needs.

WWF also continued topromote new market incentivesas a tool for conservation. Asone of the founding members ofthe Marine Stewardship Council(MSC), WWF witnessed morefisheries earn the MSC’s eco-friendly label, thus providingconsumers with the opportunityto purchase seafood from well-managed fisheries. Alaskasalmon and New Zealand hokiwere among a few of the bigcommercial fisheries certified.Further small- and large-scalefisheries are expected tocomplete the certificationprocess soon.


In 2001, WWF launched a newmarine conservation initiative

The effects of trade liberalization on tourism

As part of its work to assess the impacts of international tradeon responsible tourism, WWF’s Trade & Investment Unitundertook a study entitled Preliminary Assessment of theEnvironmental and Social Effects of Liberalization in TourismServices. This showed that trade liberalization is one of themajor factors driving tourism development.

Many of the key impacts are demonstrated by tourismdevelopment in the Belek area of Turkey following liberalizationof the Turkish tourism sector. Belek, which is an important areafor marine turtles, has been the focus of internationalinvestment in luxury beach hotel developments aimed at foreigntourists. Amongst the issues identified have been:

n damage to fragile dune ecosystemsn lack of re-investment of profits in waste-water treatment and

other environmental servicesn anti-competitive practicesn lack of consultation and involvement of local peoplen barring of local producers from marketing their goods in

hotelsn distortion of the local employment market.

The study, which has been presented to the World TradeOrganization and the World Tourism Organization, recommendsfocusing on:

n the tourism industry’s international responsibilities andcommitments to sustainable practices

n the need for greater transparencyn the need for greater social and environmental responsibilityn promotion of ‘good practice’ (such as environmental impact

assessments and use of environment-friendly technologies)n building local capacity, including staff training.

The report also advocates raising the awareness of localcommunities and stakeholder groups with the aim of activatinglocal grass-roots support for responsible tourism. This mayinclude encouraging small-scale tourism-related activities andcommunity-based tourism. Over the next year, WWF’s Trade &Investment Unit will be working with partners inside and outsideWWF to take forward these findings.

Malindi Marine Park and Reserve, Kenya — a prime ecotourism site.WWF-Canon/Mauri Rautkari


for Africa. Its focus will largelybe on three outstanding Africanecoregions: Sahelian Upwelling,Western Indian Ocean Islands,and Eastern Africa Marine. Eachof these ‘jewels’take in anumber of protected areas acrossdifferent countries. For example,Mafia Island Marine Park andthe Menai Bay ConservationArea in Tanzania, KiungaNational Marine Reserve inKenya, and the BazarutoArchipelago in Mozambique allcome within the Eastern AfricaMarine ecoregion. WWF hascontinued its support for theseand other marine parks whichform part of WWF’s long-termvision for the continent’secoregions.

WWF’s support to the12,000km2 Banc d’ArguinNational Park in Mauretaniaresulted in better control ofillegal fishing within the parkand better protection for marineturtles. Efforts by the newlycreated Surveillance andConservation Department led toa 70 per cent increase inreported cases of infraction. Thegood collaboration between thepark’s officials and localcommunities resulted in asignificant reduction in marineturtle captures. The new law forthe Banc d’Arguin, passed bythe Mauretanian parliament inDecember 1999, and celebratedas a Gift to the Earth in March2001, underlines the importanceof the park and clarifies its legalstatus as a restricted fishingzone, allowing only fishing bythe indigenous Imraguenpopulation.

In West Africa, WWFinitiated a new marine projectaround the ‘Parc National desIles Ehotilés’. The park is part ofthe Aby lagoon system situated

in the coastal zone of south-eastern Côte d’Ivoire. Theproject will work with thesurrounding communities toaddress the current pressures onthe park arising fromoverexploitation of naturalresources, intensive fishing,agriculture, and tourism.

Conservation actioncontinued in the Eastern A f r i c aMarine ecoregion, with thecompletion of the initial plansfor an ecoregion-wideprogramme. Activities includedan in-depth reconnaissances t u d y, an analysis of the

e c o r e g i o n ’s plant and animallife, and extensive consultationswith stakeholders and partners.Within the Mafia Island MarinePark project, W W Fcollaborated with thegovernment of Tanzania andlocal communities to developand manage the country’s firstmarine national park. The aimis to enable local people to useboth land-based and marineresources without exhaustingthem. Activities during the yearincluded a major survey ofresource-use patterns andattitudes towards marine park

policies in 11 villages withinthe park, and a study on thee ffects of fishing pressure onthe local octopus population(currently the single mostimportant fishery in Mafia).The project also wongovernment approval forrevenue from fisheries andtourism to be collected in thepark, and initiated a permitsystem for both resident andvisiting fishermen which willalso keep a close eye on fishingi n t e n s i t y.

The Menai Bay ConservationArea project in Zanzibar seeks to

enhance the management of theb a y ’s biological resources.Among the activities during theyear were monthly monitoring offish catches by localcommunities, development of aturtle recovery action plan forZ a n z i b a r, and an assessment oftourist visits to the Menai Bayarea. The exercise found thatabout 12,000 tourists visit MenaiBay annually, the revenue fromwhich will help to sustain localconservation work. A tree nurseryfor the Hiari ya Moyo Wo m e n ’scooperative group of Bwaleovillage was also established.

Yellow mullet is salted and dried for export locall and beyond — Bancd’Arguin, Mauretania. WWF-Canon/John Newby


The Great Barrier Reef

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is an exceptional area ofbiodiversity and an ecoregion of outstanding beauty. It is thelargest of the world’s 552 World Heritage Sites, stretching forover 2,000km between tropical and sub-tropical zones.

The Marine Park contains more than 2,900 reefs, globallysignificant populations of endangered species (including six ofthe world’s seven species of marine turtle and one of theworld’s most important dugong populations), as well asregionally important seagrass beds and mangrove forests. It ishome to over 1,500 species of fish, 350 types of coral and morethan 5,000 mollusc varieties.

The Barrier Reef is also a profitable resource sustaining tourism(worth AU$1 billion annually) and fishing industries (AU$250million), as well as providing recreational pleasure forthousands of divers, anglers and naturalists.

Tragically, this natural wonder is rapidly collapsing under everincreasing pressure on its resources. Currently only 4.5 percent of the Park is fully protected under designated ‘greenzones’. The main threats to its survival are unsustainable fishing— particularly bottom trawling by the prawn industry; pollutionfrom agricultural, industrial and urban sources; coral bleachingcaused by rising sea temperatures; and coastal development —impacts from land clearing, wetland destruction and urban andtourism developments.

Launched in September 2000, WWF’s Great Barrier ReefCampaign combines awareness-raising initiatives withadvocacy work. Amongst progress to date, an interactivecampaign website has been created (www.gbr.wwf.org.au);reports have been produced on prawn and scallop trawling, linefisheries, aquaculture, land clearing, shipping safety, highlyprotected areas, and marine pollution, as well as a status reporton the Barrier Reef to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee;dates have been set for the mandatory use of turtle excluderand by-catch reduction devices, plus a 15 per cent reduction intrawling; the Marine Park has been extended by some6,000km2; a government review of shipping safety in Reefwaters is underway; military target practice in one of two areasof the Marine Park are to be phased out; and oil seismicsurveys adjacent to the World Heritage site have been stopped.

In Kenya, WWF supportedthe Kenya Wildlife Service infinalizing the first draft of theKiunga Reserve managementplan. A lobster survey formedpart of the long-term monitoringof the species and a study on thestatus and utilization ofmangroves was completed withUNESCO support. The projectalso recorded the first everrelease of a dugong after afemale became entangled in afisherman’s net — this is a bigstep forward since such catcheswould normally have been takenfor consumption. Survey workin the park revealed the firstrecord of the Red Sea angelfishfor Kenya.


Poverty alleviation and theimpacts of unsustainablelivelihoods on marine resourceswere the focus of much of themarine work by WWF in theAsia-Pacific region in 2001.Projects in Cambodia, thePhilippines, Vietnam, and in theYangtze basin in China all dealtwith finding solutions to enablepeople to use coastal and marineresources in a sustainablemanner. Greater enforcement ofregulations to control adverseimpacts, such as illegal orharmful methods of fishing, alsohelped, notably in the TurtleIslands Wildlife Sanctuary in thePhilippines.

Across the region, WWFestablished new partnerships —with research institutes, nationalgovernment agencies, localgovernment bodies, localcommunities, other NGOs, andbusiness and industry. A featureof many partnerships wascapacity building, strengtheningmarine law enforcement,


Dugong. WWF-Canon/Jürgen Freund


environmental monitoring, parkgovernance, and turtleconservation.

Although still in its infancy,certification of marine fisheriescontinues to grow. WWF-Philippines continued its stepstoward certification of the bluecrab industry, carrying out stockassessment, a socio-economicand market analysis, and thedevelopment of a blue crabmanagement plan. If successfulin its bid for the MSCcertificate, the blue crabindustry will become the firstartisanal, rather thancommercial, fishery to receivethe label. In New Zealand,where the hoki fishery wascertified by the MSC during2001, WWF has applied to thegovernment for funding toprepare a guide to fisheriescertification, focusing on theMarine Stewardship Council.

Market incentives were alsoto the fore in the Philippines’Tubbataha Reefs NationalMarine Park (part of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine ecoregion),where a park ‘conservation fee’was estimated to have generatedUS$40,000 in just three months.The funds raised will helpcontribute to the independenceand long-term viability of the33,200ha national park. Alreadyrecognized by UNESCO as aWorld Heritage site, the parkhas now also been declared as aRamsar site. Greater efforts atlaw enforcement have helped toreduce the encroachment ofcommercial fisheries inTubbataha and at two othermarine sites, Mabini andTingloy.

Other marine conservationsuccesses came in Vietnamwhere the government approvedWWF’s proposal for the

Award-winning activity — volunteers recording derelict fishing nets anddebris at Cape Arnhem, Northern Territory, Australia. WWF

establishment of a nationalmarine and coastal protectedarea system covering 495,000ha.Also in Vietnam, the authoritiesin the province of Con Daoaccepted WWF’s proposals forenvironmental management andtourism plans, as well as thecountry’s first ever marinezoning plan for a coastal area. Inthe Solomon Islands, a nationalmoratorium was declared on thepoisoning and exporting of livefish. And in Fiji, WWF’scollaboration with localcommunities in seven villageson Ono Island led to the creationof a pilot marine protected area.An immediate benefit wasnoticed in better managementand regulation of fishingactivities.

In New Zealand the industrysector helped to develop plans tosave the endangered NorthIsland Hector’s dolphin,following WWF’s efforts inpromoting the plight of thespecies.

In Australia, WWF wasappointed to the country’sNational Oceans AdvisoryGroup. And WWF-Australia’sTropical Wetlands of OceaniaProgramme won the 2001Banksia Environmental Awardfor environmental excellence.The award, given to WWF and

its partners, the Dhimurru LandManagement AboriginalCorporation, AustraliaConservation Volunteers, andthe Northern TerritoriesDepartment of Primary Industryand Fisheries, was made for thegroup’s efforts to combat marinedebris washed ashore onAustralia’s northern beaches.

Looking ahead, WWF’smajor focus in 2002 will be onpromoting the MSC standard forcommercial and artisanalfisheries, and conservation ofcoral reef systems through the‘CoralWeb’initiative.


One of the greatest challenges toWWF in its marine work is theelimination of harmful EUfishing subsidies which aredoing untold damage to globalfish stocks. In November 2000,in collaboration with theEuropean Policy Centre, WWFopened the discussion onEuropean fishing subsidiesamongst a wider public ofdecision-makers, scientists,lawyers and journalists in a two-day symposium entitled ‘Fishingin the Dark’. Aimed atpromoting transparency andaccountability in fishing


subsidies, WWF hopes thediscussion will influence furtherdebates in national capitals, aswell as in relevant fora such asthe Organisation for EconomicCooperation and Development(OECD), the World TradeOrganization (WTO), and FAO.

The need for greatertransparency was alreadyevident when, in July 2000,WWF tried to obtain specificinformation about fishingsubsidies from ten Europeancountries. The responses were,with rare exceptions, far fromsatisfactory. This showed thatpublic access to informationabout fishing subsidies is notsufficient to guarantee eitheraccountability or good policy. Arecent report commissioned byWWF, Reforming EU FisheriesSubsidies, authored by theInstitute for EuropeanEnvironmental Policy, highlightsfurther the need for accessibleinformation on EU funding tothe fishing sector.

