2002/2003 wwf’s global conservation programme · those events threw into stark relief the...

WWF’s Global Conservation Programme2002/2003

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Cover photos: Main picture: Featherstar on lettucecorals in the Indo-Pacific Ocean.(WWF-Canon / Jürgen Freund)Inset: An Antshihanaka fishermanwith his catch of mouthbrooder fish,Lake Aloatra, eastern Madagascar.(WWF-Canon / Olivier Langrand)

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© text 2002 WWF. All rightsreserved.

WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2002/2003

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

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

Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Freshwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Oceans and Coasts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Climate Change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Toxics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Financial overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

WWF around the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Contents

The view from here – a cheetah atop a termite mound.WWF / Martin Harvey

This time last year I waswriting the introduction tothis annual report just beforeWWF marked the 40th

anniversary of its founding – on 11September 1961. Sadly, a year later,that date lives forever in our memoriesfor events of greater horror than couldever have been imagined.

Those events threw into stark relief thedifferences and inequities that exist inour world. The social challenges attheir heart arose from an indifferencewhich is matched by that showntowards the global environment. Thetragedy that unfolded in New Yorkcaused us to ask fundamental questionsas to what is happening in the worldand how it affects different culturesand communities, and many peoplebegan to think carefully about whatcould be done about it. It was a wake-up call to world leaders to look deeplyat a number of important issues andtake remedial action.

One significant opportunity for action

came almost a year later at the WorldSummit on Sustainable Development(WSSD) in Johannesburg. One aim ofthat meeting was to speed upimplementation of the ground-breakingagreements reached at the EarthSummit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Rioachieved a political and conceptualbreakthrough which created a newwave of optimism that the world couldindeed find a way of continuedeconomic growth whilst reducinginequities and safeguardingenvironmental integrity. That optimismlasted for a while, but for the NGOcommunity in general, and theenvironmental community inparticular, the Rio rhetoric was mostlyjust that, and it has proved muchharder than anyone ever imagined tobreak with “business as usual”. Thereare many examples:

■ The Climate Change Conventionagreed in Rio was modest in itsgoals but, ten years on, the KyotoProtocol is still not ratified, withthe US and Australia in particular

refusing to participate; meanwhilerecords show the 1990s as thewarmest decade on record.

■ The burning of oil, of whichconsumption grew by 14 per centin the 1990s, accounted for 40 percent of the 23 billion tonnes ofnew carbon dioxide (CO2) addedannually to the atmosphere.

■ Although the Convention onBiological Diversity (another Rioproduct) has been ratified by morenations than any otherenvironmental treaty, it lacks realteeth. (Scientists now estimate thaton only five occasions in the pastfour billion years has biodiversitybeen destroyed at current rates –and then from natural causes.)

■ The proportion of the world’sthreatened coral reefs has grownfrom 10 per cent to 27 per cent,and the continued rising andwarming of seas will only makethings worse.

■ A UN report found that one-thirdof the world’s human populationlives in countries that are waterstressed – a figure that coulddouble by 2025 – and that as manyas 30,000 people die each dayfrom water-related diseases.

■ Rates of deforestation havebecome confused as the UNFood and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO) has loosenedits definition of what constitutes“forest”; nonetheless, there are1.7 billion people in 40 countrieswho rely for their well-being onforests which are now at acritically low level.

■ Environmental catastrophes –among them loss of fish stocks,floods, droughts, and forest fireson a scale never seen before – arecausing enormous economic andhuman losses on every continent,whilst subsidies which encourageoverexploitation of land, sea andwater continue unabated.

ii WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2002/2003

Introduction

All this has happened in the tenyears since Rio, a decade duringwhich the value of nature’s“services” – reliable water supply,prevention of erosion and floods, etc– was valued, in 1997, at US$33trillion annually, twice the grossworld product of that year.

The combined effect of all this can be

seen in WWF’s Living Planet Report2002. It documents the decline in thenatural health of the planet as thehuman footprint – the pressure ouractivity places on the Earth –increases. If the current trendcontinues, sometime in the next 50years we will exceed the naturalregenerative capacity of the Earth by afactor of two.

Perhaps it was the knowledge of thefailures of the past decade that madethe outcome of the WSSD such adisappointment. The time was ripe, thewarnings had been posted, we knewmuch more about the challenges, butthe world’s leaders, so determined inmany aspects of their difficult jobs,blinked and turned away.

The Summit failed to address energyissues, the harmful effects of tradeliberalization and subsidies, madelukewarm statements to support theBiodiversity Convention, andcompromised on toxic chemicals to theextent that the outcome was weakerthan previous international agreements.

Some things were achieved however,including a determination to improvewater supply and sanitation, the need toallow fish stocks to replenish, andestablishment of an international fundto tackle poverty. Over 300 newpartnerships between governments,businesses, and NGOs and other civilsociety organizations were forged.

Among them, WWF, the government ofBrazil, the World Bank and the GlobalEnvironment Facility (GEF) announceda new programme to triple the area ofAmazon rainforest under protection.

Surprisingly, the meeting virtuallygave up on setting real targets andtimetables for many urgent issues.Targets and timetables may beinconvenient but to those keen tomake substantive and measurableprogress they are essential. In thepages of this report, you will find thetargets and timetables for WWF’s sixglobal thematic programmes onforests, freshwater, oceans and coasts,species, toxics, and climate change.You can also find examples of someof the ecoregions targeted by WWFas being of overwhelming importancein saving the major part of the Earth’sbiodiversity. For each conservationtarget we have also set milestoneswhich will allow WWF to judgewhether its work is moving in theright direction. By adopting thisapproach, unlike many of the world’s

iiiIntroduction

WWF International Programme Director Chris Hails in the Minkebe Reserve in northernGabon with staff of WWF and the Ministry of Waters and Forests – the reserve is oneof 13 new protected areas declared by President Bongo following an assessmentcarried out jointly by WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society and was a significantstep for the region in meeting the goals of the Yaoundé Declaration.

leaders, we can gauge our overallprogress.

Among significant achievements in thepast year, WWF has:

■ helped establish 17.4 million ha ofnew forest protected areas

■ helped establish certified sustainableforest management in 4 million ha

■ encouraged governments to setaside 18.4 million ha of freshwaterhabitats for conservation – habitatswhich form the natural reservoirsfor the world’s water supply

■ formed partnerships with a majorbank for the conservation offreshwater

■ helped create new protected areasin the marine environment

■ campaigned successfully againstharmful EU subsidies that promoteoverfishing

■ lobbied hard, and with somesuccess, for implementation of theKyoto climate treaty

■ succeeded in persuading majorinternational companies to reducetheir CO2 emissions irrespective ofthe Kyoto accord

■ lobbied governments to speed upratification of the StockholmConvention on toxic chemicals

■ worked with the InternationalMaritime Organisation (IMO) tophase out the use of toxic paints onships.

Although these successes are modestcompared to the size of the challengeswe face, they nevertheless representhard-won battles in the war to slowdown the damage being done to theplanet. Despite the disappointments ofJohannesburg and the blow dealt tomultilateral approaches to dealing withglobal problems, we remain optimisticthat there are sufficient enlightened

iv WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2002/2003

Introduction

governments, intergovernmentalagencies, private corporations andpartner NGOs with which WWF canform effective alliances to moveforward on the major issues. More thanever, self-interested parties must not beallowed to kill the momentum gainedover the past decade.

WWF will continue to fight for theprotection of nature’s special placesand species, and work with marketmechanisms like the ForestStewardship Council (FSC) and theMarine Stewardship Council (MSC) toensure that the utilization of naturalresources is sustainable. We see theprivate sector as a critical partner inthese endeavours, as well as thosegovernments and individuals willing totake courageous decisions in supportof the environment.

None of the successes listed abovewould have been possible without thehelp and support of the manythousands of donors, supporters,collaborators and partners who haveworked with and helped WWF in amyriad of different ways over the pastyear. To all of you we are immenselygrateful. With your continued help wewill persevere in our efforts to save asmuch as we can for future generations.

Chris HailsProgramme DirectorWWF International

vIntroduction

WWF / Chris Martin Bahr

In 2002, WWF encouraged governments to set aside 18.4 million ha of freshwaterhabitats for conservation – habitats which form the natural reservoirs for the world’swater supply.WWF-Canon / Anthony B Rath

African elephants – see page 48. WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey

WWF’s Global Conservation Priorities

Since its inception in 1961,WWF has worked to conservenature and ecological processesthrough a combination of action

on the ground, national and internationaladvocacy work to establish appropriatepolicies, and international campaigns tohighlight and demonstrate solutions tocrucial environmental problems. Overthe course of its 41-year history, WWFhas contributed significantly to thedevelopment and impact of the worldconservation movement and tosustainable development in a period ofgreat pressure on the world’s naturalresources.

