WWF

What its about

quotes from wwf's website 'www.wwf.org.uk'

WWF believes in a future where people and nature thrive.

Best known as the world’s leading conservation body, we’ve seen first-hand how wildlife, the environment and human activity are all interlinked.

That’s why our passion for safeguarding the natural world has to be backed up by other environmental action – tackling the global threat of climate change (through our big global campaigns like Earth Hour) and helping people to change the way they live to ease pressure on natural resources.

WWF is at the heart of global activities in all these areas. We have teams of highly skilled professionals working with governments, businesses and communities here in the UK and around the world.


Safeguarding the Natural World

Whether we're helping to preserve the amazing biodiversity of rainforests like the Amazon – whose survival is vital to the planet’s wellbeing – or protecting individual species, great and small, WWF is working in every continent to halt and wherever possible reverse dramatic declines in wildlife species and the destruction of the places where they live.





Wildlife

Protecting the world's species and their habitats lies at the heart of WWF's mission to conserve the earth's biodiversity and was the prime reason for the organisation's establishment in 1961.


Forests

Forests contain as much as 90 per cent of the world's terrestrial biodiversity - from charismatic mammals such as the great apes, tiger and panda to millions of species of plants. We cannot conserve species without conserving their habitat.



Rivers and Lakes

Without water there would be no life on Earth. Freshwater ecosystems clean and store the water that is essential for human livelihoods and for the survival of wildlife. These ecosystems are a vital component in the hydrological cycle.



Oceans

The oceans, seas and coasts are under severe strain. Some 250 million people earn their living from fishing, up to 70% of humans rely on fish as their primary source of protein, and more than 90% of our trade is carried by shipping – and yet, less than 1% of the world’s seas are protected.


Tackling Climate Change

A vital part of our work, because climate change represents an increasing threat to so many of the planet’s species – including our own. The science tells us that now is the time to act, before it’s too late. That’s why campaigns like WWF’s Earth Hour are so crucial – our huge global lights-out protest in March helped focus world governments on the urgency of this issue.

Globally, nearly a quarter of all mammal species and a third of amphibians are threatened with extinction. The rapid destruction of forests - every year an area the size of England is lost - not only harms forest-dwelling wildlife but also adds to the growing danger of climate change.

The increasing threat to some of the planet’s most important rivers, lakes and wetlands has been matched by a 29% decline in populations of freshwater wildlife in just 30 years. And in the oceans, 40 million tonnes of bycatch (including 300,000 marine mammals) are caught accidentally each year when targeting other species.

The threat to people and their livelihoods is, of course, of equal concern. For example, more than a billion people do not have access to clean water. Some 250 million people worldwide earn their living from fishing.

Around the world, WWF works with a wide range of partners in business, government and local communities to create sustainable solutions that take account of the needs of both people and nature.

Our practical conservation work with our colleagues in the global WWF Network focuses on safeguarding wildlife and places considered by WWF to be of global importance. This is supported by policy initiatives at a UK, EU and global level - creating the commercial and legal frameworks that ensure good governance of natural resources.

Limit climate change – after the disappointing lack of a firm climate deal at Copenhagen last December, it's more important than ever that we work urgently to control global warming. See all about our climate change campaigns.

Protect wildlife and people – those already affected and those most vulnerable to the inevitable future impacts of climate change must be helped to cope and adapt.

The climate numbers that matter most...
The science says we need to keep global warming below 2º C (compared to pre-industrial levels), otherwise we risk uncontrollable changes to the way our planet works – and that means serious threats to a third of all species on Earth.

To keep temperatures down, we have to cut greenhouse gas emissions drastically – at least 80% by 2050, with a more immediate target of 40% by 2020.

If, like us, you want future generations to enjoy the beauties of our natural world, it’s vital that we all pull together to tackle climate change today.


Changing how we live

Yes, we really can all make a difference. And if we want governments around the world to act, we need to get our own houses in order first. And cars, shops and workplaces too. In future there will be more people sharing fewer resources (food, water, energy), so the sooner we make a start towards less wasteful lifestyles, the easier and more enjoyable the transition will be.

Globally, people are using about 25% more natural resources than the planet can replace. In the UK, we’re consuming three times our fair share of the planet’s natural resources. We face an ‘ecological overshoot’ that will have severe consequences for both people and nature unless we humans change the way we live.

Although advances in technology have helped people to produce things more efficiently, the benefits have been swamped by ever-higher levels of consumption by affluent Western economies and the growing middle classes in the developing world.

Some 70% of humanity’s global footprint arises from carbon emissions; other pressures are linked to commodities such as crops, meat, fish and wood, and the freshwater we take from rivers and lakes.

WWF is seeking a One Planet Future where both people and nature thrive within their fair share of what’s available. We are developing a range of One Planet sustainability initiatives to support this goal, helping to bring sustainability and equity to production, trade and consumption.

With an established track record in supporting the development of sustainable lifestyles, WWF is well placed to provide leadership in helping to reduce the UK’s footprint and supporting other countries to do the same.