WWF is also pressing forreform of the European CommonFisheries Policy and a movetowards more sustainable fisherypractices. By mounting a

campaign on fisheries subsidies,WWF is highlighting thedesperate situation facing fishstocks in European waters and inother parts of the world where

European subsidies enable theirfishing fleets to drop their nets(see box on page 31: SahelianUpwelling). A l r e a d y, increasingpressure from WWF and otherNGOs has encouraged Europeanfishing ministers to announcereductions in fishing quotas forseveral commercial species. T h edecision was taken after warningsthat valuable fish stocks, such asIrish Sea cod, were in imminentdanger of collapse.

WWF is calling for strictprotection of the wild Atlanticsalmon which has disappearedcompletely from at least 309river systems in Europe andNorth America. Salmon catchesin the entire North Atlantic fellby more than 80 per centbetween 1970 and the end of the1990s. Commercial oceanharvesting of the species and theimpacts of industrially farmedsalmon on wild salmonpopulations are among the issuesof concern to WWF. Using thescientific data in a reportreleased in May 2001 — TheStatus of Wild Atlantic Salmon:A River by River Assessment —WWF is targeting decision-makers in European capitals, aswell as urging anglingassociations and others to applypressure for action. The reportreveals that the species hasdisappeared from rivers inGermany, Switzerland, theNetherlands, Belgium, the CzechRepublic, and Slovakia, and ison the brink of extinction inEstonia, Portugal, Poland, theUnited States, and parts ofCanada.

The network of marineprotected areas in Europe hasgrown with the establishment inthe Mediterranean of the tri-national Ligurian Sea Sanctuary.The treaty, ratified by France

and Monaco, with Italy still tosign, will strengthen efforts toprotect the area’s whale anddolphin populations from threatsfrom fishing, pleasure vesselsand commercial sea-goingtraffic. Work will start insummer 2002 to map themovements and areas in whichthe whales and dolphins spendmost of their time.

WWF is looking to establishmore marine protected areas andno-fishing zones in theMediterranean, a complexchallenge in a region of manycountries and cultures.Negotiations are already inprogress in Croatia, Libya,Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, andTurkey. The recent creation ofthe 100km2 Zákynthos NationalPark in Greece was a majorachievement for WWF’sEuropean marine programme.

Tourism is also a prime focusof WWF work in theMediterranean region, whichattracts many millions of visitorseach year. Mass tourism has everincreasing impacts on nature,requiring appropriate andsensitive responses from thetourism industry. To raiseawareness on the issue, W W Fattended the tourism industry’smain international event in Berlinin March 2001. The future willsee WWF work in collaborationwith some of the mainstakeholders in the industry todevelop a scheme that promotesthe natural values of theMediterranean Sea, and drawscommitments from the tourismindustry to help protect it.


The oceans surrounding LatinAmerica and the Caribbean span

Loggerhead turtle swimming inLangana Bay, Zákynthos, Greece.

WWF-Canon/Michel Gunther


the spectrum from polar totropical. Thirteen per cent of theworld’s corals reefs occur in theCaribbean, while off the coast ofPeru an upwelling of nutrient-rich waters generates the mostproductive fisheries in theworld. The Humbolt currentpushes these waters north to theGalapagos where they meet upwith warm tropical currentsfrom the western Pacific,generating an amazingassemblage of marine habitatsand species on the equator thatincludes penguins as well astropical fish.

Fisheries throughout theregion have traditionallyprovided employment andincome for coastal residents. Inrecent decades however, asteady increase in the size offishing fleets has led tooverfishing, outstripping theproductivity of many stocks andleading to their depletion. Thisin turn has driven manyfishermen out of work. Inaddition, some fisheries arecatching many other, non-targetspecies (by-catch), theecological repercussions ofwhich are spreading throughoutthe marine food web andthreatening other fisheries andendangered species such asturtles.

Well-managed marineprotected areas (MPAs),including species-rich estuaries,mangroves, seagrass beds, andcoral reefs, help to increase theproductivity of fisheries. MPAsare also important economicallyas they contribute to the creationof jobs and services, particularlyin the tourism and recreationsectors. Well over 135 MPAsexist in the Latin America andCaribbean region. However, thisnumber still represents only a

North-East Atlantic Shelf

Eight different European countries border the North-EastAtlantic Shelf ecoregion: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.The marine resources along the coasts of these countries havelong sustained human livelihoods, but it is only in recentdecades that the exploitation of fisheries, oil and gas reserves,and tourism have grown to unsustainable levels.

The ecoregion is rich in the wide array of habitats and plant andanimal species it contains. Offshore there are cold water coralreefs, kelp forests, and deep-water fish, as well as seals,whales, dolphins, porpoises, sharks and turtles, and ocean-going seabirds. Intertidal mudflats and saltmarshes, such asthose of Europe’s largest coastal wetland, the Wadden Sea,provide millions of migratory birds with essential resting andfeeding places. Shallow offshore features such as the DoggerBank provide crucial reproduction and migration places for largenumbers of marine invertebrate and fish.

Threats to the ecoregion arenumerous and come from bothland and sea. Toxic industrialchemicals, pesticides andnutrients enter the sea from land-based sources via rivers and theatmosphere. This pollution isexacerbated by discharges of oiland chemicals from offshoreplatforms and merchant shipping.Fish stocks and marineecosystems have come underheavy pressure from overfishing,by-catch, discards, anddestruction of reefs, sandbanksand coral reefs by bottom trawling.Then there are the risks from shipping and disturbance tosensitive areas by mass tourism, as well as growing offshoreindustrial installations.

To safeguard the ecoregion, WWF is focusing on the creation ofa network of marine protected areas, sustainable fishingpolicies, and the cessation of toxic pollution by hazardouschemicals.

Conservation successes to date include protection for theshallowest cold water coral reef in Norwegian waters, up to 200metres below the ocean’s surface, and Marine StewardshipCouncil certification of the Thames herring fishery in the UK, thefirst to carry the MSC logo. Fifteen NE Atlantic governmentsextended the list of hazardous chemicals requiring priority actionfrom 15 to 27. Currently, WWF is campaigning for the use ofbiocide-free antifouling paints by the shipping industry, andpressing the offshore oil industry on environmental standardsand habitat conservation in Ireland, Norway, and the UK.


Puffin.Canon-WWF/Michèle Dépraz

38

small fraction of the 20 millionkm of marine area under thenational jurisdiction of theregion’s governments, and manyof them are poorly managed.

Several advances were madeduring the year. WWF was thefirst international conservationo rganization to respond to theJ e s s i c a fuel spill in theGalapagos, establishing ane m e rgency fund of US$340,000and spearheading with theGalapagos National Park Servicethe rescue and rehabilitatione fforts of the islands. W W Fcontinues to play a leading rolein influencing fisheriesmanagement within the reserve.

One of WWF’s priorityecoregions is the MesoamericanCaribbean Reef which extendssome 700km from the northerntip of the Yucatan peninsula inMexico to the Bay Islands offthe coast of Honduras. Itcontains the largest coral reefsystem in the Atlantic. WWF isworking in the reef to shapeeconomic development andstrengthen local conservationefforts. This includes support to

Research being carried out into theimpact of crab pots on the fragilesea grasses of the Gulf of

California, Mexico.WWF-Canon/Edward Parker

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000


NorthAmerica

ConservationPolicy

Campaigns

3,165

4,829

3,960

6,628

858

2,6102,086

CHF,000

W W F ’s Global Conservation Programme —Expenditure on Marine Conservation FY 2 0 0 1

sustainable tourism and fisherieswhile helping to establish andeffectively manage new andexisting marine protected areas.To assure long-term support forconservation of the ecoregionWWF is collaborating with thefour national conservation trustfunds — in Belize, Guatemala,Honduras, and Mexico — todiscuss the development of anecoregional funding mechanism.Conservation of the reefdepends upon WWF’s diverse

and extensive network ofregional and internationalpartnerships.

Fundación Vida SilvestreArgentina (FVSA), WWF’sAssociate organization inArgentina, purchased the MonteLeón Ranch on the southerncoast of the Patagonian SantaCruz province. The propertycovers 60,000ha of Patagoniansteppe and includes more than30km of South Atlantic coast,with sea lions, cormorants,guanacos, and penguins. In thenear future, FVSA will workwith government officials toprotect some of the adjacentmarine areas.

The Gulf of California is oneof the largest and most diversesemi-enclosed bodies of waterin the world. WWF has selectedthis rich sea as one of itspriority ecoregions. Within it,WWF’s Gulf of California teamhas worked with scientists fromMexico and the Scripps Instituteof Oceanography to develop ascientific method for selectingthe most biologically importantsites to make up a network ofmarine protected areas. Theseareas contain critical spawningaggregations of commerciallyimportant fish and shellfishspecies, as well as criticalhabitats for whales, turtles andbirds. From this work thepriorities for biodiversityconservation were defined in aplanning workshop sponsoredby WWF, ConservationInternational and a coalition oflocal academic and governmentpartners in Mexico. The nextsteps are to win protection andintroduce sensitive managementof the areas for the benefit ofthreatened and endangeredspecies, as well as the importantlocal fishing industry.

39Species

species

Global highlights

n Twelve poachers-turned-law enforcers arenow employed in the anti-poaching units inBukit Tigapuluh National Park in Sumatra,Indonesia, putting their knowledge to gooduse for the conservation of tigers.

n With the Thai Elephant ConservationCentre and Royal Forestry Department,WWF helped develop Thailand’s first everconservation action plan for the Asianelephant.

n The Russian government has set thecommercial fishing quota for belugasturgeon at zero in an urgent attempt toprevent the famous fish from becomingextinct.

n No serious upsurges in elephant poachingwere reported in any of the key areas inwhich WWF operates across the range ofthe African elephant.

n A survey of the blind Indus river dolphin inPakistan revealed that some 1,000individuals live in the lower reaches of theriver. Habitat fragmentation and droughtare the main threats to its survival.

n The 1,000th golden lion tamarin was bornin Brazil’s Atlantic forest, the result ofsuccessful conservation action dating backto 1984.

It is estimated that only about one-te

of the 15 million species thought to liveon Earth has been described. For eachbeetle, mollusc, or fungus identified,

there are at least ten yet to be discovered.Each of these myriad plants and animals playsa vital part in the intricate web of life on ourplanet.

In geological terms extinction is normal.What isn't are the current rates. And the lossof any species is especially tragic when due tohuman activities that could have been averted.Scientists estimate that about 7 per cent of theapproximately 50,000 vertebrate species(mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, andfish) are threatened with extinction over thenext 20 years, including a staggering 25 percent of all mammals and 12 per cent of allbirds.

In order to maximize its impact and inspirepeople to support nature conservation, WWFhas chosen to focus its efforts on a smallnumber of well-known, charismatic species.These include giant pandas, tigers, elephants,rhinos, great apes, marine turtles, and whales.

Over the next few years, WWF will workwith its many partners to secure the long-termsurvival of these key species. Successfulconservation of these animals and theirhabitats will also benefit the thousands oflesser known plants and animals with whichthey co-exist and are interdependent.

There are many factors threatening species,including habitat loss, overhunting, invasivealien species, pollution, climate change, andunintentional by-catch. WWF’s SpeciesProgramme has chosen to place specialemphasis on both habitat loss and wildlifetrade.

Susan LiebermanDirector, Species Programme

Successful anti-poaching efforts arehelping African elephants to increasetheir numbers. WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey


horned rhinos of Asia; Africanelephant; Asian elephant;leatherback, loggerhead, green,hawksbill, Olive Ridley, KempsRidley, and flatback marineturtles; gorilla, chimpanzee,orang utan, and bonobos; andendangered cetaceans includingmost of the ‘great’ baleenwhales and smaller cetaceanssuch as vaquita, harbourporpoise, and river dolphins.The action plans for thesespecies will differ depending onthe focus and size of the group.Whilst panda and black rhinos,for example, will be quitespecific, direct and substantial,marine turtles and endangeredcetaceans may well focus onissues that target a number ofspecies in a more generic sense.

In implementing these actionplans at field and global levels— both of which rely on strongpublic, political and institutionalsupport — WWF and its partnerswill complement the work withcritical interventions in marketresearch, law enforcementassistance, advocacy,campaigning, and on-the-groundactions, as well as encouragingconsumers to avoid the use ofspecies or products subject tooverexploitation. Global threats,in particular unsustainablewildlife trade, will be tackledthrough close collaboration withthe TRAFFIC network.

To support conservation workin the Global 200 Ecoregions, theSpecies Programme will alsohelp in implementingconservation strategies forthreatened plants such as big-leafed mahogany, and threatenedmammals such as snow leopard,l a rge carnivores and herbivores,river dolphins, porpoises, andimportant fish species includingthe blue fin tuna and whale shark.