It is clear that no single organizationcan claim to credibly cover the entireconservation agenda. In settingWWF’s agenda for the 21st century,during which the quest for naturalresources will become even greater, itis essential that WWF sets clearpriorities for its work. Thosepriorities, and the ways in whichWWF is addressing them, aredescribed here.

Through conservation successes in afew well-chosen areas, and effectivecommunication of the results, WWFaims to create the momentum necessaryto challenge the root causes of thedegradation of our planet’s environment.

WWF’s Purpose

WWF’s Purpose, as laid down in itsStatutes, first established in 1961 andslightly modified in 1993, is “to conservethe natural environment and ecologicalprocesses worldwide”. This is taken toinclude fauna and flora, the landscape,water, soils, air and other naturalresources, with particular emphasis onthe maintenance of essential ecologicalprocesses and life support systems, andon the preservation of genetic, speciesand ecosystem diversity, and on ensuringthat the utilization of wild plant andanimal species and natural ecosystems issustainable.

To further tighten and focus itsinstitutional forces, in 1989 WWFadopted a Mission Statement and seven

Guiding Principles. The missionclearly recognizes that WWF’s aimscannot be achieved without taking intoaccount the underlying causes ofenvironmental degradation.

Mission Statement

WWF’s mission is to stop thedegradation of the planet’s naturalenvironment and to build a future inwhich humans live in harmony withnature, by:

■ conserving the world’s biologicaldiversity

■ ensuring that the use of renewablenatural resources is sustainable

■ promoting the reduction ofpollution and wastefulconsumption.

Guiding Principles

To guide WWF in its task of achievingthe mission goals, the followingprinciples have been adopted. WWFwill:

■ be global, independent,multicultural and non-partypolitical

■ use the best available scientificinformation to address issues andcritically evaluate all itsendeavours

■ seek dialogue and avoidunnecessary confrontation

■ build concrete conservationsolutions through a combination offield-based projects, policyinitiatives, capacity building andeducation work

■ involve local communities andindigenous peoples in theplanning and execution of its fieldprogrammes, respecting theircultural as well as economicneeds

■ strive to build partnerships withother organizations, governments,business and local communities toenhance WWF’s effectiveness

■ run its operations in a cost-effective manner and apply donors’funds according to the higheststandards of accountability.

1WWF’s Global Conservation Priorities

What and Where?


To maximize its impact, WWF hasidentified a set of global priorities forits work. These priorities cover sixglobally important issues, allied tosome of the most important places inthe world for biodiversity conservation(termed “ecoregions”), where WWFwill apply its effort and support.

The Six Global Issues

Firstly, there is the conservation of thethree biomes of Forests, FreshwaterEcosystems, and Oceans and Coasts.These contain the bulk of the world'sbiodiversity and provide theenvironmental goods and services uponwhich all life ultimately depends.

Secondly, WWF has identified a smallnumber of flagship Species whoseconservation is of special concern andwhich act as powerful icons for theconservation of other species andhabitats.

And thirdly, WWF has targeted two ofthe most globally pervasive and

insidious of the threats to biodiversity:the spread of Toxic Chemicals and thephenomenon of Climate Change.Both of these have grave and ofteninvisible impacts upon the security ofall life on Earth.

For each of the six global issues WWFhas established a programme with clearconservation targets that identify thoseactions required for WWF to achieveits ambitious mission. The programmesare hosted by various parts of theWWF Network (currently the WWFInternational Secretariat in Gland,Switzerland, WWF-Netherlands,WWF-UK, and WWF-US) and workin a coordinated fashion with WWFoffices and Ecoregion ActionProgrammes across the world.

The Global 200 Ecoregions

Biodiversity is not spread evenlyacross the Earth but follows complexpatterns determined by climate,geology and the evolutionary history ofthe planet. These patterns are called

“ecoregions”. In 1997, WWFembarked on ecoregion conservation asa response to the increased pace ofdegradation of the world’s endangeredhabitats and species.

To begin with, WWF identified themost valuable and sometimesvulnerable ecoregions in the worldwhich best represent the breadth ofbiodiversity and ecological processes.The list of priority ecoregionsidentified by WWF scientists is knownas “The Global 200 Ecoregions” (seemap on page 12 or visit http://www.panda.org/global200/pages/mainmap.htm).

The Global 200 recognize the factthat, whilst tropical forests and coralreefs harbour the most biodiversityand are the traditional targets ofconservation organizations, uniquemanifestations of nature are found intemperate and boreal regions, indeserts and mountain chains, whichoccur nowhere else on Earth andwhich risk being lost forever if theyare not conserved.

2 WWF’s Global Conservation Programme 2002/2003

The WWF Network

WWF is a networkorganization with almost 5million regular supporters,over 50 country or regionaloffices and 4 AssociateOrganizations, led andcoordinated by anInternational Secretariat inGland, Switzerland. By carefulapplication of its resourcesand expertise, and throughstrategic partnerships withgovernments, different sectorsof business and industry, civilsociety groups andindigenous peoples acrossthe world, WWF conductsthose activities which arenecessary to fulfil itsaspirations and attain itsmission. In the 2001 financialyear WWF channelled morethan CHF400 million intoconservation solutions.

Beluga whale.WWF-Canon / Kevin Schafer

Delivering Conservation – How?

WWF has selected a subset of theGlobal 200 where it is best placed tocarry out conservation programmes atan ecoregional scale. WWF encouragesothers to take up the challenges ofconserving the rest of the Global 200ecoregions.

Relationship between theGlobal Issues and the Global200 Ecoregions

There is a clear synergy both betweenand amongst these two sets ofpriorities. The six global issues are aset of globally important processeswhich are WWF’s priorities forconservation action; the Global 200identify those large landscapes WWFhas prioritized for broad-basedconservation action.

Work on the global issues both inside

and outside ecoregions, for example inthe area of sustainable forestmanagement or improving the way inwhich freshwater is used in agriculture,will support the conservation ofecoregions. Global advocacycampaigns will help to create theappropriate political and policy contextto enhance the chances of conservationsuccess in the ecoregions.Conservation of the Global 200 willaddress the long-term security of theirbiodiversity by integrating the sixissues with other conservationapproaches, addressing the full rangeof socio-economic factors which arethe root cause of biodiversity loss,leading to concrete conservationsolutions. As we learn more about theroot causes of biodiversity loss in theecoregions, so this will inform thepolicy work that is carried out for thesix global issues.

3WWF’s Global Conservation Priorities – What and Where?

Target Driven Programmes

A Target Driven Programme (TDP) isthe delivery mechanism for focusedand targeted work on one of the globalpriority issues central to WWF'smission. TDP activities are aimed atpolicy change, introduced eitherthrough existing instruments (e.g.conventions, legislation), market forces(e.g. certification, buyers groups), orvoluntary commitments (e.g. Gifts tothe Earth, Climate Savers). Issueslending themselves to the TDPapproach typically are those where ashort- to medium-term critical masseffort leads to a new level ofconservation or magnification of itseffects, such as the adoption of WWF'sforest targets by the World Bank.

Each of the six TDPs focus on two orthree global targets (see below), andlead WWF’s effort to achieve thosetargets, also assuring appropriate linksto Ecoregion Action Programmes.

The TDPs develop whatever strategies

are needed to achieve their targets: forexample, working the corridors ofpower (as on subsidies), seekinginnovative partnerships such as thosethat led to the creation of the ForestStewardship Council (FSC) and theMarine Stewardship Council (MSC),or working to engage the public. Notall targets will necessarily be in thepublic eye – certain targets may bebest addressed by a more political (lessvisible but still “high profile”)approach and only emerge into thepublic arena at certain stages or whensuccessfully completed. Other targetsmay be best addressed by highlyvisible activities, motivating andmobilizing the media and publicopinion to achieve the targets.

Global Conservation Targets

Forests

WWF’s vision for forests is for theworld to have more extensive, morediverse and higher-quality forestlandscapes which will meet human

needs and aspirations fairly, whileconserving biological diversity andfulfilling the ecosystem functionsnecessary for all life on Earth.

