World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

International organisations are an important part of the UPSC syllabus. In this article, you can read about the World Wide Fund for Nature for the IAS exam. It is also a part of the environment section of the IAS syllabus.

The World Wide Fund for Nature or WWF is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation and conservation of nature and its different species. It is the world’s biggest conservation organisation. It supports more than 1000 projects all over the world.

World Wide Fund for Nature History

Founded on 29th April 1961.

Its precursor organisation was the Conservation Foundation.

Its original name was World Wildlife Fund.

World Wide Fund For Nature Mission Statement

“To conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.”

WWF Work

WWF works in the areas of climate, food, forests, fresh water, oceans and wildlife primarily.

It runs several projects in various fields in partnership with people, bodies and governments worldwide.

In species conservation, they focus on tigers, elephants, gorillas, giant pandas, sea turtles, polar bears, rhinos and whales.

Through its various projects, the organisation aims to check the degradation of earth’s natural environment and create a future in which human beings live in harmony with nature.

Campaigns launched by WWF include Earth Hour and Debt-for-Nature Swap.

Living Planet Report

The famous ‘Living Planet Report’ (started in 1998) is published by the WWF every two year in which the health of the planet and the impact of human activities on nature are talked about. It is based on theLiving Planet Index and the calculations of ecological footprints.