Species conservationh i g h l i g h t s

Overview

The world’s fauna and flora lieat the heart of WWF’s missionto conserve biodiversity. Forfour decades, WWF has beenconserving the global ‘web oflife’, combating habitat loss,unsustainable use and speciesextinction, focusing particularattention on globally importantflagship species. Despite manysuccesses, such as bringing thepolar bear and the Bengal tigerback from the brink ofextinction, the challenge inkeeping species safe from agrowing number of threats isbecoming increasingly difficult.IUCN’s latest ‘Red List’ warnsthat at least 12 per cent of allplants and birds, and a massive25 per cent of all mammals faceextinction in the near future. Themain risks to their survival arefrom loss of habitat and itsfragmentation, illegal wildlifetrade, overuse, loss of prey base,pollution, and climate change.

The animal for which W W Fis best known is the giant panda,the symbol of the org a n i z a t i o nand for conservation globally.Published to coincide withW W F ’s 40th anniversary, thereport Giant Pandas in the Wi l dstates that the disappearance andfragmentation of the panda’srugged mountain forest home arethe major dangers facing pandasin the wild. In Sichuan Provincein China, where the greatestnumber of giant pandas strugglefor survival, suitable habitatoccupied by pandas shrank by 50per cent between 1974 and 1989.A survey in 1999 in one countyin Sichuan revealed that since

W W F ’s vision fors p e c i e s

WWF’s vision for itsSpecies Programme is aworld in which theintrinsic, aesthetic,economic and ecologicalvalues of species arerecognized andrespected worldwideand that, as a result,environmentaldegradation andunsustainable use nolonger threaten thesurvival of wild plantsand animals and theircrucial habitats.

Ta r g e t s

Continuing its 40-year work toconserve key plant and animalspecies representative of theEarth’s biological diversity,WWF’s Species Programme isstructured around two inter-related targets: the first focusedon species of global concern andtheir habitats, and the second onthe cross-cutting issue ofwildlife trade:

n By 2010, populations of keyspecies of global concern arestabilized or increased andtheir critical habitatssafeguarded.

n By 2010, at least ten speciesof global concern are nolonger endangered byoverexploitation.

The species chosen by WWFfor species action plans are:giant panda; tiger; black andwhite rhinos of Africa; Javan,Sumatran and greater one-

Turtles swimming against the tide

Marine turtles in the northern Caribbean have, over thecenturies, been devastated by overexploitation, bringing somepopulations to the brink of extinction and severely threateningothers. A report by TRAFFIC — the wildlife trade programme ofWWF and IUCN — revealed that demand for turtle meat, eggsand other products remains strong in many parts of the region,despite efforts to restrict hunting. To stem the tide ofdestruction, greater cooperation between the countries of theCaribbean is urgently needed.

The report, Swimming Against The Tide, reviewed theexploitation, trade, and management of the six species ofmarine turtles that occur in 11 countries and territories of thenorthern Caribbean. Sea turtle meat and eggs are regularlyconsumed, and products made from turtle oil, cartilage, skinand shell continue to be sold at tourist centres, includinginternational airports, in violation of domestic legislation.

The management and control of turtle exploitation varies greatlyacross the region. Some countries have allocated significantresources to manage and conserve marine turtles, while othershave done little. Legislation is excellent in some countries butincomplete and outdated in others. Enforcement of controls andregulations is strict in some countries, but nearly non-existentelsewhere.

Lack of information is a severe problem. In addition to furtherresearch on the distribution of turtle populations and migrationpatterns, more intense efforts are needed to compile data onharvesting of turtles and eggs, as well as levels of poachingand illegal trade, incidental catch, and product seizures. Greaterinformation exchange is also needed between countries.TRAFFIC proposes the establishment of a regional repositoryfor such information, as well as a centralized database ofseizures and prosecutions to assist authorities in assessingtrends in law enforcement, trade routes, levels of illegal trade,values of products, and smuggling methods.

Countries in the Caribbean need to work closely together toreduce the threats to shared marine turtle populations. Regulardialogue and bilateral or multilateral agreements andmanagement plans are essential. Much more needs to be doneto build regional cooperation in areas such as informationexchange, legislation, enforcement, training, capacity building,and public awareness. Only then can the strong demand forturtles and turtle products be curbed, and marine turtlepopulations in the northern Caribbean rebuilt and conserved.

41

1987 there has been a 30 per centdecrease in panda habitat.

To d a y, there are around 1,000giant pandas remaining in thewild. The results from the three-year National Giant PandaSurvey started in 1999, in whichWWF is helping the Chinesegovernment, will set the trendfor future conservation eff o r t s .WWF believes that urgent actionis required to identify andestablish corridors to linkisolated panda populations. Inaddition, the Chinesegovernment needs to set up apermanent fund to combatchronic financial shortages inpanda reserves.

The world’s mostendangered whale is thenorthern right whale, whichoccurs in the North Atlantic.WWF has forged partnershipswith the International MaritimeOrganisation, the New EnglandAquarium and IUCN’s CetaceanSpecialist Group in efforts tosave it. The cornerstone forsecuring the future of the whaleis WWF’s recently developedwhale conservation programmeand action plan. The mostserious threats that need to beovercome are collisions withvessels and entanglement infishing nets, both of which arecommon causes of injury anddeath.

W W F ’s campaign in theInternational W h a l i n gCommission (IWC) to enduncontrolled commercialwhaling is part of the broadere ffort to minimize humanimpacts on all cetaceans,whether from commercialexploitation, marine pollution,climate change, or a growingarray of other human-inducedthreats. As completelyinternational, migratory species,

Leatherback hatchling, Guyana, South America.WWF-Canon/Roger Leguen

42

whales are the only one ofW W F ’s ‘flagship species’t ohave their own internationalconvention, so this is a crucialforum for WWF advocacy.H o w e v e r, the IWC is currentlyfailing to establish control overwhaling by Japan and Norwaywhich is still taking place inspite of the global moratorium.The IWC is facing deadlockbetween the pro-whaling andnon-whaling member states, andthis is threatening its veryexistence. WWF has beenvigorously lobbying key IWCmembers, both whalers and non-whalers, to agree acceptablesolutions to the impasse, so as todo everything possible to preventwhaling once again becoming athreat to the most endangeredwhales. Such solutions need toinclude new safeguards —including highly precautionarycatch limits and provisions onmonitoring, surveillance, andcontrol — that would bring thewhalers back under full IWCcontrol. W W F ’s past successesin the IWC, including the 1986global moratorium and the 1994Southern Ocean whale sanctuary,were all achieved by workingwith other large NGOs aspartners. In the current complexsituation this is more diff i c u l t ,but is still being done whereverp o s s i b l e .

At both the Climate Summitin Bonn and the IWC meeting inLondon, WWF called ongovernments to take action toensure a future for blue whales.The blue whale population inthe Antarctic was drasticallyreduced by commercial whaling,from 250,000 a century ago toprobably below 1,000 today.The population has shown littlesign of recovery since bluewhales were officially protected

The Cape Floral Kingdom

There are only six floral kingdoms in the world. Of these, theCape Floral Kingdom, at the southern tip of Africa, is the onlyone found entirely within one country. Extending over90,000km2, it is home to more indigenous plant species thanany other similar sized area on Earth, and at least 70 per centof the 9,600 species occur nowhere else.

The characteristic vegetation type is ‘Fynbos’, the most famousspecies of which include a wealth of cut flowers and gardenplants such as proteas, window-box geraniums and sweet-scented freesias. Plants used traditionally as herbal teas,perfumes and roofing thatch now contribute to job creation andthe region’s economy. This is boosted by the millions of visitorswho visit the Western and Eastern Cape provinces each year.

Surrounding the Cape Floral Kingdom are important marine,coastal and freshwater environments. More than 11,000 speciesof marine animals and 800 sea-weeds have been recorded.These resources provide income and employment for coastalcommunities involved in commercial and subsistence fishingand the tourism industry.

Due to a number of factors, at least 1,400 plant species arenow endangered or close to extinction. Stocks of some marinefish and shellfish, in particular abalone, are now dangerouslylow, and 14 of the 19 species of freshwater fish are facingextinction. The direct threats to biodiversity are symptoms of adeeper set of problems relating to people’s perceptions andpolitical will. These are the fundamental challenges to address ifthe biodiversity of the Cape Floral Kingdom is to survive and tocontinue supporting local livelihoods.

The Cape Action Plan for the Environment (CAPE) was initiatedto develop a long-term strategy to conserve biodiversity in theKingdom’s terrestrial, marineand freshwater ecosystems.Managed on behalf of theSouth African government byWWF-South Africa, after twoyears of analysis, consultationand planning, the Action Planwas presented to public andpotential donors in September2000.

The CAPE project has providedthe people of South Africa, inparticular those who live withinthe boundaries of the CapeFloral Kingdom, withtremendous hope, and hasinspired the conservationcommunity with vision andenergy to turn plans into action.


Cape sugarbird, endemic to theFynbos region and the mainpollinator of Proteacheaeflowers. WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

Species 43

from whaling more than 35years ago. Following a studyreleased by the British RoyalSociety, WWF warned that themain food source for Antarcticblue whales, krill, is underthreat due to melting polar ice,linked to climate change. If thisdecline continues it willseriously affect the entireecosystem of the SouthernOcean and could lead to theextinction of the blue whale inthe Antarctic. The studyconcluded that the demand forkrill now exceeds supply.Compounding the threat ofclimate change to krillpopulations is the interest shownby several countries to step upthe commercial krill fishery,possibly to unsustainable levels.WWF fears that this activitycould be the final nail in thecoffin of the blue whale.


The African continent containsanimals which come under fourof WWF’s ‘flagship’speciesgroups: African Elephant, blackand white rhinos, great apes,and marine turtles. Fullprogrammes are in place forwork on elephants and rhinos.Programmes for apes and turtlesare currently in preparation. Tohelp WWF assess its overallconservation impact, a numberof other species are also beingmonitored.

Preparations for the 11 t hCITES Conference of Partiesincluded the Fourth A f r i c a nRange States Dialogue inNairobi. This meeting wasdevoted to relieving the tensionbetween the four range states(Botswana, Namibia, SouthAfrica and Zimbabwe) that wereproposing further limited trade

in ivory, and Kenya, which alongwith India had proposed thereturn of all elephant populationsto CITES Appendix 1. Whilst thedialogue was unable to achieveagreement on the proposals, itcertainly paved the way to thecompromise solution that wasagreed during the CITESconference: Kenya’s resolutionwas withdrawn; South A f r i c a ’selephants were downlisted; tradein non-ivory products was giventhe green light; and nopopulations were returned toAppendix 1. Two WWF staffmembers — Dr Holly Dublinand Dr Martin Tchamba — weresubsequently appointed to theCITES Technical A d v i s o r yGroup established for theinternational system to monitorillegal killing of elephants( M I K E ) .

African rhinos have beenreported to be stable orincreasing in all but one of thepopulations that WWF issupporting. Kenya’s 420 blackrhinos were reported to beincreasing at a rate of 4 per centper year. Seventeen rhinos weresuccessfully translocated fromNairobi National Park andOljogi Ranch to Tsavo EastNational Park. WWF’s southernAfrica office joined aconsortium of agencies to beginimplementation of the SADC(Southern Africa Development

Community) RhinoConservation Programme, withfunding from the Italiangovernment. In Zimbabwe,black rhino births increased thepopulation in reserves from 194to 209, while in Kwazulu-Nataland Kruger National Park inSouth Africa, rhino numbershave increased at between 6 and7 per cent over the last five toseven years.

All of WWF’s rhino fieldprojects are carried out throughpartnerships with range statewildlife management authoritiesand/or private custodians orlandowners. Two obstaclescontinue to impede progress:declining range state budgets forrhino conservation, and majorstaffing turnovers. WWF’sZimbabwe Rhino Conservancyfaced the greatest challenge overthe past year as a result of stillunresolved land issues leadingto a large number of peoplemoving onto and settling on theconservancies.

Elephant conservation moveda technological notch higherunder a joint WWF/NorthCarolina Zoo project inCameroon when three animalswere fitted with satellite collarsto track movements in the WazaLogone, Kalamaloué andBenoué National Parks. Noserious upsurges in elephantpoaching were reported in any

Blue whale — climate change and commercial fishing is seriously affectingthe supply of krill in Antarctic waters, adding to the pressures on this giant ofthe seas. WWF-Canon/Pieter Lagendyk


presence of a group of westernlowland gorillas, composed ofan adult male silverback, afemale and a one-year old baby,should allow limited gorilla-based tourism in the Dzanga-Sangha Forest reserve.