To achieve this, WWF’s Forests forLife Programme aims to halt andreverse the loss and degradation offorests and all kinds of woodlandsworldwide. This will require theestablishment of forest protected areas;sustainable management of unprotectedforests; restoration of degraded forests;minimizing forest loss due to climatechange and pollution; and responsibletrade in forest products.

Three global targets have been set:

■ Protection: By 2010, theestablishment and maintenance ofviable, representative networks ofprotected areas in the world’sthreatened and most biologicallysignificant forest regions

■ Management: By 2005, 100million ha of certified forests,

distributed in a balanced manneramong regions, forest types andland tenure regimes

■ Restoration: By 2005, at least 20forest landscape restorationinitiatives underway in the world’sthreatened, deforested or degradedforest regions to enhanceecological integrity and humanwell-being.

Freshwater Ecosystems

Freshwater is a precious resource,necessary for all life. Its future is farfrom secure. The failure of modernsociety to deal with water as a finiteresource has led to the unnecessarydestruction of rivers, lakes, marshesand other wetlands that provide a lifesupport system for the planet.Globalization of trade and waterprivatization are now further adding tothe demands on freshwaterecosystems.

WWF believes that healthy freshwater

wetlands the world over will enhancethe quality of life, but that this willonly be achieved when nature isrecognized and valued as the source ofwater.

The goal of WWF's Living WatersProgramme is to conserve and restorefreshwater ecosystems and theirprocesses for the benefit of people andwildlife. To achieve this requires aholistic approach to freshwatermanagement through integratingecological concerns with basic humanneeds and cultures; promotion of theconservation of freshwater ecosystemsand their processes by emphasizingmanagement of entire watercatchments; and maximizing beneficialimpacts and minimizing detrimentalimpacts on freshwater resources andecosystems.


■ Freshwater biodiversity: By2010, 250 million ha of high-priority freshwater ecosystems

worldwide are protected and/orsustainably managed

■ Water infrastructure development:By 2010, ecological processes aremaintained or restored in at least50 large catchment areas of highbiodiversity importance

■ Resource use in water intensiveproducts: By 2010, private sectorpractices and related governmentpolicies concerning key water-using sectors are established and/orchanged in order to sustain theintegrity of the freshwaterecosystems on which they dependand/or impact.

Oceans and Coasts

The oceans cover 70 per cent of theEarth's surface. Acting as both thesource of primordial life and the sinkof material washed off the land, the seais the life support system for the world.It contains a huge biodiversity, fromthe shallow coral reefs of the tropics to



cold, dark ocean trenches up to 11kmdeep. It is a transport route,playground, source of resources, meansof livelihood, and a huge store ofbiodiversity – as well as beingincomparably beautiful. Drivingclimate, supplying food and recyclingsome of our wastes, we damage it atour peril.

WWF believes that governments,communities, environmentalists,industries and other interest groupsaround the world must work closelytogether to keep and restore thetreasures of the sea. We have to useoceans and coasts wisely for thebenefit of current and futuregenerations. Through a commonunderstanding and admiration ofnatural richness and beauty, we mustrespect the idea that all marine life hasa right to be and the space to survive.

WWF’s Endangered Seas Programmeapproaches the conservation of oceansand coasts by promoting globally theestablishment of a system of marine

protected areas (MPAs), and by theintroduction of measures to ensure thatfishing is carried out in a sustainablemanner.

Two global targets have been set:

■ Protected areas: By 2020, theestablishment and implementationof a network of effectivelymanaged, ecologicallyrepresentative marine protectedareas covering at least 10 per centof the world’s seas

■ Sustainable fisheries: Maintainthe status of all fish stocks that arecurrently exploited sustainablyand, by 2020, halve the number offish stocks that are overexploitedor depleted, as currentlycategorized by FAO.

Species

The world's fauna and flora lie at theheart of WWF's mission to conservebiodiversity and the prime reason for

the organization's establishment in1961. WWF’s vision is a world inwhich the intrinsic, aesthetic, economicand ecological values of species arerecognized and respected worldwideand that, as a result, environmentaldegradation and unsustainable use nolonger threaten the survival of wildplants and animals and their crucialhabitats.

WWF’s Species Programme seeks toconserve viable populations of selectedspecies that are of particularconservation concern. Whilst importantin their own right, species are alsocritical for the maintenance offundamental ecological processes, andas indicators of the health of naturalplaces. As flagships, they also provideunique opportunities for promoting andcommunicating important conservationand environmental issues.


■ Flagship species: By 2010,populations of key species of

global concern are stabilized orincreased and their critical habitatssafeguarded

■ Wildlife trade: By 2010, at leastten species of global concern areno longer endangered byoverexploitation.

The species and species groups whichform the focus for target one are giantpanda, tiger, rhinoceroses (black,white, Javan, Sumatran, and greaterone horned), elephants (African andAsian), marine turtles (leatherback,hawksbill, green, loggerhead, oliveridley, and Kemp's ridley), great apes(gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo, andorang-utan), and whales. Amongst thespecies included under target two aresnow leopard, sturgeon, and Tibetanantelope.

WWF articulates its speciesconservation work through SpeciesAction Plans and influencing thedecisions made by the Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered

5Delivering conservation – How?

Gifts to the Earth

A Gift to the Earth is WWF’s highestaccolade for the significant conservationwork of others. It provides internationalrecognition and support to a government, acompany, or an individual. By August 2002,77 Gifts had been recognized by WWF. Queen conch shell.

WWF-Canon / Michel Roggo

Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES) and the International WhalingCommission (IWC). At the heart of thiswork lies the concept of species viabilityand the corresponding need to conservewildlife in managed landscapes largeenough and varied enough to ensuretheir long-term well-being withincontexts increasingly dominated bysocial and economic concerns.

An issue of wide concern in speciesconservation is the internationalcommercial trade in endangeredspecies. Jointly with IUCN–The WorldConservation Union, WWF runs theTRAFFIC (Trade Records Analysis ofFlora and Fauna in Commerce)programme whose mission is to ensurethat trade in wild plants and animals isnot a threat to the conservation ofnature.

Climate Change

WWF’s task is to protect nature fromglobal climate change. By focusing onachieving a deep reduction in global

carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, WWFexpects to have triggered by 2030 aseries of changes in society that willhave transformed the supply and use ofenergy and raw materials compared tothe beginning of the 21st century. Thiswill need not only pressure from civilsociety, but also action by policy-makers, businesses and investors. Byworking together, catastrophic damageto ecosystems can yet be avoided.

The Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change’s most recent reportdocuments more strongly than everbefore the extreme and dauntingimpacts that climate change will haveon wildlife, spelling extinction andvast changes for species such as polarbear, Bengal tiger, and amphibians.With increasing temperature ranges of1.4–5.8˚C, it is clear that climatechange poses an enormous threat tobiodiversity and WWF's missionworldwide.

WWF’s Climate Change Programmeaims to ensure that industrialized

nations achieve a permanent downwardtrend in their domestic emissions ofCO2 as a first step towards substantialreductions in emissions.


■ Emissions reductions: By 2010, a10 per cent reduction below 1990emissions in industrialized countrycarbon dioxide emissions

■ Solutions: By 2010, initiativesshould be underway in thirtydeveloping countries to implementsolutions leading to a significantreduction in carbon intensity, inparticular from the combustion offossil fuels

■ National plans and strategies: By2010, fifty countries areimplementing adaptation strategiesin key ecoregions/biomes andsectors of their economies on thebasis of national plans for thereduction of vulnerability toclimate change.

Toxic Chemicals

Wildlife, people, and ecosystems arethreatened by pervasive and globalchemical contamination. WWF isworking to reduce and eliminate theworld's most dangerous industrialchemicals and pesticides whilesimultaneously promoting increasedunderstanding, regulation of, andalternatives to toxic chemicals.

Within one generation, by 2020, WWFwould like to see an end to threats tothe Earth’s biological diversity fromtoxic industrial chemicals andpesticides, especially endocrinedisrupting, bioaccumulative, orpersistent chemicals. In pursuit of thisvision, WWF’s Toxics Programmeinvestigates toxic chemicals and theirrelationship to biodiversity and humanhealth; works to phase out and banchemicals that threaten life; and seeksto identify and promote safe, effective,and affordable alternatives.




■ Elimination: By 2007, eliminateor reduce at least 30 of the mosthazardous industrial chemicals andpesticides, with special emphasison persistent organic pollutants(POPs) and endocrine disruptingchemicals (EDCs)

■ Informed decision-making: By2007, scientific, educational andregulatory initiatives will be firmlyin place, enabling decision-makers(governments, industry,consumers) to make informedchoices about toxic chemicals andtheir alternatives.