Tigers featured strongly in thepast year’s long list ofconservation successes forWWF’s species work across theAsia/Pacific region. Activities inBhutan, India, Indochina,Indonesia, Nepal, and Thailandincluded increased protection,anti-poaching, initiation ofcommunity-based tigerconservation, monitoring ofpopulation sizes, and trackingthe illegal trade in tiger parts. InIndonesia, WWF completed thetraining and recruitment of anti-poaching units in BukitTigapuluh National Park inSumatra, where at least sixtigers were reported to havebeen killed in 1998-1999.Twelve poachers-turned-lawenforcers are now employed inthe team. In Bhutan, the firstphotographic evidence came oftigers living above 3,000 metres,while the first ever photographswere taken in Cambodia oftigers in the wild.

There was considerableactivity during 2001 underW W F ’s Asian Rhino andElephant Action Strategy(AREAS) programme, launchedin 1998. In Nepal, 21 rhinos havenow been translocated fromRoyal Chitwan National Park toRoyal Bardia National Park,raising the number of rhinosthere to over 75. The US Fishand Wildlife Service co-fundedthe operation, which was carriedout by the Nepalese Department

People and Plants

Since 1997, the People and Plants Programme, a joint initiativeof WWF, UNESCO and Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, incollaboration with the Nepalese Department of National Parksand Wildlife Conservation, has worked with the people of Dolpain a remote area of Nepal close to the Tibetan border toconserve medicinal plants — the vital basis of traditionalhealthcare.

Trade in medicinal plants from the Himalayas has been growingrapidly — between 40–80 tonnes being exported annually fromDolpa alone. The building of a small airstrip 20 years agoresulted in greater access and increased pressure onvulnerable species. Selling medicinal plants is also an attractiveproposition in this poor area, where few income-generatingopportunities exist.

Over the past four years the People and Plants team has triedto gain a holistic understanding of the ecological, social,economic, cultural, and religious dimensions of conservationand sustainable use at Dolpa. Surveys revealed the breadth ofknowledge among local healers (‘amchis’), with up to 375 plantsused in treatments in the lower Dolpa alone. The amchis knowwhere the plants grow and how to harvest them properly. Asurvey found 18 species to be traded in large quantities andjudging by the continuing growth in herbal medicine worldwide,the number of species traded and quantities may well rise.

Two major targets for further work were identified as a result ofthese surveys: development of a community-based model formedicinal plants management and enhancement of thecapacities of the amchis and women to improve local health-care. The inauguration of a Traditional Health Care Centre inJune 2000 represented a milestone in this work, and anothercentre is planned. Efforts will also be made to create awarenessof this project elsewhere in the Himalayas, given the great needin the whole region to improve ways in which medicinal plantsare managed for the benefit of local communities and beyond.

of the range areas in whichWWF operates. Cross-borderefforts to tackle poaching arebeing made in Cameroon,Central African Republic, Congoand Gabon. And successful anti-poaching efforts continued in theSelous Game Reserve inTanzania, which now has one ofthe largest elephant populationsin Africa at nearly 65,000animals — almost twice what itwas twelve years ago. TheZimbabwe and Namibiapopulations, estimated at 84,000

and 7,684 respectively, are alsoreported to be increasing.

One of the main threats toAfrica’s great apes is theescalating bushmeat trade.Despite this, no losses ofmountain gorillas were reportedduring the year by the WWF-supported International GorillaConservation Programme, andthe 620 mountain gorillas in theVirunga mountains and BwindiNational Park all continue tosurvive. In Central Africa, thesuccessful habituation to human

Species 45

of National Parks and Wi l d l i f eConservation and the KingMahendra Trust for NatureConservation. An experimentaltranslocation of four rhinos toRoyal Sukhlaphanta Wi l d l i f eReserve also took place.

Efforts to boost anti-poaching patrols in Indonesia’sUjung Kulon National Park, thejewel in the country’s networkof protected areas, weresuccessful in that no Javanrhinos have been lost during thelast twelve months. A steadygrowth in ecotourism in the parkis also boosting the livelihood oflocal communities. In Vietnam,rhinos have returned to thePhuoc Son salt lick aftersuccessful negotiations withlocal people to stop farming thearea. To improve protection forrhinos and other animals in thepark, three guard stations havebeen built and kitted out withradios and motorbikes, and ahigh-speed boat provided forpatrolling the adjacent Dong NaiRiver.

Following intense lobbyingby WWF in Indonesia, theGovernor of Riau provincemade a recommendation to thefederal government that theTesso Nilo area be set aside asan elephant conservation area.However, influential timbercompanies and logging groupsare fighting the proposal and theoutcome is far from certain. IfWWF fails, the entire forestmay be completely logged overwithin the next seven years.WWF now needs to demonstratehow protecting the area canbenefit both local communitiesand government.

In Thailand, WWF helpedthe Thai Elephant ConservationCentre and Royal ForestryDepartment develop the

One of 21 rhinos translocated from Nepal’s Royal Chitwan National Park toRoyal Bardia National Park, raising the number of rhinos there to over 75.

WWF Nepal

country’s first ever conservationaction plan for the Asianelephant. In addition, 16elephants were reintroduced intothe wild in three areas, andfurther releases are planned.Further surveys of Asianelephants have taken place innorth-east Cambodia todetermine the species’distribution, seasonalmovements, preferred habitat,seasonal water sources, saltlicks, and food sources. Much ofthe research effort to date hasalso helped build capacityamong Cambodianconservationists to plan andconduct surveys on their ownand share their findings with theinternational community.

A recommendation by theVietnamese Vice Prime Ministerto redraw the boundaries of CatBa Marine National Park andallocate the park’s buffer zonesfor commercial aquaculturecould have adverseconsequences on plant andanimal life, especially thegolden-headed langur. Thiscritically endangered primate isonly found in the wild on CatBa Island in Halong Bay. Itspopulation is believed to numberas few as 100 individuals. WWFis looking to engage in dialoguewith government to find a

balance between economicneeds and those of conservationwithout damaging the integrityof the park. To date, WWF, withsupport from the Dutchgovernment, has beeninstrumental in establishing anenvironmental education centrewhich provides schoolchildrenand visitors with informationabout the park and involvesthem in educational activitiesalong the park’s nature trails.

In June 2001, an agreementon the conservation ofalbatrosses and petrels wassigned at A u s t r a l i a ’s ParliamentHouse by representatives of allsouthern hemisphere nationssurrounding the Southern Ocean(the home range of the birds)and by nations with interests inthe region. WWF-Australia haspreviously advocatedsuccessfully for the listing ofalbatrosses on the country’sEndangered Species Act (1992)and for the listing of commerciallong-line fishing as a main causeof seabird mortality.

A seven-week survey ofIndus river dolphins along theentire 1,370km length of theIndus concluded that some 1,000individuals inhabit its lowerreaches. The data collected by ateam of biologists from W W Fand the government of Pakistan


will enable conservationists tosecure a future for this peculiar,blind species. Described as a‘living fossil’, the Indus riverdolphin is one of only fivespecies that have, over a periodof millions of years, adapted toliving in fresh water. It useshigh-frequency sound tonavigate, socialize and locate itsprey in much the same way as amodern submarine uses sonar. Aserious threat to the survival ofthe dolphin is entrapment innarrow irrigation canals. T h epopulation has been fragmentedinto different sections of theriver by construction of barragesthat divert water into the world’sl a rgest irrigation system. T h e s esmall populations have slowlydwindled due to inbreeding or asanimals wash downstreamduring floods. Recent extremedroughts in South Asia havemade the situation worse aswater levels drop to record lows,drastically reducing the areas ofriver available to the dolphins.

In other highlights, two raredolphin species — theIrrawaddy dolphin and the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin —were found in the waters of theKikori reserve in Papua NewGuinea. The remains of anunidentified species of deerwere discovered in Bhutan’sThrumshingla National Park.Scientists have yet to establishwhether it is a species new toscience or that of the extinctBhutan Shou deer. In Vietnam,

This Indus river dolphin was foundtrapped in an irrigation channel andreleased back into the river.

Siamese crocodile — subject of a reintroduction programme in Vietnam.WWF/B Hayes

private breeders and researchinstitutes collaborated withWWF to develop a plan toreintroduce the endangeredSiamese crocodile. And a WWFsurvey of wild orchids in PapuaNew Guinea’s Moro and LakeKutubu areas recorded 345species, including at least 20new to science.

In 2002, the AREASprogramme will focus on issuesof poaching, human/wildlifeconflict, and habitatfragmentation. A regional tigerconservation action plan willalso be launched, as will theAsia/Pacific component of theglobal marine turtle speciesaction plan. Preparations willalso get under way for the 12thCITES conference.


The EU Habitats Directive —the most important natureconservation legislation inEurope — entered into force in1992. However, itsimplementation has been at bestdisappointing. WWF iscampaigning vigorously tospeed up realization of the‘Natura 2000’network which,when complete, will comprisethousands of sites ofoutstanding importance for bothhabitats and species across EUMember States.

WWF has produced a‘shadow list’ of Natura 2000sites which have yet to bedesignated by nationalgovernments. Within a year ofpublishing this list, the numberof candidate sites officiallyproposed by Member States hadincreased by nearly a quarter.Simultaneously, WWF has beenlobbying governments andworking with the EuropeanCommission to influence theway in which the EU’s vastexpenditure on agriculture andregional development is applied.WWF believes thatimplementation of the HabitatsDirective can only succeed ifthese huge EU budgets areredirected to support sustainablerural development. As a memberof the European Habitats Forum,WWF is actively engaged in the‘Natura 2000’ site selectionprocess, working to ensure thatthe network’s coverage reallywill provide adequate protectionfor Europe’s threatened speciesand habitats. The 13 ‘Candidatecountries’, mostly in central andeastern Europe, queuing to jointhe EU will have to comply withthe Habitats Directive from dayone of their membership.Recognizing the richbiodiversity of the region, WWFis pressing for full and speedyimplementation, with a specialfocus on priority Global 200Ecoregions such as the

Species 47

Mediterranean, Baltic Sea, theDanube, and the CarpathianMountains.

WWF currently has twoinitiatives underway to save orreintroduce large carnivores andlarge herbivores to appropriatenatural sites within Europe. Keyto the success of theseprogrammes are publicawareness, in particular to gainpublic acceptance for carnivoreslike the wolf, and adequateprotection and management ofthe species’ habitats. Throughthese initiatives WWF hopes tosee stable and successfulpopulations of animals such asbrown bears, wolves, Iberianlynxes, wolverines, wild horses,bison, gazelles, wild goats andwild sheep re-established informer ranges across Europe. Todate, Konik horses have beensuccessfully reintroduced toLatvia; the European Bison hasbeen returned to its originalhabitat in Russia and Poland,where about 30,000ha ofgrasslands have become newlyprotected areas; and the numberof Mongolian Saiga antelopeshas more than doubled since1998 thanks to appropriateprotection of its home range inthe Altai-Sayan ecoregion.

According to the most recenttally of wolves in Norway andSweden, the South Scandinavianpopulation numbersapproximately 80 animals in upto twelve family groups, three ofwhich roam only in Norway.WWF and five other NGOs inSweden and Norway launched astrong attack on the Norwegiangovernment’s wildlife policyafter permission was granted toshoot nine wolves in February2001. The government’sDirectorate for NatureManagement originally proposed

to kill up to 20 wolves inresponse to complaints fromsheep farmers about losinglivestock to carnivores. In July, alicence to cull four more wolveswas issued after 22 sheep wereclaimed to have been woundedor killed by wolves. An advisorypanel of Swedish andNorwegian scientists concludedthat a minimum of 500 wolves isneeded for the long-termviability of the wolf in SouthScandinavia. WWF-Norway hasbeen pressing the government toexplain the official rationalebehind the decisions.

In collaboration with theTRAFFIC programme and awide range of internationalNGOs, WWF has set up a pan-European migratory fish projectwith a particular focus onsalmon and sturgeon. The firstsuccess came in Russia when thegovernment set the commercialfishing quota for belugasturgeon to zero. The long-termbenefit of sturgeon conservationwill be further promoted, alongwith public awarenesscampaigns for the conservationof threatened aquatic species.

Among future initiatives inEurope, in the Mediterraneanregion WWF will be placingspecial emphasis on terrestrialecoregions, aiming at

conservation of large mammalssuch as leopard, Mediterraneandeer, Barbary ape, golden jackal,and brown bear.


In Latin America and theCaribbean, where habitat lossremains the greatest threat to thesurvival of plant and animalspecies, WWF has opted tofocus on two ‘flagship’ species:marine turtles and mahogany.