These targets will be integrated intoWWF’s work on the other globalissues, as well as the Global 200Ecoregions. In all cases the“precautionary principle” will be usedas the basic approach.


Cross-cutting issues

There are a number of issues that cut across the work being carried out by WWF’s Target Driven

Programmes and Ecoregion Action Programmes. These include matters such as trade and investment (e.g.

World Trade Organization rules), indigenous and traditional peoples (e.g intellectual property rights),

national implementation of treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as the impacts of

tourism. WWF will focus on those cross-cutting issues, including newly emerging topics, that directly affect

programmatic and ecoregional work. Particular attention will be paid to the root causes of biodiversity loss,

such as poverty, migration, macroeconomic policies, and poor enforcement of environmental legislation.

Nile crocodiles.WWF / Martin Harvey


The TDP approach

Seven important features for Target Driven Programmes have been developed in the light of lessons learned over six years from WWF’s first internationalcampaigns and underscored by the early experiences of the Ecoregion Action Programmes.

1. Focused targets – targets focus effort and bring resultsTargets have proved to be extremely effective tools in achieving conservation goals. The campaigning approach has demonstrated that setting targetsbuilds momentum and helps us focus our effort.

2. Flexible strategy – flexibility in strategy and tactics allows timely actionTDPs need to be flexible in their strategy and tactics in order to respond effectively to political and media opportunities and threats in a fast-changingworld. This means they should not be over-planned.

3. Effective communications – policy advocacy needs potent communications strategiesEffective internal and external communications need to accompany the policy goals. Communications is a tool for achieving targets, not just for highlightingsuccesses.

4. Regular reporting and accountability – reporting and accountability measures and a steering group with high-level compositionThe “project” approach is central to the TDP management process. This approach uses results-orientated monitoring with timetables and check points andhas proven extremely useful to ensure delivery. Full accountability, to one Steering Group, mandated by the WWF Network, is also vital.

5. Strong leadership and entrepreneurship – strong staff leadership with entrepreneurial skill, rather than management by committeeTDPs are effective only when led by a capable director who has credibility with the WWF Network. The director should be a good spokesperson and havethe ability to carry things through without too much friction. He/she should also have a good eye for campaigning opportunities.

6. Firm funding and financial accountability – established funding commitments for a set term accompanied by fiscal responsibility andoversight

TDPs need a multiple-year funding guarantee and budgeting flexibility in order to use opportunities to their maximum.

7. Monitoring and lesson learning – innovation needs constant learning and adaptationMonitoring progress against the overall goal is essential. Targets have been selected to help move towards one overarching goal. The TDP must ensure itremains outward looking and monitors not only the progress towards the chosen targets, but also the continuing relevance and priority of those targets in afast-moving world.

Underpinning the TDP approach is the need for institutional support and capacity building both to enable the TDPs to act effectively and to empower staffin key areas of the WWF Network to play an effective part in their delivery.

Ecoregion Action Programmes

In addition to the six Target DrivenProgrammes outlined above, WWFhas identified and chosen to work in asubset of individual or combinedecoregions, for each of which anEcoregion Action Programme (EAP)will be formulated. An EAP is anambitious, broad-scale, integratedapproach that aims to conserve and,where necessary, restore thebiological diversity of an entireecoregion. This does not mean thatevery individual of every speciesmust be protected, rather that WWF’sstrategies and actions work towardachieving the broad goals ofbiodiversity conservation:

■ Representation of all nativehabitat types and plant and animalcommunities across their naturalrange of variation

■ Resilience of ecosystems andspecies to short- and long-termenvironmental change

■ Viable populations of all nativespecies in natural patterns ofabundance and distribution

■ Healthy ecological andevolutionary processes such asdisturbance regimes, hydrologicalprocesses, nutrient cycles, andbiotic interactions, includingpredation.

Using current information, and inconjunction with partners, each EAPestablishes a vision for the long-termconservation of the ecoregion’sbiodiversity, and a set of targets whichneed to be achieved to reach that vision.These targets address the full range ofsocio-economic change necessary withinthe ecoregion and also in some casescontribute to the achievement of theglobal TDP targets. This latter feature –creating synergy between ecoregion andTDP work – is where WWF willmaximize its impact and institutionalefficiency and make most progress.Examples of how it can be done arefound in the pages of this report.


Ecoregions as a unit for conservation action

Ecoregions are defined in biological terms and, as such, are logical

units for conserving biodiversity. By moving from sites defined

geographically or politically to biologically defined ecoregions, WWF

can better assess what is necessary to maintain the full array of

biodiversity – species, communities, ecosystems, and ecological

processes. An ecoregional approach helps ensure that we do not

overlook areas that are particularly unique or threatened, allowing

for smarter trade-offs and greater positive impacts that are more

likely to endure over time.

Because ecoregions often transcend political boundaries, managers,

decision-makers, and other constituents, including in particular civil

society (e.g. community groups, non-governmental organizations,

labour unions), must enlarge their thinking and planning to act

beyond their own borders. Whether an ecoregion is made up of

forests, grasslands, rivers and streams, or marine and coastal

zones, the people who live in an ecoregion often share a common

relationship with the land, water, and their other natural resources.

By encouraging ecoregional thinking, there is a greater chance that

large-scale ecological processes will be recognized and maintained.

Coral reef in the Turtle Islands,

Philippines.WWF-Canon / Jürgen Freund

The principles which outline therationale of ecoregion conservation(see opposite) are those which guideand direct WWF’s Ecoregion ActionPlans (EAP). EAPs employ the triedand tested methods that WWF has usedover the years – e.g. protected areaestablishment, environmentaleducation, capacity building, advocacyfor policy change – but on ageographically larger scale andengaging a broader range of issues andpartners than ever before. In addition,as we analyse the pressures bearingupon ecoregions, certain “common”problems will emerge, such as adversetrade rules, perverse subsidies whichdrive agricultural expansion orresource depletion, and other socio-economic issues. It is in these commonareas that the EAPs and the TDPs willinterrelate most, working together, aswell as with external partners, toachieve common goals.

Ecoregion conservation requires acareful balance of analysis, planning,and action, thinking differently, and

exploring and understanding thelinkages between social and biologicalfactors. This interplay betweenunderstanding and action will betterenable WWF and all parties in an EAPto secure conservation gains andcomplementary economic and socialdevelopment successes over the shortand long term.

Based on the need to think and actdifferently, with broader visions, largerscales, longer time horizons, andgreater impact, WWF has defined a setof simple features of ecoregionconservation, developed and refined byecoregion conservation practitioners,based on their experience in the field.

■ The fundamental goal of ecoregionconservation is to conserve and,where necessary, restore the fullrange of an ecoregion's biodiversity:genes, species, communities,ecosystems, and ecologicalphenomena must be conserved on ascale that ensures their integrity andlong-term survival

■ Human development needs mustbe reconciled with conservationactions: ecoregional scales ofplanning and action require athorough understanding of theinteractions between social,economic, and ecological factors

■ Emphasis must be given tocollaboration and developingpartnerships: partnerships amonginstitutions and individuals arevital for getting the best input andbroadest commitment toprogramme design andimplementation, and to ensure thatscarce resources are efficientlyapplied

■ Adapting through learning: puttingexperience into practice:continuous reshaping of actionsand strategies based on previouslessons and experience and onemerging information and newtools for conservationmanagement.



Ecoregions defined

WWF defines an ecoregion asa "large unit of land or watercontaining a geographicallydistinct assemblage ofspecies, natural communities,and environmentalconditions". The boundaries ofan ecoregion are not fixedand sharp, but ratherencompass an area withinwhich important ecologicaland evolutionary processesmost strongly interact.


Principles of Ecoregion Conservation

1. WWF’s primary purpose is the conservation of biodiversity, which is the foundation for a future where humans live in harmony with nature.

2. Ecoregions are the appropriate geographical unit for setting conservation goals; they represent an ambitious and visionary scale necessary forbiodiversity 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 its own structures and operations to the needs of conservation in the ecoregion.

5. Ecoregion conservation programmes should develop a bold, engaging and ambitious vision for an ecoregion in order to set directions andarouse support. This vision should contain an inspirational message to motivate and engage stakeholders and partners.

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

7. Operationally, implementation may take place at levels below the ecoregional scale, or outside the ecoregion, depending on the issue underattention. Threats analysis is an essential filter for figuring 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 capacity building.

9. Knowing who and when to engage in strategic partnerships throughout the entire ecoregion process is crucial to realize the vision. This mayinclude partnerships with stakeholders who represent a critical constituency but who may not normally be seen as conservation allies.

10. An inspiring vision must be combined with up-to-date reporting and transparency of goals, actions and achievements in order to build thecommitment and ownership of partners to stay actively engaged.

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

12. Long-term flexible financing must be focused at an ecoregional level (rather than site level) to give the programme a confident start and tomaintain it. Novel and ambitious financial mechanisms that go beyond traditional WWF support must be actively pursued.

13. All conservation activities must be conceived and implemented in relation to the social and political realities in which they take place.

14. Appropriate institutional development is necessary to strengthen advocacy at several scales. This includes the harnessing of the full power ofthe WWF Network and key partners to make the most of political and high publicity opportunities.

The Global 200 Ecoregions


13Sustainable development, poverty and the enviroment: a challenge to the global community

Sustainable development, poverty and the environment: a challenge to the global community

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in August 2002 gave the world community the opportunity to assess

progress in addressing sustainable development and to agree priority issues for the future. It took place ten years on from the UN Conference on

Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro which called for sustainable development “to ensure socially responsible economic

development while protecting the resource base and the environment for the benefit of future generations”.

WWF defines sustainable development as that which is economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound. Development is not

sustainable if it does not integrate all three elements. This requires changes in business practices and lifestyles, as well as the adoption of

environmental and social standards to stay within the limits of available resources. WWF believes that sufficient technical knowledge exists to

achieve sustainable development. Political will and appropriate incentives are required to convert the ideals into practical action.

In preparing for the WSSD, governments, UN institutions and development agencies focused on economic well-being by targeting poverty

alleviation as the overriding concern in achieving sustainable development. While this was both welcome and necessary, and provided the

opportunity to embed this firmly in the sustainable development agenda, WWF argued that the other two pillars of sustainable development must

also be strengthened in the process.

WWF and other organizations working within the sustainable development arena issued an appeal to those attending the WSSD to build on

previous analyses and conclusions, not least the considerable preparations for UNCED, and to reaffirm and strengthen the global view that

sustainable development is the only option for a viable future.

Success in this quest for sustainability requires the joint efforts of three sectors:

■ National and local governments, supported by international instruments that provide standards, incentives, and regulations

■ The private sector, whose new freedoms resulting from globalization place the responsibility of informed stewardship squarely on their

operations

■ Civil society, whose pressure and support can ensure that the public interest is being well served.

The challenge ahead lies in enabling the three sectors to work harmoniously together, each providing checks and balances on the others and

recognizing their mutually supporting roles in achieving sustainable development.


WWF adopts an integratedapproach to forestconservation which canbe characterized by

‘protect, manage, restore’. Forestprotection has always been a priorityfor WWF, but we also recognize thatas many as 90 per cent of the 1.2billion people in the world who live inextreme poverty depend on forests fora variety of goods and services. Tradein wood and wood products is also animportant source of income for manycountries, and many forests will thuscontinue to be used to satisfy the needsof local communities as well asinternational markets. Conservationistsshould therefore identify and promoteways in which these forests can bewell managed. In addition, in someparts of the world forests are highlydegraded and must be restored if theyare to provide benefits for people andnature.

Some significant conservation

successes have been recorded duringthe past 18 months. Over 17 million haof new forest protected areas havebeen established. In addition topromoting the creation of newprotected areas, we are also pressingfor improvements in the managementof existing protected areas – toovercome the phenomenon known as“paper parks”. In collaboration withthe World Bank, managementeffectiveness has been assessed in 70million ha of parks using a newmethodology developed by WWF.

In the same period, the amount ofFSC-certified forests increased by 4million ha. A major new partnershipwas established with IKEA to promotecertification in China, the Baltic States,Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia. NewForest and Trade Networks ofcompanies committed to sourcingcertified wood products have beenestablished in Central America, HongKong and Japan.

Forest landscape restoration began toget underway with an internationalmeeting in Costa Rica, co-hosted withthe IUCN Forest Programme, withfunding from the Korean and UKgovernments. The results of thisinternational workshop were brought tothe second session of the UnitedNations Forum on Forests in New Yorkwhere numerous governmentsexpressed support for the restoration offorest landscapes. Far more thansimple tree planting, restoration aimsto regain complete ecological integrityand enhance human well-being byimproving representation of forestspecies and communities, increasingforest resilience to climate change, andconnecting forest habitats outsideprotected areas.

In the coming year, WWF will belaunching a major new internationalcampaign on illegal logging and forestcrime, which is not only a seriousthreat to forest conservation, but also

often deprives local communities andnational economies of much-neededrevenue. We will focus onencouraging the G8 countries andChina to adopt timber procurement,aid and trade policies which help toreduce illegal logging in exportingcountries.

We have chosen a few key ecoregionsaround the world where we can workwith WWF conservationists and othersto implement our integrated approachto forest conservation, adding value toongoing activities in an innovativemanner. The South-West Amazon,Western Congo Basin and the Forestsof the Upper Yangtze in China areprime prospects in this regard.

By 2003, we should be seeingsignificant implementation of thepledge made in 1997 by PresidentCardoso of Brazil to protect 10 percent of the country's forests.Preparation and planning to implement

CHRIS ELLIOTT, Director of the Forests for Life Programme, provides an overview of WWF’s efforts to conserve the world’s forests.

Forests

15Forests

this pledge has been underway forsome time in Brazil, and WWF hasalso been active at the internationallevel in collaboration with the GlobalEnvironmental Facility (GEF), theWorld Bank, and private foundationsin the United States to raise funds toassist the Brazilian government to setup and manage the new protectedareas.

A main focus of WWF in 2003 will bethe reduction of illegally loggedtimber reaching western markets.Studies of trade flows from Russia toWestern Europe, Japan and China willhighlight the amount of timber fromdubious sources crossing Russianborders. In addition, WWF wants toensure that protected forest areas willalso be managed effectively; a systemof identifying managementeffectiveness has already been put intopractice and is currently beingevaluated in Russia. WWF will beusing the results to assist governmentsand protected area managers toidentify priorities.

Targets and examples of progress in 2002

Protecting forests: By 2010, the establishment and maintenance of viable, representative networks of

protected areas in the world’s threatened and most biologically significant forest regions.

■ 17.4 million ha of new forest protected areas established in Russia, Georgia, Croatia, Tunisia, Brazil,

Mexico, Peru, Tanzania, Gabon, and Cameroon.

Managing forests: By 2005, 100 million ha of certified forests, distributed in a balanced manner among

regions, forest types and land tenure regimes.

■ 4 million ha of forests placed under Forest Stewardship Council management standards in a number of

countries, including Bolivia, Mexico, and Colombia

■ New Forest and Trade Networks promoting forest conservation in Japan, Hong Kong, and Central

America.

Restoring forests: By 2005, at least 20 forest landscape restoration initiatives underway in the world’s

threatened, deforested or degraded forest regions to enhance ecological integrity and human well-being.

■ Wide governmental support won for the concept of Forest Landscape Restoration

■ Forest restoration projects underway in Malaysia, China, Brazil, and Bulgaria.

Boreal forest and wetlands in LenskieStolby National Nature Park, SakhaRepublic, Russia.WWF-Canon / Hartmut Jungius

Forests

Africa and Madagascar

WWF is focusing its forestconservation efforts in Africa andMadagascar on establishment of newprotected areas and improvedmanagement of existing ones,sustainable utilization of forestresources, and better opportunities forlocal people to have a central role inmanaging protected areas. Thisapproach is being developed in anumber of ecoregions, including theWestern Congo Basin Moist Forests,Guinean Moist Forests, EasternAfrican Coastal Forests, MiomboWoodlands (see opposite), the Fynbos,and the Spiny Forest of Madagascar.

An increasingly important aspect offorest conservation is assessing theeffectiveness of protected areamanagement, for which WWF and theWorld Commission on Protected Areas(WCPA) have developed a means oftesting. During 2002, assessments werecarried out in three forest reserves inboth Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, with

further assessments done in LobekeNational Park in Cameroon, theMinkebe Forests of Gabon, and theIthala Game Reserve in South Africa.WWF will use the results torecommend improvements wherenecessary.

Forest protected areas supported in2002 include Taï National Park in Côted’Ivoire, Lobeke in Cameroon, DzangaSangha in Central African Republic,Gamba and Minkebe in Gabon,Udzungwa in Tanzania, Virunga in theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC),and the Zombitse-Vohibasia andAndringitra National Parks inMadagascar.