The oceans surrounding thewestern hemisphere contain six ofthe seven species of marineturtles. While some species, suchas the Pacific Olive Ridley, haverecovered from the brink ofextinction, the Pacific leatherbackhas plummeted in spite of eff o r t sto protect traditional nestingbeaches. Others, such as the greenturtle of the Gulf of Californiaand the Galapagos, and thehawksbill turtle of the Caribbeancontinue to be threatened byillegal harvesting for meat, eggsand shells.

The largest concentration ofleatherbacks in the world isobserved every year from Marchto August in the Guianas(Guyana, Suriname and FrenchGuiana). During this year ’snesting season an average of 70leatherbacks were sighted pernight on the beaches of FrenchGuiana, whereas in 2000 up to300 were recorded per nightduring the month of June. Analarming number of strandingshave occurred this year; duringApril, the number of deadleatherback turtles found on thebeaches of French Guianasometimes reached 11 a day. Totackle this problem, the WWFGuianas Forests andEnvironmental Conservation

Eurasian lynx — part of WWF’sLarge Carnivore Initiative in Europe.

WWF-Canon/Roger Leguen


Project is providing financialand technical support forincreased patrolling of coastalwaters near the nesting beaches.The initiative also aims toaddress the issue of incidentalby-catch of marine turtles in thefishing industry. The GuyanaMarine Turtle ConservationSociety, WWF’s partner inGuyana, is working with theMinistry of Agriculture andFisheries to establish atemporary fishing ban in thecoastal waters off the nestingbeaches and launchedenvironmental education effortstargeting fishermen.

Mahogany, especially big-leafed mahogany, is a keystonespecies, both ecologically andeconomically. One of the tallesttrees in Neotropical America, itsupports a multitude of plantand animal species and manyhealthy local economies. Big-leafed mahogany is currently themost commercially important ofthe species, replacing Honduranand Caribbean mahogany, bothof which are considered

commercially extinct throughoutmuch of their ranges. However,demand for this valuable timberis still high, with the UnitedStates driving a highly lucrativetrade in big-leafed mahoganythat threatens some of theworld’s most valuableAmazonian rainforests. A recentstudy by TRAFFIC found thatthe US accounts for 60 per centof the global mahogany trade.According to the reportMahogany Matters: The USMarket for Big-Leafed

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000


NorthAmerica

ConservationPolicy

Campaigns

7,609 7,779

9,939

2,9021,513 2,280

0

CHF,000

W W F ’s Global Conservation Programme —Expenditure on Species Conservation FY 2 0 0 1

Mahogany supports many plant andanimal species and localeconomies. WWF-Canon/Paul Forster

Mahogany and its Implicationsfor the Conservation of theSpecies, the equivalent of about57,000 big-leafed mahoganytrees was harvested and shippedto the US in 1998 alone tosupply a robust business inmahogany furniture.

Where it has been depletedin the Caribbean and CentralAmerica, mahogany is nowbeing harvested from the denser,tropical forests of LatinAmerica, including Peru andBrazil, in some of the mostbiologically diverse regions inthe world. Roads designed forfelling high-value trees likemahogany allow access tomigrating farmers who convertthe forests to farmland,increasing the loss of plant andanimal species. In Peru, thedistance from mahogany foreststo mills is increasing, indicatingthat forests are being mined, notmanaged. The report states thatconsumers, importers andgovernments can demand andbuy mahogany products that arecertified environmentallyfriendly by the ForestStewardship Council (FSC).Currently, two US companiesimport FSC-certified mahogany,but the demand, and the supply,is increasing. Big-leafedmahogany is a valuablecomponent of many localeconomies and should continuebeing harvested. It simply needsto be done in a more methodicalfashion that ensures a long-termsupply and the survival ofthreatened and endangeredspecies.

49Climate Change

climate change

Global highlights

n 178 countries, but excluding the UnitedStates, signed up to the Kyoto Protocol atthe climate summit in Bonn in July. WWFis now campaigning for rapid ratification ofthe treaty. While the deal is weaker thanhoped for, it provides a sound architecturefor reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

n IBM, Johnson and Johnson, and Polaroidbecame the first three internationalcompanies to sign up to WWF’s ClimateSavers programme, committingthemselves to making absolute reductionsin their greenhouse gas emissions.

n 140 companies from nine countriesincluding the US and Japan signed theEuropean Business Council forSustainable Energy’s ‘e-mission 55 —Business for Climate’ backing the KyotoProtocol.

n Following a WWF campaign to promoterenewable energy in the Netherlands,more than 200,000 households are nowsubscribing to green electricity, promptingWWF to consider mounting a European-wide consumer campaign.

n In Brazil, climate change is now a keyfactor in planning new protected areas.

In the last six years, climate change

moved from the back page to the front.It has gone from an issue thatgovernments could ignore, to one that

affects foreign policy and national elections. It is fair to say that non-governmental

organizations generally, and WWFspecifically, can claim a good deal of theresponsibility for lifting climate change to thetop of the political agenda.

WWF has been present and active in thekey moments of the climate debate —highlighting the scientific basis for action,convincing companies to move forward,engaging the public, and pressuringgovernments to adopt a serious approach toclimate change. The acceptance by 178countries of the climate treaty in July 2001 isbut the start of a whole new phase of work.Huge challenges lie ahead, not leastratification of the treaty and positive steps toturn promises into reality.

WWF is well prepared to face thosechallenges head on by using the lessons it haslearned over the last six years to move theworld to the next stage — a world wherecarbon has a value, businesses have carbonmanagement plans, and governments are heldtruly accountable for their actions on climatechange. WWF is well placed and ready to go.

Jennifer MorganDirector, Climate Change Programme

The green option — a wind farm in theNetherlands where 200,000 homes arenow plugged into renewable energy.

WWF-Netherlands


the reduction of vulnerabilityto climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change (IPCC) statesthat a 60–80 per cent reductionin carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions is necessary by 2050to avoid serious climate changeimpacts. A 10 per cent cut inC O2 emissions in industrializedcountries by 2010 will ensurethat investments andtechnological progress are madethat will enable deeper cuts inthe future. Actions aimed atreducing emissions will includean initial focus on the powers e c t o r, this being the larg e s tcontributor (34%) to world CO2

emissions, possessing thegreatest reduction potential andbeing a sector in which W W Falready has some experience.This will be complemented bypushing for legislation governingC O2 emissions from the powersector in major industrializedcountries and a continued eff o r tto obtain entry into force of theKyoto Protocol by the time ofthe Rio+10 Summit onSustainable Development inSeptember 2002.

The second target aims atlaying the foundations forsolutions to climate change indeveloping countries, throughcommitments from multinationalinvestors and nationallegislation. Initially, the focuswill be on the Asia/Pacificregion where emissions growthrates and projected grossemissions are high, and where,with energy marketliberalization and trade andinvestment patterns, there areincreasing opportunities to workwith the private sector.

The third target is a directresponse to the increasing

evidence of climate changeimpacts on biodiversity. WWFwill continue to document theimpacts of climate change onwildlife and develop appropriateconservation strategies,particularly in the Global 200Ecoregions.

Combating climatec h a n g e

Overview

Developing a coherent andcross-cutting strategy on climatechange is fundamental toeffective conservation. In mostregions, global warming willtend to exacerbate the pressuresalready being exerted on naturalecosystems and, in some cases,will lead to radical shifts inspecies distribution and loss ofecological functions. Through itscampaigning work on climatechange, WWF aims tocontribute — through a mixtureof advocacy, policy work,partnerships andcommunications — to ensuringthat policies to reducegreenhouse gas emissions areeffectively implemented aroundthe world before these impactsbecome overwhelming.

During the last two years,WWF’s Climate ChangeCampaign has concentrated onthree areas: continuing to raiseawareness of the magnitude ofthe global warming problem;demonstrating the availability ofcost-effective solutions; andpressing for credible nationaland international climate changepolicies. The campaign hascontinued to focus public andpolitical attention on the needfor immediate action,highlighting the threats to theEarth’s key ecoregions. Studies

W W F ’s vision forclimate change

WWF’s vision for climatechange is that, by 2030,the supply and use ofenergy and rawmaterials will have beentransformed. Policy-makers, the privatesector, and investors —driven by pressure fromcivil society — will havetaken action to reducecarbon dioxideemissions and curbhuman-induced globalwarming. Seriousdamage to the world’smost important areasfrom climate change willbe avoided.

Ta r g e t s

To achieve its vision WWF’sClimate Change Programme hasset three global targets:

n By 2010, ten per centreduction below 1990emissions in industrializedcountry carbon dioxideemissions

n By 2010, initiatives shouldbe underway in 30developing countries toimplement solutions leadingto a significant reduction incarbon intensity, in particularfrom the combustion offossil fuels

n By 2010, 50 countries areimplementing adaptationstrategies in keyecoregions/biomes andsectors of their economies onthe basis of national plans for

Climate Change 51

published include: impacts onbiodiversity, showing likelyextinctions due to the inabilityof species to adapt sufficientlyrapidly to their changedenvironment; the risks to themaintenance of existing forestcover, particularly in the tropics;and the damage being done tofragile coral reefs.

Work on solutions has beendesigned to overcome thearguments that reducinggreenhouse gas emissions willnecessarily be costly andinvolve economic and socialdislocation. Studies in the USAand Japan have demonstratedthat both countries’Kyototargets can be met withnegligible economic impact andwithout recourse to theinternational carbon market.Climate Savers agreements —under which leading companiescommit themselves to makingabsolute reductions in theirgreenhouse gas emissions —have been signed with IBM,Johnson and Johnson, andPolaroid.

Policy advocacy hasconcentrated on pressing forrules that ensure theenvironmental integrity of theKyoto Protocol and for itsratification by nationalgovernments. A WWF-ledpublic lobbying campaign —‘Climate Voice’ — succeeded inmobilizing the public to sendover 12 million messages toworld leaders before the 2000meeting in The Hague.Nevertheless, the politicaldifficulties surrounding theinternational negotiations on theProtocol, in particular theunilateral rejection of the treatyby the United Statesadministration, made fornegligible progress.

Campaigning for the Kyoto Protocol

2001 began with the election of George W Bush as the newPresident of the USA. As a candidate, Mr Bush had voiced hisscepticism about global warming and his opposition to theKyoto Protocol. In March, he made his views known asPresident, sending a letter to four US senators that he wasopposed to the Kyoto Protocol due to the economic harm itwould cause the US and the fact that China and India do nothave targets or timetables. He also broke his campaign promiseto regulate CO2 emissions from power plants. Internationalreaction was loud and sustained. The future of the KyotoProtocol was in doubt. With climate change and Kyotoappearing in media headlines around the world, the situationprovided WWF with a prime campaigning opportunity.

In the USA, WWF ran a campaign to prevent the Bushadministration from blocking other countries from movingforward with Kyoto. In Europe, public opinion polls werecommissioned in Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the UK todemonstrate public support for the European Union movingahead without the US. Success was achieved when PrimeMinister Berlusconi of Italy stated his support for Kyoto and theGoteborg Summit solidified the heads of state around movingahead with the treaty regardless of the US position.

In Japan, which is key to achieving the Kyoto Protocol withoutthe inclusion of the USA, WWF staged a large symposium inTokyo with keynote speakers from the IPCC and WWF; issueda scenario on how Japan could meet its emissions reductiontarget; published a study on competitiveness; undertook anational public opinion poll; and placed an advertisement signedby over 60 NGOs worldwide in the largest business newspaperasking Prime Minister Koizumi to back the treaty.

Recognizing the key role of business in the Kyoto debate, WWFthrew its support behind the ‘e-mission 55 — Business forC l i m a t e ’ initiative. Hosted by the European Business Council for

Sustainable Energy, the goalwas to persuade 55 companiesto state their support for theentry into force of the KyotoProtocol. By the time of theclimate treaty negotiations inBonn in July, more than 140companies from nine countriesincluding the US and Japan hadjoined, declaring their supportfor the Protocol and wanting tosee it enter into force. A m o n gthem are prominent companiessuch as Deutsche Telekom, theUK insurance company CGNU,household appliancemanufacturer AEG, the CreditSuisse Group, Ricoh fromJapan and the reinsurancecompany Swiss Re.

"Don’t let the Protocol meltaway" — WWF unveiled a 3.5-tonne ice sculpture of the Earthas the world’s environmentministers convened in Bonn fordecisive talks on the climatetreaty.