Despite ongoing instability in theDRC, WWF continues to work in andaround Virunga National Park. Acommunity-run greenbelt plantation,where over 170,000 tree seedlingshave been planted, has increased forestcover over a 20km stretch of the park’sbuffer zone. WWF also assisted in thenegotiated removal of illegal settlers


Conserving ecoregions – Miombo, Africa

The Miombo ecoregion, covering 3.5 million square kilometresacross ten countries of southern Africa (Angola, Botswana,Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia,South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), comprises dry andmoist woodlands that support some of the most important mammalpopulations left in Africa. Among threatened animals are black rhino,African elephant, African hunting dog, cheetah and the slender-nosed crocodile, along with many lesser known plants, birds,reptiles, fish, and insects. More than half of the estimated 8,500plant species in Miombo are found nowhere else on Earth.

The biggest threat to Miombo wildlife is the large and rapidlygrowing human population and its demand for agricultural land.Many rural people depend heavily on natural resources for theirlivelihoods. This has led to community-based natural resourcemanagement programmes and the establishment of conservancies– bodies charged with the preservation of environmental resources– across southern Africa. These are now yielding significant benefitsfor nature and people, with profits ploughed back into thecommunity, such as through provision of grants to local schools.

WWF’s long-term vision for Miombo is “a biologically diverse andecologically functional ecoregion that meets and sustains humanneeds and development through the sustainable use of naturalresources,landscapes, speciesand environmentalprocesses”. ForWWF, wildlifeconservation isinextricably linked tohuman developmentand livelihood issues.

African hunting dog.WWF-Canon / Frederick J

Weyerhaeuser

from the park through financial andtechnical support to a joint commissionset up in Goma to delineate the park’sboundaries.

In Tanzania, WWF is working inpartnership with the TanzanianNational Parks authority to conservethe rich biodiversity of the UdzungwaMountains National Park. Highlights in2002 included approval of the Park’smanagement plan, further developmentof facilities within the park and, inconjunction with local communities,creation of alternative income-generating activities. Several treenurseries were established, with over15,000 trees planted, and a number ofanimal husbandry projects wereundertaken by women’s groups. A new8,050ha National Forest Reserve,Namekutwa-Nyamuetta, wasdesignated under the WWF-supportedLowland Coastal Forest project.

Better protection of forests byencouraging participation of localpeople in their management has helped

conserve Andringitra National Park inMadagascar. Successful fire riskmanagement has led to much higherspecies diversity, in particular amongorchids. In addition, keeping numbersof cattle within the carrying capacity ofpasture areas has helped to reducehabitat degradation. Elsewhere, despitea profusion of sapphire mines and thesettlement of over 200,000 minersaround the periphery of the Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park, the park hasso far retained its naturalcharacteristics.

The major focus of WWF’s work topromote sustainable use of forestresources lies in Central Africa. InCameroon, WWF helped to formulatelegislation and develop partnershipswith local communities and the privatesector to control the rapidly expandingbushmeat trade. Helpful in this regardwas the signing of an accord with thenational railroad transporters, which,amongst other things, placed a ban onthe transportation of wild meat andother animal products.

In Madagascar, national standards forsustainable forest management,developed under the WWF/World Bankalliance, were endorsed by thegovernment. The new standards willhelp the country’s Forest Service toimprove monitoring of private loggingoperations and will give privateenterprises clear guidelines on what isexpected of them.

WWF has become a leader incommunity-based forest managementin Madagascar. Agreements have beensigned with nine villages to transfermanagement responsibility to them foraround 3,000ha of forests in Antsiraka,Tolongoina, and Tsitongambarikadistricts. Similarly in Cameroon, WWFhas worked with the government tocreate a system that will give localcommunities more control overmanagement of forests and wildlife.The government has also formallyrecognized Community ManagedHunting Zones as a category ofmanaged forest. Five such zones,covering approximately 300,000ha of

forest, have been designated by thegovernment.

Asia and the Pacific

Forest conservation, particularly thecreation of protected areas, continuesto be the largest single area of focusfor WWF in the Asia/Pacific region,with a growing emphasis on forestcertification and restoration. A major effort is underway to reducethe European “footprint” on Asianforests by engaging with the edible oilssector in sustainable forestmanagement. Much of this work istaking place in Indonesia andMalaysia, where forest loss throughconversion for oil palm plantations isbeing tackled by developingpartnerships and entering intodiscussion with industry leaders (seeunder Europe and the Middle East,page 20).

Major achievements in forestconservation have come in Indonesia,where the problem of illegal logging

17Forests

Green tree python from the rainforests ofAustralia.WWF / Martin Harvey

has been recognized by the nationalgovernment as a high priority and hasled to crack-downs on corrupt officials.At a national level, the World Bankand WWF have assisted with theformation of the Forest Law,Enforcement and Governance network.WWF has also influenced legaldecisions by local administrationsfavouring sustainable forestrypractices. One decree forbidsexploitation of resources in WasurNational Park, while in Lombok, aWWF proposal for introducingalternative land use and naturalresource management planning wasaccepted by the province's governor.

Despite these successes, Indonesia stillpresents some of the biggest forestconservation challenges. For example,WWF is campaigning vigorously tosave the last remaining patch of viablehabitat for the Sumatran elephant inthe tropical forest of Tesso Nilo. Asurvey by WWF scientists found thatthe area harbours the highest density oflowland forest plants known to

science: up to 218 species wererecorded in a single 200 square metreplot – nearly twice as high as similarforests elsewhere in the world.However, WWF has warned that TessoNilo’s natural riches could be lostwithin four years if logging of theforest continues at the present rate.Satellite images show Tesso Nilostanding out like a green ark in a sea ofclear-cut forests and plantations. Heavylogging for timber and pulp by small-scale illegal loggers and aninternational corporation is havingdevastating effects on both plant andanimal life. Working on the ground toprevent further damage, WWF ispressing the government to declareTesso Nilo a protected area.

Elsewhere in the region, all logging ofold-growth and high valueconservation forest has been halted inWestern Australia,. This followed aWWF campaign to influence theenvironmental policies of mainstreampolitical parties in the lead up to the2001 election. Australia has also

successfully pioneered a number ofprivate conservation efforts, includingconservation agreements setting asideland for nature conservation.

In China’s Baimaxueshan region, fourvillages testing collective forestryschemes have succeeded in eliminatingillegal cutting of forests. In Nepal,community forests established in andaround Bardia, Shey Phoksundo,Dhorpatan and KangchengjungaNational Parks are benefiting 2,600households and easing pressure on theparks’ natural resources. In Malaysia,too, forest reserves are beingsuccessfully placed under communitymanagement.

Certification of forests has surged withthe launching in March 2002 of twoForest and Trade Networks (FTN). TheEast Asian FTN – EcoWood@sia –covers Hong Kong, China, Taiwan andSouth Korea, collectively among theworld’s heaviest timber importers andconsumers. The Japanese FTN isknown locally as WWF Sanshoukai –

meaning “group of smilingmountains”. Its members are drawnfrom various sectors including forestowners and managers, paper mills,timber processors, furniture designersand manufactures, architects, andforest product wholesalers andretailers.

In-country promotion of certificationalso gained momentum during 2002.China established a national workinggroup, with one timber-consumingcompany committing to joinEcoWood@sia and another 20 usersexpressing interest. Seventeencompanies received FSC “chain ofcustody” certification. New Zealand’snewly established national workinggroup on certification received staunchsupport from the country’s timbersupply industry, once a major opponentof certification. The industry now seesit as a means to meet growing overseasdemand for certified wood. InVietnam, WWF helped the nationalworking group develop criteria andindicators compatible with those of the


Forests

Forest certification under the FSCreached 28 million ha during 2002.

WWF-Austria

FSC for assessing proper managementof the country’s forests. And Laoscould soon see its first certified forestsunder a new FINNIDA-funded project.Initially, the aim is to certify 20,000haof forests in Khammouane andSavannakhet provinces, managed byvillage associations; in time, thisshould expand to 100,000ha.

In April 2002, the Indonesian and UKgovernments signed a ground-breakingagreement to tackle illegal logging andillegal international trade in timber andwood products. This is the first timethat two governments have committedto reforming legislation anddeveloping systems to prevent theharvesting, export, and trade of illegaltimber. On the horizon is a study ofChina’s timber consumption, the reporton which is expected to includerecommendations for ameliorating theimpact of the growing demand fortimber.

Forest restoration projects gotunderway in Malaysia, Nepal, and

Pakistan. In Indonesia, the principles,criteria and indicators for forestlandscape restoration were consideredby the Ministry of Forestry, which thenissued a decree on forest rehabilitation.In India, a pilot project is underway torestore degraded forest corridors in theTerai Arc landscape in the easternHimalayas. WWF-India is alsoworking on joint forest managementwith local communities in three states.

And in Australia, a patch of rainforestmanaged under WWF’s highlysuccessful Rainforest RecoveryProgramme yielded a new plantspecies. Donated to the local councilby a farmer as a public reserve morethan 30 years ago, the site is also ofprime conservation importance for thethreatened black-breasted button-quail,the world’s only rainforest quail.

Europe and the Middle East

Over the last 18 months, WWF hashelped to increase significantly the sizeof FSC-certified forests in Europe and

19Forests

The Global Forest and Trade Network

Consumers are increasingly demanding responsible businesspractices. As a result, investors such as pension funds andinsurance companies are beginning to take account of social andenvironmental concerns. It is therefore in the forest industry’sinterests to adopt internationally recognized management standards.Companies that can demonstrate sound management of timberresources – by gaining the FSC certificate – can gain competitiveadvantage both in the financial markets and the productmarketplace.

To promote greater levels of buy-in for independent certification,particularly from major companies in the forest industry, WWFhelped establish the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN). Thenetwork is an alliance of environmental and social organizations andnearly 700 companies in 18 countries committed to producing,trading or purchasing certified timber and wood products. Itsmembers, including forest owners, timber companies, processors offorest products, architects, construction companies, local authorities,and retailers of timber and paper goods, account for some 7 percent of the world’s industrial wood use.

Market demand for FSC-certified products is now well establishedand growing in Europe and North America, and increasing in Asia (inparticular Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea). However, withforest production spread throughout the world, the GFTN is lookingto increase the area of certified forest across all forest types and tolink certified suppliers to markets around the globe. To achieve this,particularly in large regions and less developed countries like Brazil,Russia, China and the Baltic states, Producers Groups – networksof timber suppliers – are now being established on each continent topromote the benefits of certification.

Together, the members of the GTFN are proving how the forestindustry can be both sustainable and profitable, securing the healthof forests worldwide for people, economies, and wildlife.

secured further commitments fromgovernments towards more responsibleforest management, in particular inCentral and Eastern Europeancountries where most of Europe´svaluable forest resources exist.

By mid-2002, the area of FSC-certifiedforests had increased by 4 million ha toa global total of 28 million ha. Half ofthis increase came from new forestcertifications in the Baltic states. Latviaand Estonia together now haveapproximately 2 million ha of forestscertified to FSC management standards,mostly on public lands. Romania alsoexpressed its commitment to worktowards certifying 1 million ha over thenext two years. These advances sent astrong signal to other timber-producingcountries and for western buyers ofFSC timber.

WWF has witnessed a significantincrease in the certification of state-owned forests all over Europe, whichindicates that governments areincreasingly taking an active role in

responsible forest management. SinceJuly 2001, Finland, Liechtenstein,Slovakia, Lithuania and Ukraine havemoved some of their forests under theFSC standard.

At the same time, European markets arebecoming increasingly sensitive to theorigins of timber. With the launch of theItalian FTN in late 2001, the number ofForest and Trade Networks in Europehas increased to 13, encompassing morethan 400 companies committed topromoting responsible forestmanagement and trade.

In April 2002, the French and Germangovernments announced a change intheir public timber procurementpolicies towards FSC-certified wood,following an earlier decision by theUK government. WWF now expectsthe European Union as a whole tomake a clear decision on purchase oftimber for use in the public domain.

WWF and IKEA, one of the world’slargest home-furnishing companies,

have embarked on a three-yearpartnership to promote responsibleforestry. The two organizations willcarry out a series of forest projects thatwill promote responsible forestry inRussia, China, Bulgaria, Romania, andthe Baltic countries. These will includethe development of a means foridentifying and managing forests ofhigh conservation value, and issuessuch as illegal logging and forestcertification.

A paradigm shift in thinking aboutforest management has also beendemonstrated by the Swedishcompany, Sveaskog. The state-ownedcompany that recently purchasedAssiDomän has committed to set aside20 per cent of productive state forestland for nature conservation.

In an initiative begun in 2001, WWF isbringing together fieldwork acrossthree continents to focus on therelationship between forest conversionfor edible oil production and Europe asthe biggest importer of palm oil and

soy. The aim of the project, linkingwork in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil,Ghana, and Nigeria with market-oriented work in Europe, is to improvestandards within the edible oil industryand influence investment decisions andtrade policies. Palm oil and soyplantations are proliferating at theexpense of natural forests, as well aspolluting the environment throughexcessive use of pesticides. Already,four Dutch banks have madecommitments to invest in forest andpalm oil activities using sustainablepractices, and the Swiss retailer Migroshas committed to purchasing“ecologically-friendly” palm oil and issupporting a pilot test case in Ghana.Meanwhile, the Malaysian Palm OilAssociation has invited WWF to joinin policy dialogue.

Latin America and theCaribbean

Nearly 1 billion ha of natural forestblanket the Latin America andCaribbean (LAC) region. WWF


Forests

Giant river otters – amongst theAmazon’s most spectacular wildlife.

WWF-Canon / Hartmut Jungius

continues to champion forestconservation from the dry forests ofnorth-western Mexico’s ChihuahuanDesert to the temperate rainforests ofsouthern Chile and Argentina.However, this work is still challengedby agricultural expansion, cattleraising, unsustainable timberexploitation, and unsoundinfrastructure projects which threatenthe integrity of the region’s forests andtheir rich biodiversity.

In order to reduce these threats, WWFhas collaborated with a large anddiverse group of partners, from thesmallest community organization togovernment agencies and the largestinternational aid and developmentagencies. In the realm of forests, thesecollaborations have focused onprotected areas, sustainable forestmanagement through voluntarycertification, policy reform, and forestrestoration.

WWF continues to be a leader insupporting and developing protected

areas in the LAC region. Under theleadership of WWF-Brazil, theAmazon Region Protected AreasProject (ARPA) is becoming a reality.The first four-year phase of a ten-yearproject estimated at US$400 million isexpected to be launched this year,financed by the Brazilian government,GEF, the German aid agency KFW,and WWF. ARPA will represent anachievement of global importance:28.5 million ha of new protected areasand improved management of 12.5million ha of existing parks andreserves.

Protected areas in Latin America,where many people live in or aroundforests and depend on forest products,require innovative approaches beyondtraditional national parks. WWF hasmade substantial progress with respectto Community Protected Areas inOaxaca, Mexico, and Private Reservesin Chile and Paraguay. In Colombia,WWF has played a crucial role infurthering the concept of privatereserves and supporting the

21Forests

Conserving ecoregions – Amazonian Forests

Much of WWF’s conservation work on forests is taking place inecoregions. One of these lies in the Amazon jungles of SouthAmerica, home to over half of the world's remaining tropicalrainforest. At the heart of this still vast region is the SouthwestAmazon Moist Forest ecoregion, almost 200 million ha of largelyintact forest covering part of the western Brazilian states ofAmazonas, Acre, and Rondonia, stretching into the lowlands ofsouth-eastern Peru and north-western Bolivia. Among its abundantriches is an incredible array of trees, including the valuable big-leafmahogany, as well as some of the continent's most spectacularwildlife, including jaguar, harpy eagle, and giant river otter.

Although 92 per cent of the original forested area still remains, theregion faces numerous large-scale threats, such as roadconstruction, illegal logging, gold mining, human settlement andagricultural expansion, and oil and gas exploration. Humanpopulations remain relatively low, consisting mainly of indigenoustribespeople, river dwellers, Brazil nut gatherers, and rubbertappers. However, migrants from overpopulated and deforestedregions of Bolivia, Brazil and Peru are moving into the region,converting forest into farm and pasture and threatening thetraditional way of life.

The remoteness of most of the forest has insulated it from the worstdevelopment pressures so far, presenting a great opportunity forconservation. This opportunity, however, is fleeting and is temperedby rapidly increasing development plans in all three countries.WWF's efforts in the ecoregion are focusing on the creation of newprotected areas and attaining effective management of existingones, promotion of sustainable natural resource management, suchas FSC certification of both timber and non-timber forest productsand the establishment of community-managed forests, and supportfor policies that deal with the threats posed by oil and gasdevelopment and road construction.

establishment of seven new privatereserves in the Central Andes. InDecember 2001, WWF, the WorldBank, and the Colombian Ministry ofthe Environment signed aMemorandum of Understanding thatwill maximize the conservationpotential of the three institutions.