WWF Climate Change Campaign

52

Campaigning work continuedright up to and during the Bonnclimate summit in July whenMinisters from 178 countriesconcluded a political agreementto finalize the rules of the KyotoProtocol. To a barrage ofcriticism by delegates at thesummit, the US delegationconfirmed their intention not tosign up. While the deal wasweaker than WWF had hoped, itprovides a sound architecture forsetting CO2 emissions fromindustrialized countries on adownward trend. It also sets therules for the use of mechanismssuch as emissions trading and theClean Development Mechanism,and includes a funding packageto assist developing countries inadapting to the inevitableimpacts of climate change. T h eproposal also includes a limitedamount of ‘sinks’that absorbcarbon from the atmosphere andbinding consequences forcountries that do not meet theirt a rgets. WWF immediately setabout campaigning for countriesto move to rapid ratification sothat the Protocol enters into forceby the Johannesburg Summit inSeptember 2002.


Until now, the bulk of WWF’sclimate change activities havebeen focused on developedcountries — those responsiblefor most of the world’s CO2

emissions and which have beenseen as more likely to have theability to pay for necessarytechnological changes. Now, thefocus is shifting towardsdeveloping countries, with theAsia/Pacific region, vast areas ofwhich lie at or close to sea level,at the forefront of future effortsto mitigate global warming.

Most of the climate work inthe region in 2001 took place inChina, with projects onpartnership building, capacitystrengthening, public awareness,and sustainable rural energydevelopment. In the Philippines,WWF worked on raisingpolitical and public awarenesswith the Philippine NGOnetwork on climate change andthe Philippine Climate ChangeInformation Centre onInformation Dissemination, aswell as being an influentialvoice in the Renewable EnergyNetwork. Elsewhere, WWFlooked at the potential impactsof climate change locally onpeople and wildlife, took part inpublic awareness symposia, andworked on engaging industries.The most widespread activityhas been at the policy level,putting forward WWF’s viewson the actions needed to combatclimate change to nationalgovernments.

With India and China as twoof the world’s largest (presentand future) producers ofgreenhouse gases, WWF needsto engage these countries inadvocating energy efficiency andcleaner fuels. The same work

will apply in conserving theMekong River ecoregion, partsof which lie in Cambodia,China, Laos, Myanmar,Thailand, and Vietnam. Theimpact of climate change onmarine ecosystems is alsorelevant to WWF’s work in theSouth Pacific and thePhilippines. All will requireincreasing capacity in advocacyand other technical skills relatedto climate change. Part of thiswill be met through theexpansion of the WWF ClimateChange Programme in theregion.

One initiative in 2001occurred in Bangkok, Thailand,in July. A public meeting onclimate change, organized by theCentre for EcologicalEconomics, WWF andGreenpeace, called for a strongstance on the Kyoto Treaty bythe Thai government and othermembers of the Association ofSouth East Asian Nations(ASEAN) at the Bonn climatenegotiations. The meeting alsocalled for ASEAN to exert moreinfluence on future climatenegotiations, as well as to workmore closely with civil societyand other stakeholders to assurea ‘safer’ climate. Thailand, likemany other developingcountries, is particularlyvulnerable to the impacts ofclimate change. Among theeffects of climate changeexpected in Thailand are dropsin rice and maize yields due todecreases in rainfall and watershortages.


Within Europe, reduction ofgreenhouse gas emissions to theatmosphere, in particular from

The Lena Delta in Russia —melting Siberian permafrost isincreasing water flows in rivers,bringing increased risks of flooding.

WWF Arctic Programme

Climate Change 53

near future is to ‘green’ one ortwo of the EU’s key financialinstitutions.

WWF will also demonstratehow climate change and globalwarming influence biologicalpatterns. A new study by theRussian Academy of Sciencesshows that vast expanses ofSiberian permafrost are thawingand that water flows in riversystems, such as the Yeniseyand the Lena, have significantlyincreased. The scientists cite theincrease of average temperaturesin recent years as the reason forthe phenomena, and warn ofserious consequences for bothpeople and the environment.

One species that will sufferfrom warming temperatures isthe polar bear. With the Arcticice melting, polar bears arefinding it more difficult to maketheir seasonal migrations —there is often simply not enoughpack ice left. In a new projectcombining a scientific studywith public awareness activities,WWF will highlight the plightof the polar bear. To furtherdemonstrate the consequencesof global warming, WWF willalso conduct climate impact andadaptation studies in two Global200 ecoregions in Russia.


Until 1999, there had been littlework undertaken by WWF onclimate change in the LatinAmerica and Caribbean region.Over the past two years,however, the situation haschanged considerably asawareness has grown of both thecurrent and potential impacts ofclimate change, and theinternational negotiations on theKyoto Protocol, particularly the

Fanning the flames of climate change — pollution pours into the air from afactory in Finland. WWF-Canon/Mauri Rautkari

the burning of fossil fuels, is theprime focus of WWF work. Forthe EU to meet its commitmentunder the Kyoto Protocol to cutemissions by 8 per cent between2008 and 2012, a shift tosustainable renewable energysources will be necessary. Theseinclude solar and biomass, andclean technologies, as well assuper-efficient buildings,appliances and motor vehicles.WWF’s approach is twofold:strengthening the politicalframework for domesticemissions reductions providedby the global treaty on climatechange, and cooperating withindustry to develop alternativeenergy systems and influencethe new-energy market.

In the year ahead, ratificationof the Kyoto Protocol will be atthe centre of politicaldiscussions, peaking inSeptember 2002 at the globalRio +10 Summit for SustainableDevelopment in Johannesburg,South Africa. With its positivestance on emissions control andreductions, Europe has theopportunity not only to take thelead in developing new, energy-efficient technologies and newenergy sources, but inestablishing a market advantage,and at the same time helpingdeveloping countries to cutdown on their own emissions.

Recognizing this, WWF is

collaborating with majorelectricity distributioncompanies to increase the use of‘green’ energy. In theNetherlands, green electricitywas introduced in 1995 and isnow available nationally. Thepremium paid for greenelectricity (an additional 5–10%compared to non-renewablepower generation) is invested insolar, wind and biomass energyproduction. At the start ofWWF’s campaign to promoterenewable energy, 100,000Dutch households were alreadysubscribing to green electricity.Three weeks into the campaign,a further 20,000 households hadconverted. The number ofsubscribers has since grown tomore than 200,000, encouragingWWF to mount a European-wide consumer campaign forgreen electricity.

WWF is also working withthe construction sector todevelop ambitious low-energ yhousing standards. More than15,000 new homes will be builtin the Netherlands usingW W F ’s climate-savingstandards. In Germany, fiveconstruction companies willrenovate their buildings usingW W F ’s low-energ yrecommendations, setting newand far-reaching benchmarksfor the housing and buildings e c t o r. Another project for the


Clean Development Mechanism.As a consequence, climatechange now forms an integralcomponent of WWF’s work inthe region.

In Brazil, climate change isone of the variables taken intoaccount in the planning of newprotected areas. Work on thesusceptibility of ecoregions andwildlife to climate changeimpacts will be the theme ofinitial assessments on theBrazilian and Argentinian sidesof the Atlantic Forest. Four otherproposals in priority ecoregions(the Pantanal, Cerrado, NorthAndes, and the MesoamericanCaribbean Reef) have beenprepared and await funding.Once completed, the studies willbe compared to identify theconservation actions necessaryto safeguard these ecologicallyvaluable but vulnerable areas. Acrucial element will be the links

between climate change andforest policy.

The development ofstrategies to reduce greenhousegas emissions demand greaterinternal capacity within WWF inthe region, as well more generalawareness-raising activitiespublicly. Future activities willinvolve forming partnershipswith research institutes, businessand industry, and other NGOs.

North America

Since the climate treatyagreement in July, PrimeMinister Chretien of Canada hasstated that he hopes Canada willratify over the next year. Muchwork, however, remains to bedone in Canada to raiseawareness of the problem ofclimate change and bring aboutdomestic emissions reductions.WWF will be working with

other NGOs to influence thisprocess.

In the United States battlelines are drawn for a domesticfight about emissions reductions.Although President Bush hasrejected the Kyoto Protocol andput mandatory caps on carbondioxide emissions from powerplants, the US Congress seesthings differently. The Bonnagreement places furtherimmense pressure on lawmakersin the US to take action toreduce emissions. Key leadersfrom the Senate and the Househave stated that climate changeis the top environmental issuefor the United States. WWF willbe working to educate andactivate the public in thisnational debate, further engagebusiness to take on emissionsreduction targets, and passnational legislation to reducegreenhouse gases.

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000


NorthAmerica

ConservationPolicy

Campaigns

52

1,315

1,983

13667 103

3,228

CHF,000

W W F ’s Global Conservation Programme —Expenditure on Climate Change FY 2 0 0 1

55Toxic Chemicals

toxic chemicals

Global highlights

n The world’s first international treaty dealingwith the elimination of toxic chemicals, theStockholm Convention on PersistentOrganic Pollutants, came into being inMay 2001. WWF is working to secure the50 ratifications needed to bring the treatyinto force.

n Following input to the EuropeanCommission’s draft "Strategy for a FutureChemicals Policy", WWF is nowrecommending improvements that willbroaden the range of chemicals included.

n WWF assisted the Central AmericanCommission for Environment andDevelopment and the Central AmericaCommission of Ministries of Transport indeveloping the ‘Regional Agenda for Portand Marine Environmental Security’,targeted at preventing accidents andspillages involving toxic chemicals andother pollutants.

n WWF is carrying out research and policywork geared to recommendations forstricter environmental legislation for allmining activities within the EU. WWF isadvocating the participation of accessioncountries in EU discussions on how todeal with toxic waste.

Modern society has develope

an extensive array of syntheticchemicals over the last severaldecades — chemicals to

control disease, increase food production, killpests, and make our daily lives easier.Ironically, many of these well-intentionedchemicals are now wreaking havoc around theworld, threatening wildlife and people with thevery qualities that made them useful —toxicity and persistence.

There is an urgent need to reform theinternational rules governing the manufactureand use of chemicals. Such reforms willrequire strong leadership and much greaterpublic awareness. Efforts need to be focusednot only on eliminating the world’s most toxicchemicals, but also on expanding bothsociety’s understanding of chemicalcontamination issues and its ability to addressthem. Failure may compromise the health,intelligence, and behaviour of futuregenerations of people, as well as wildlife suchas whales, eagles, seals, polar bears, fish, anddolphins.

Given the unequivocal evidence of theserious damage caused by toxic chemicals, theshift to environmentally acceptable, effective,and affordable alternatives must beaccelerated. Identifying such alternatives isgenerally not the problem; many are alreadyin use around the world. The challenge is tomake them more widely known and available.

Clifton CurtisDirector, Toxic Chemicals Programme

Industrial contaminants may beweakening the immune function of Arcticpolar bears and may be linked toreproductive problems and abnormalgenitalia among female bears in Norway'sSvalbard region. Steven Morello

56

the Stockholm Convention onPersistent Organic Pollutants,which targets 12 of the world’smost harmful chemicals. WWF’sgoal is to secure the 50ratifications necessary before theRio+10 World Summit onSustainable Development inJohannesburg in September2002. WWF will also work toexpand the scope of theStockholm Convention, urginggovernments to double thenumber of chemicals coveredunder the treaty within the nextfive years.

A concerted effort is neededto ensure that NGOs, localcommunities, and peoplegenerally have an adequateunderstanding of, and access to,accurate and relevantinformation on toxic chemicalsand alternatives. WWF’scontacts and collaborations withenvironmental and public healthNGOs around the world, as wellas with consumers, educators,faith communities, indigenouspeoples, labour groups,progressive companies,scientists, and other interestedgroups, provide a powerfulnetwork through whichinformed decision-making canbe promoted. Using WWF’sscientific and policy expertise,

combined with theorganization’s global reputationas a steward of biologicaldiversity, WWF will catalyseopportunities to provide thenecessary information andanalyses as a basis for makingenvironmentally sounddecisions.

An assessment of toxicchemical threats to forests,freshwater ecosystems, oceansand coasts, species, and WWF’spriority Global 200 Ecoregionsis currently underway. Thisassessment will better positionthe Toxic Chemicals Programmeto engage colleagues within andbeyond WWF on options formitigating and preventing toxicthreats.

Combating To x i cC h e m i c a l s

Overview

Contamination from toxicchemicals has become pervasiveand global. Wherever scientistslook — the tropics, marinesystems, industrial regions, theArctic — they find the impactsof industrial chemicals andpesticides. These chemicals altersexual, neurological, andbehavioural development;

W W F ’s vision fortoxic chemicals

WWF’s vision for toxicchemicals is to see anend to threats tobiological diversity fromtoxic industrialchemicals andpesticides — especiallyendocrine disrupting,bioaccumulative, orpersistent chemicals —within one generation(by no later than 2020).

Ta r g e t s

To achieve its vision for toxicchemicals, WWF’s ToxicChemicals Programme has settwo global targets:

n By 2007, eliminate or reduceat least 30 of the mosthazardous industrialchemicals and pesticides,with special emphasis onpersistent organic pollutants(POPs) and endocrinedisrupting chemicals (EDCs)

n By 2007, scientific,educational and regulatoryinitiatives will be firmly inplace, enabling decision-makers (governments,industry, consumers) to makeinformed choices about toxicchemicals and theiralternatives.

The first target addresses theinternational, national, andregional rules and regulations,as well as voluntary initiativesneeded to phase out dangerousindustrial chemicals andpesticides. An important firststep will be entry into force of

Obsolete pesticide stockpiles in Ethiopia — target of a new initiative toeliminate 50,000 tonnes of obsolete pesticides and heavily contaminated soilwhich have accumulated in African countries. Pesticide Action Network-UK

Toxic Chemicals 57

impair reproduction; andundermine immune systems,threatening the health ofwildlife, people, and entireecosystems. Urgent andprecautionary action is requiredto address threats from the mosthazardous chemicals, especiallypersistent organic pollutants(POPs) and endocrine disruptingchemicals (EDCs).

WWF scored a majorvictory at the end of 2000 when122 governments meeting inJ o h a n n e s b u rg, South A f r i c a ,finalized a global treaty — theStockholm Convention onPersistent Organic Pollutants —that targets some of the world’smost dangerous chemicals.Representing the mostambitious effort to date by theglobal community to rein inand halt the proliferation oftoxic chemicals, the treaty isdesigned to eliminate orseverely restrict production anduse of the most perniciouschemicals, ensureenvironmentally soundmanagement and chemicaltransformation of POPs waste;and prevent the emergence ofnew chemicals with POPs-likecharacteristics. As the leadNGO throughout the three-yearnegotiation process, WWF isnow focusing efforts to obtainthe 50 ratifications necessary tobring the treaty into force.

WWF has spearheaded thescientific investigation ofEDCs, whether pesticides likelindane and endosulfan, orindustrial chemicals such as thetributyltin used to repelbarnacles on ships’ hulls, thephthalates used in plastics, orbisphenol A used in the liningof tin cans. W W F ’s work hascontributed to the steadilygrowing evidence linking EDCs

What are POPs andEDCs?

Persistent organic

pollutants (POPs) are

extremely toxic industrial

chemicals and pesticides

that persist in the

environment, accumulate

in the body fat of people

and wildlife, and can

travel great distances on

wind and water currents.

Endocrine disrupting

chemicals (EDCs),

commonly found in

consumer products, are

synthetic chemicals that

block, mimic or

otherwise interfere with

naturally produced

hormones, the body’s

chemical messengers

that control how an

organism develops and

functions.

to impaired health in wildlifeand people.

To complement its high-levelpolicy work, WWF’s ToxicChemicals Programme hasbegun focusing more attentionand resources on communitylevel decision-making. Byworking with existing networks,WWF hopes to educate andmobilize communities aroundthe world to tackle toxiccontamination at the local andregional levels. WWF will bepartnering with NGOs, media,faith communities, scientists,indigenous peoples, progressivecompanies, and other sectors,particularly in developingcountries and transitionaleconomies.


The main toxics-related activityin Africa involves an emergingproject to address the problemof obsolete pesticide stockpiles.Approximately 50,000 tonnes ofobsolete pesticides and heavilycontaminated soil haveaccumulated in Africancountries. The stockpilesinclude some extremely toxicpesticides which may be up to40 years old. Many of thesechemicals and their containersare in poor condition andthreaten local and regionalenvironments through thecontamination of soil, water,and air.

The concept of a continent-wide project to clear all obsoletepesticide stocks from Africa andput in place measures to preventtheir recurrence grew out ofinformal discussions, initiated byW W F, between NGOs andseveral interg o v e r n m e n t a lo rganizations. Since December2000, the idea of the A f r i c aStockpiles Project has evolved toa proposal that is currentlysupported by severalo rganizations, including theGlobal Environment Facility(GEF), African DevelopmentBank, Organisation for A f r i c a nUnity (OAU), World Bank,FAO, UNEP C h e m i c a l s ,Pesticide Action Network-UKand Pesticide Action Network-Africa, and W W F. The A f r i c aStockpiles Project is lookingforward to receiving adevelopment grant from GEF tofacilitate more detailed projectpreparations. It is anticipatedthat the prevention and disposalof obsolete stockpiles in A f r i c acan enter an operational phase ofintensive and uninterrupted workduring the latter half of 2002.



Of the three principal W W Fo ffices in the Asia/Pacific regioncarrying out work on toxicchemicals — A u s t r a l i a ,Malaysia, and Pakistan — thework in Pakistan is the mostdeveloped with a programmecovering capacity building, field-based projects, awarenessraising, and support to studentsand NGOs. Activities in 2001included a training course inwaste reduction and disposaltechniques for hospitals, andpublication of public informationsheets on toxic chemicals. In

Malaysia, work focusedprimarily on data collection andawareness-raising, while W W F -Australia gave support to theAustralian National To x i c sNetwork. With the advent of theglobal POPs treaty and greaterresources within WWF toaddress the issue, the momentumfor expanding work on toxicchemicals in the region isgrowing fast.


WWF was influential in thedrafting of the European

Banning endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)

Tinned food, plastic bottles and wrappings are some of theeveryday items known to contain a set of toxic chemicals thatact like hormones and have been linked to genitalmalformations, falling sperm counts and birth defects, anddepressed immune systems in wildlife. There is growingconcern that these chemicals may also be related to theincrease in human health problems such as prostate and breastcancer.

When, in October 2000, the European Parliament debated theLund Report on a proposed EU strategy for endocrinedisrupting chemicals (EDCs), WWF contended that theEuropean Commission’s proposal for more research wasinadequate. It urged Members of the European Parliament tovote in favour of Torben Lund’s report calling for immediate EUaction to reduce human exposure to known EDCs. WWF saidthat new information, available since the publication of theEuropean Commission’s draft strategy in December 1999,showed that further research was not necessary.

Commenting on the debate, Elizabeth Salter, Head of WWF’sEuropean Toxics Programme, said, "Human and animalexposure to known endocrine disruptors must be reduced as amatter of urgency. More research is also needed, but humanhealth is too precious to wait until all five hundred plussuspected hormone-disrupting chemicals are thoroughlyresearched. The European Parliament would do the humanrace and the environment a great service if it obliged theEuropean Union to take concrete action and phase out knownhormone disruptors".

The European Parliament accepted the Lund Report, althoughin a watered down form.

Commission’s chemical reviewproposal, a strategy for toxicsmanagement on a global scalethat offers the promise ofprotecting future generations ofpeople and wildlife fromexposure to chemicals. WWFwas the leading NGO voice inthe four-year negotiation of the‘White Paper’ prior to its 2001release, and is nowrecommending improvementsthat will broaden the range ofchemicals included and helpensure sufficient funding. Thepaper is a significant steptowards ensuring that thechemical industry guarantees thesafety of chemicals before theyare used. There are over 80,000man-made chemicals inexistence, of which 30,000 aretraded in commercial volumesin the EU.

In response to chemicals-related incidents such as thesevere toxic pollution of theTisza River in Romania andHungary in February 2000,WWF is carrying out researchand policy work geared torecommendations for stricterenvironmental legislation for allmining activities within the EU.Already, the EuropeanCommission has updated the EUhazardous waste list, addingseveral substances which in thefuture will require risk-freemanagement and disposaltechniques. Since miningregulations are weaker in theEU accession countries, WWFis strongly recommending thatthese countries be involved inany EU discussions or action ontoxic waste lagoons.

Another toxics initiative inEurope concerns the North EastAtlantic, one of WWF’s focalGlobal 200 Ecoregions. Marinewildlife is severely threatened

Toxic Chemicals 59

by toxic industrial chemicalsand agricultural pesticides. Ofspecial concern are the EDCsthat can mimic or interfere withhormone balances (see ‘Banninghormone disrupting chemicals’).WWF is working towards aphase-out of the use of toxicsand the cessation of allhazardous substances that arecurrently affecting the open seaand coastal areas of the NorthEast Atlantic.


Efforts in Latin America and theCaribbean have focused onspecific national, subregional,and ecoregional toxics issues. InColombia, WWF is carrying outa DDT intervention programmeand studies on aerial fumigationof illegal crops. In Guyana, aspart of the Guayanan ForestsEnvironmental ConservationProject, WWF is monitoring theenvironmental and healthimpacts of mercury used inartisanal gold-mining.Preliminary results from tests on

Killer whales swimming in the waters around Washington, USA and BritishColumbia, Canada are considered among the most contaminated marinemammals in the world. H Strager

0

250

500

750

1,000

1,250

1,500

1,750

2,000


NorthAmerica

ConservationPolicy

Campaigns

34 21

1,195

274 226

1,918

0

CHF,000

W W F ’s Global Conservation Programme —Expenditure on Toxic Chemicals FY 2 0 0 1

people and fish in both Surinamand Guyana show significantlyhigh levels of mercury.

In Central America, as partof the USAID-funded Proarca-Costas Phase I project, WWFhelped CCAD (CentralAmerican Commission forEnvironment and Development)and COMITRAN (CentralAmerica Commission ofMinistries of Transport) todevelop the ‘Regional Agendafor Port and MarineEnvironmental Security’. Givenincreasing shipping and theparlous state of major ports inCentral America, the region is athigh risk from environmentaldisasters related to toxic

chemicals and other pollutants.Few international agreementsand accords are in place, and thetopic is not high on the agendaof national governments.Therefore the development ofthe Regional Agenda has beenkey to defining the main stepsrequired to increase portsecurity, emphasizing bothregional and national activitiesand responsibilities.

Toxic chemical issues clearlyaffect the priority ecoregions,yet current knowledge andunderstanding of the extent ofchemical contamination threatsare limited. For example,inorganic pollutants such asmercury that threaten aquaticand marine ecosystemsassociated with use in miningare reasonably well known.However, there is often limitedunderstanding of the hazards ofPOPs and EDCs at theecoregional level. Given theirpersistent, bio-accumulativeproperties and effects onreproductive systems, however,efforts will continue to exploreways to integrate a toxicscomponent in ecoregional work.Preliminary work has started inthe Gulf of California.

60 WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2001/2002

financial overview

WWF relies on the generosity ofindividuals as its major source offunding. In 2000, 44 per cent of theorganization’s income came from

this source. Legacies and donations from trusts andfoundations amounted to 16 per cent.

A substantial part of WWF’s income is derivedfrom government grants and aid agencies. Often,these funds — which in 2000 amounted to 20 percent — are provided either as ‘matched’ fundsmade available only when WWF itself raised aspecific amount, or as ‘restricted’ funds for use onone specific project or in a particular country.

WWF also works in creative and innovativeways with business and industry to raise funds andspread the conservation message. These ‘mutualbenefit marketing’ relationships include licensing

WWF’s panda logo to companies in exchange forroyalties. Companies engaging in this practicebenefit through a visible link with the world’s mostrecognizable conservation organization, while thenatural world benefits from the funds raised.

Established in 1971 by HRH Prince Bernhardof the Netherlands, WWF’s 1001: A Nature Trustcomprises 1,000 individuals who have madesubstantial financial contributions to WWF overthe years. The interest from the trust, the capital ofwhich is currently more than CHF 16 million(USD 10.7 million), helps meet WWFInternational’s basic administration costs. Whenvacancies occur in the trust, new members areinvited to join for a contribution of USD 25,000(CHF 37,500).

$$

Individuals 44%

Government and aid agencies 20%

Legacies11%

Financial income8%

Royalties6%

Trusts and foundations5%

Corporations4%

Other2%

Conservation

55%

Education

9.2%

Fundraising

13.6%

Administration

8.2%

Awareness

8%

Conservation policy

6%

WWF NETWORK INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FY 2 0 0 0

Income US$360 million Expenditure US$364 million

61WWF around the world

WWF around the world

Director GeneralClaude Martin

Programme DirectorChris Hails

Forests for Life ProgrammeChris Elliott

Living Waters ProgrammeJamie Pittock

Endangered Seas ProgrammeSimon Cripps

Species ProgrammeSusan Lieberman

Climate Change ProgrammeJennifer Morga

Toxic Chemicals ProgrammeClifton Curtis

Africa/MadagascarProgrammeYaa Ntiamoa-Baidu

Asia/Pacific ProgrammeIsabelle Louis

Europe/Middle EastProgrammeMagnus Sylven

Eastern Europe/Central AsiaProgrammeHartmut Jungius

Latin America/CaribbeanProgrammevacant

Conservation PolicyProgrammeJenny Heap

Ecoregion ConservationSheila O’Connor

Government and Aid AgenciesTimothy Geer

Programme Services andEvaluationPeter Dickinson

WWF International Senior Programme Staff

The WWF Network — September 2001


I N T E R N AT I O N A LS E C R E TA R I ATAvenue du Mont-Blanc1196 Gland, SwitzerlandTel: +41 22 364 9111Fax: +41 22 364 5358President (Acting): Sara MorrisonDirector General: Claude Martin

A U S T R A L I AGPO Box 528, SydneyNSW 2001Tel: +61 2 9281 5515 Fax: +61 2 9281 1060President: Robert PurvesChief Executive: David Butcher

A U S T R I APostfach 1, 1162 Vi e n n aTel: +43 1 488 17 0Fax: +43 1 488 17 29Chairperson: Helmut PechlanerChief Executive: Günther Lutschinger

B E L G I U MBoulevard Emile Jacqmain 901000 BrusselsTel: +32 2 340 09 99Fax: +32 2 340 09 33President & Chairperson: GuidoR a v o e tChief Executive: Xavier Ortegat

B H U TA NWWF Bhutan Programme Off i c ePost Box 210, Chubachu,T h i m p h uTel: +975 2 323 528Fax: +975 2 323 518Representative: Kinzang Namgay

B O L I V I APO Box 1633Santa CruzTel: +591 3 365326Fax: +591 3 325416Representative: Roger Landivar

B R A Z I LSHIS EQ QL 6/8, ConjuntoE – 2° andar, 71620-430 BrasiliaTel: +55 61 364 7400Fax: +55 61 364 7474President & Chairperson: JoséRoberto MarinhoChief Executive: Garo Batmanian

C A M E R O O NBastos BP 6776, Ya o u n d eTel: +237 21 70 83Fax: +237 21 42 40Representative: Laurent Magloire Somé

C A N A D A245 Eglinton Ave East, Suite 410Toronto, Ontario M4P 3 J 1Tel: +1 416 489 8800Fax: +1 416 489 3611Chairperson: Michael de PencierChief Executive: Monte Hummel

C E N T R A LA F R I C AB P 9144, LibrevilleG a b o nTel: +241 73 00 28Fax: +241 73 80 56Representative: Dr Frank A t t e r e

C E N T R A L A M E R I C ACentro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y EnseñanzaTurrialba, 7170 Catie, Costa RicaTel: +506 556 1383Fax: +506 556 1421Acting Representative: Steve Gretzinger

C H I N ARoom 901, The Gateway10 Yabao RoadChaoyang DistrictBeijing 100020Tel: +86 10 6595 9891Fax: +8610 65915731Representative: Jim Harkness

C O L O M B I ACarrera 35 #4A-25San Fernando, Cali, Va l l eTel: +57 2 558 2577Fax: +57 2 558 2588Representative: Mary Lou Higgins

D A N U B E / C A R PAT H I A NPostfach 1, 1162 Vi e n n aA u s t r i aTel: +431 488 17 253Fax: +431 488 17 276Representative: Phil We l l e r

D E N M A R KRyesgade 3 F, 2200Copenhagen NTel: +45 35 36 36 35Fax: +45 35 24 78 68Chairperson: Johan SchroederChief Executive: Kim Carstensen

EASTERN A F R I C APO Box 62440, Nairobi, KenyaTel: +254 2 577 355Fax: +254 2 577 389Representative: Samuel Kanyamibwa

EUROPEAN POLICY36 Avenue de Tervuren – B121040 Brussels, BelgiumTel: +32 2 743 88 00Fax: +32 2 743 88 19Representative: Tony Long

F I N L A N DLintulahdenkatu 1000500 Helsinki 50Tel: +358 9 774 0100Fax: +358 9 774 02139President & Chairperson:Elisabeth RehnChief Executive: Timo Ta n n i n e n

F R A N C E188 Rue de la Roquette7 5 0 11 ParisTel: +33 1 55 25 8484 Fax: +33 1 55 25 8474President: Daniel RichardChief Executive: Cedric du Monceau

G E R M A N YPostfach 190 44060326 Frankfurt/MainTel: +49 69 79 1440Fax: +49 69 61 7221Chairperson: Carl-Albrecht von Tr e u e n f e l sChief Executive: Georg Schwede

G R E E C E26 Filellinon Street, 105 58A t h e n sTel: +30 1 331 4893Fax: +30 1 324 7578President: Thymio PapayannisChief Executive: Demetres Karavellas

The WWF Network

WWF around the world 63

HONG KONG GPO Box 12721Hong KongTel: +852 2526 1011Fax: +852 2845 2734Chairperson: Markus ShawChief Executive: Winnie Sek

H U N G A RYNémetvölgyi út 78/b1124 BudapestTel: +36 1 214 5554Fax: +36 1 212 9353Representative: László Haraszthy

I N D I A172-B Lodi RoadMax Mueller MargNew Delhi 110 003Tel: +91 11 469 1760Fax: +91 11 462 6837President: Jamshyd N. GodrejChief Executive: Meeta R. Vy a s

I N D O C H I N AInternational PO Box 151Hanoi, Vi e t n a mTel: + 84 4 733 8387Fax: + 84 4 733 8388Representative: Eric Coull

I N D O N E S I APO Box 5020 JKTM 12700,J a k a r t aTel: +62 21 576 1070Fax: +62 21 576 1080Chairperson: Haroen Al RasjidChief Executive: Agus Purnomo

I TA LYVia Po 25/c00198 RomeTel: +39 06 844 9 71Fax: +39 06 853 00 612President: Fulco PratesiChief Executive: Cesare Martinelli

J A PA NNihonseimei Akabanebashi Bldg. 3-1-14 Shiba, Minato-kuTokyo 105-0014Tel: +81 3 3769 1711Fax: +81 3 3769 1717Chairperson: Teruyuki OhuchiChief Executive: Michio Hino

MACROECONOMICS FORS U S TA I N A B L EDEVELOPMENT 1250 24th St NWWashington, DC 20037-11 7 5Tel: +1 202 778 9752Fax: +1 202 293 9211Representative: David Reed

M A D A G A S C A RB P 738, Antananarivo 101Tel: +261 20 22 34885Fax: +261 20 22 34888Representative: Jean-Paul Paddack

M A L AY S I A49 Jalan SS23/1547301 Petaling JayaTel: +60 3 7803 3772Fax: +60 3 7803 5157Chairperson: Tengku A d l i nChief Executive: D a t o ’ Mikaail Kavanagh

M E D I T E R R A N E A NVia Po 25/c00198 Rome, ItalyTel: +39 06 844 97227Fax: + 39 06 841 3866Representative: Paolo Lombardi

M E X I C OAve Mexico No. 51Col Hipodromo Condesa06170 Mexico DFTel: +525 286 5631Fax: +525 286 5637Representative: Juan Bezaury

N E PA LPost Box 7660, Kathmandu 2Tel: +977 1 410942Fax: +977 1 438458Representative: Chandra Prasad Gurung

N E T H E R L A N D SPostbus 7, 3700 A A Z e i s tTel: +31 30 6937 333Fax: +31 30 6912 064Chairperson: Hans Wi j e r sChief Executive: Hans Vo o r t m a n

NEW ZEALANDPO Box 6237, We l l i n g t o nTel: +64 4 4992930Fax: +64 4 499 2954Chairperson: Paul BoweChief Executive: Jo Breese

N O RWAYPostboks 6784, St Olavs plass0130 OsloTel: +47 22 03 6500Fax: +47 22 20 0666Chairperson: Christian N.S i b b e r nChief Executive: Rasmus Hansson

PA K I S TA NPO Box 5180, Lahore 54600Tel: +92 42 586 2360Fax: +92 42 586 2358President: Brig. Mukhtar A h m e dChief Executive: Ali Hassan Habib

P E R UCasilla Postal 11 - 0 2 0 5Lima 11Tel: +51 1261 5300Fax: +51 1463 4459Representative: Edgar Maravi

P H I L I P P I N E SNo 69 Masikap Extension Cor,Marunong StreetDiliman, 1101 Quezon CityTel: +632 433 3220Fax: +632 426 3927Chairperson: Jaime Zobel de Ay a l aChief Executive: Jose MALorenzo Ta n

R U S S I AFrom Europe:Account No WWF 232PO Box 289Weybridge Surrey KT 13 8WJUnited Kingdom

From the US:Account No WWF 232208 East 51st Street, Suite 295New York, NY 10022, USATel: +7 095 727 0939Fax: +7 095 727 0938Representative: Igor Chestin

SOUTH A F R I C APrivate Bag X2, Die BoordStellenbosch 7613Tel: +27 21 888 2800Fax: +27 21 888 2888Chairperson: Ton Vo s l o oChief Executive: Ian Macdonald


SOUTHERN A F R I C APO Box CY 1409, CausewayHarare, ZimbabweTel/Fax: +263 252533Representative: Harrison O Kojwang

SOUTH PA C I F I CPrivate Mail BagGPO Suva, FijiTel: +679 31 55 33Fax: +679 31 54 10Representative: Dermot O'Gorman

S PA I NGran Viade San Francisco 828005 MadridTel: +34 91 354 0578Fax: +34 91 365 6336President: Prof Francisco Díaz PinedaChief Executive: Juan Carlos del Olmo

S W E D E NUlriksdals Slott, 170 81 SolnaTel: +46 8 624 7400Fax: +46 8 85 1329Chairperson: Lennart A h l g r e nChief Executive: Prof Lars Kristoferson

S W I T Z E R L A N DPostfach, 8010 ZürichTel: +41 1 297 2121Fax: +41 1 297 2100President: Brigitta Hellat Chief Executive: Carol Franklin Engler

TA N Z A N I APO Box 63117, Dar es SalaamTel: +255 22 27 00077Fax: +255 22 27 75535Acting Representative: Hermann Mwageni

T H A I L A N DPO Box 4, Klong Luang 12120Tel: +66 2 524 6129Fax: +66 2 524 6134Representative: Robert Mather

T U R K E YPK 971, Sirkeci 34436, IstanbulTel: +90 212 528 2030Fax: +90 212 528 2040President: Okan Ta p a nChief Executive: Tansu Gurpinar

UNITED KINGDOMPanda House, Weyside ParkGodalming, Surrey GU7 1XRTel: +44 1483 426444Fax: +44 1483 426409Chairperson: Sara MorrisonChief Executive: Robert Napier

UNITED STAT E S1250 24th St NWWashington, DC 20037-11 7 5Tel: +1 202 293 4800Fax: +1 202 293 9211Chairperson (Board): William K ReillyChief Executive: Kathryn S. Fuller

WESTERN A F R I C A08 BP 1776, Abidjan 08Côte d'IvoireTel: +225 22 44 8786Fax: +225 22 44 8774Representative: Souleymane Zeba

WWF A s s o c i a t e s

A R G E N T I N AFUNDACION VIDA S I LV E S T R EDefensa 251, 6° PisoC1065 Buenos A i r e sTel: +54 11 4343 4086Fax: +54 11 4331 3631President: Héctor LaurenceChief Executive: Javier Corcuera

E C U A D O RFUNDACION NAT U R ACasilla 17-01-253, QuitoTel/Fax: +593 2 2 503 385President: Rafael Te r a nChief Executive: Ricardo Moreno

N I G E R I ANIGERIAN CONSERVAT I O NF O U N D AT I O NPO Box 74638, Victoria Island,L a g o sTel: +234 1 2642 498Fax: +234 1 2642 497Chairman: Brig Gen. M. JohnsonChief Executive: Muhtari A m i n u - K a n o

V E N E Z U E L AF U D E N AApartado Postal 70376Caracas 1071-ATel: +58 212 238 2930Fax: +58 212 239 6547President: Enrique SanchezChief Executive: Deborah Bigio

WWF is one of the world's largest and most experiencedindependent conservation organizations, with almost 5 millionsupporters and a global network active in over 96 countries.

WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’snatural environment and to build a future in which humans livein harmony with nature, by:

- conserving the world’s biological diversity- ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is

sustainable - promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful

consumption.

WWF International

Avenue du Mont-Blanc1196 GlandSwitzerland

Tel: +41 22 364 9111Fax: +41 22 364 5358www.panda.org

Documents

WWF’s Global Conservation Programmeassets.panda.org/downloads/WWF_GlobConsProg_2001-2002.pdf · ii WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2001/2002 introduction Julian Huxley, Max