WWF’s office in Bolivia has providedproject coordination for strengtheningcommunity certification efforts inBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador,Guatemala, and Mexico. Boliviacontinues to lead the way in terms ofcertification of natural forests, withnearly 1 million ha of certified forestsrepresenting almost one-third of theLAC total of 3.5 million ha. Thecertification movement in Brazil is alsogaining momentum. In 2002, Brazilpassed the 1 million ha mark of FSC-certified forests. WWF’s CentralAmerican office continues to pioneerthe improvement of communitycertification with the indigenous andmestizo communities of northernGuatemala and southern Mexico.

WWF has also been instrumental indeveloping a Forest and TradeNetwork to promote the marketing ofcertified products.

Forest landscape restoration hassignificant potential in the LACregion, especially in the Valdivianforests of Chile and Argentina, and inthe Atlantic forests of Argentina,Brazil, and Paraguay. A firstrestoration initiative is taking form inthe northern Andes of Ecuador, basedon the use of the bamboo Guaduaangustifolia for the protection of smallriver systems.

North America

In Canada, WWF sponsored andcoordinated the development of FSCstandards for the boreal forest ofOntario, convening a year-long processinvolving representatives of industry,environmentalists, First Nations andother groups. FSC will use the newstandards in certification processes inother Canadian provinces.

Iisaak Forest Resources Ltd, jointlyowned by a native people’sorganization and the global forestrygiant Weyerhaeuser, received the FSCcertificate for its sensitive forestmanagement, including protectedareas, throughout its 87,000ha Pacificcoastal rainforest in Clayoquot Soundon Vancouver Island, BritishColombia. Iisaak operates in anecoregion of tremendous globalinterest and its accomplishment wasrecognized as a Gift to the Earth byWWF.

Westwind Forest Stewardship Inc., anot-for-profit community-based forestmanagement company, earned thelargest FSC certification to date inCanada for its 855,000ha parcel ofpublic lands in Ontario’s French-Severn Forest, which they manageunder a license on behalf of theOntario provincial government.Domtar Inc., one of Canada’s largestand oldest forestry companies, earnedits FSC chain-of-custody certificate forits Cornwall, Ontario paper mill,

thereby re-establishing a supply ofFSC-certified paper in North America.Wood supply to the mill comes fromDomtar’s private land operations insouthern Ontario and New York state.

During the year, an assessment offorest fragmentation in the US wascompleted, including an analysis of theKlamath-Siskiyou ecoregion, where acampaign was undertaken to promotethe use of FSC-certified timber and tocertify one or two mills. Elsewhere,WWF defended the Cascade-SiskiyouNational Monument in Oregon fromgovernment attempts to shrink itsboundaries, and also started a processthere to certify to FSC standards4,000ha of private forest holdings. Inthe Southeast Rivers and Streamsecoregion, WWF worked to secureFSC certification of forest lands ownedby the state of Tennessee and toencourage other public and privatelandowners to seek certification.

In April 2002, WWF co-hosted theForest Leadership Forum in Atlanta,


Forests

Georgia, bringing together 1,000representatives from the environmentalcommunity and the forest productsindustry, and retailers and buyers fromaround the world. Issues coveredincluded illegal logging, forests of highconservation value, responsible

consumption, and certification.

Over the past year, 300,000ha of forestwere certified under FSC in the US,bringing the country’s total certifiedarea to 3.4 million ha.

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WWF’s Global Conservation Programme

Expenditure on Forest Conservation FY 2001

Palm trees, bamboos and tree ferns inthe Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve,Costa Rica.WWF-Canon / Michèle Dépraz


Freshwater

JAMIE PITTOCK, Director of the Living Waters Programme, looks back over the past year and previews WWF’s freshwater work in 2003.

WWF’s Living WatersProgramme is dedicatedto ensuring thatfreshwater ecosystems

around the world are valued andconserved as a source of life for peopleand nature. Freshwater wetlands areamong the richest wildlife habitats inthe world – and also the mostthreatened. According to the 2002Living Planet Report, WWF’s periodicreview of the state of the planet,freshwater species declined by some55 per cent between 1970 and 2000 – arate faster than wildlife loss in forestsand oceans.

These alarming trends are reflected byincreasing human suffering. Currently,1.5 billion people lack ready access toclean drinking water and if currentconsumption patterns continue, at least3.5 billion people – 48 per cent of theprojected world population – will beliving in water-stressed river basinswithin the next 25 years. Already, 2.5

billion people lack water sanitation,leading to widespread outbreaks ofwater-related disease and possibly asmany as 10 million deaths annually.

WWF is tackling the conservation offreshwater ecosystems in three ways:establishing protected areas for the mostimportant wetlands, conserving riverbasins – freshwater ecoregions – as thesource of fresh water, and promotingmore efficient use of water to increasethe share for people and nature.

Working as a catalyst, WWF aims tosee 250 million ha (about 20%) of theworld’s freshwater wetlands understrict protection. In partnership withthe Ramsar Convention on Wetlandsand in cooperation with the peopleand governments of many countries,such as Algeria, Bolivia, Chad,China, Cuba, Guinea, Peru, andTurkey, in excess of 18 million hahave been set aside for conservation –an area about half the size of The

Netherlands. Exciting progress hasalso been achieved in managing manysignificant freshwater reserves forconservation, at the same timehelping to develop sustainablelivelihoods with local people,particularly in Algeria and China, andthrough a tri-national programmeinvolving Australia, Indonesia andPapua New Guinea (see page 28).

Currently, WWF is working in 14countries to protect a further 20 millionha of wetlands and enhance theirmanagement. In Africa, we areworking with the Lake Chad BasinCommission and Niger BasinAuthority, among others, using newprotected areas as a catalyst forcooperation between governments tomanage these critical river basinecoregions as sustainably as possible.

Freshwater areas cannot be conservedby protection alone. All the land andwaters upstream in the river basin need

to be carefully managed to maintainadequate water quality and quantity.We have drawn together 34 WWFprojects conserving river basinecoregions to identify and raise theextra resources needed, and the lessonsthat can be shared to achieveconservation of river ecosystems. AWWF film on our conservation workon the Niger River won a Certificate ofMerit at the prestigious ChicagoInternational Television Competition inthe Public Affairs/Video News Releasecategory. We are using this platform toaccelerate the complex task of bringingtogether governments and otherstakeholders to conserve the mostbiologically important freshwaterecoregions. Examples are WWF’swork in the Danube River basin thathas been critical in bringing togetherconservation efforts in 13 countries,and the tri-national Morava-DyjeFloodplain initiative in Austria, theCzech Republic and the SlovakRepublic (see page 30).

25Freshwater

WWF is also working to redirectenvironmentally disastrousdevelopment proposals into moresocially and economically responsiblealternatives. In particular, poorlyplanned dams cause immenseenvironmental damage, includingchanging the quality and quantity ofwater in rivers and by fragmenting anddestroying wildlife populations. Amajor push has commenced againstthe Spanish National HydrologicalPlan, a massive inter-basin watertransfer scheme requiring hundreds ofdams and impacting on dozens ofcritical conservation areas (see underEurope and the Middle east below, andalso page 29).

In February, a report on shipping alongthe Danube set out WWF’s caseagainst the proposed ‘Trans EuropeanNetwork’ of shipping channels ineastern Europe. An economicassessment was also published as acritique of the proposal for a massivesouth-north water transfer scheme inChina. Following a WWF


Freshwater biodiversity: By 2010, 250 million ha of high-priority freshwater ecosystems worldwide areprotected and/or sustainably managed.

■ 18.4 million ha set aside for conservation, including in Algeria, Bolivia, Chad, China, Cuba, Guinea,Peru, and Turkey

■ Memorandum of Understanding to manage 3 million ha of wetlands signed by the governments ofIndonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia at the fourth preparatory meeting in Bali in May for theWorld Summit on Sustainable Development.

Water infrastructure development: By 2010, ecological processes are maintained or restored in at least50 large catchment areas of high biodiversity importance.

■ Five-year, multi-million dollar agreement with HSBC to conserve four major river basins■ Options assessment completed according to World Commission on Dams guidelines, resulting in Polish

government's decision to reconsider the need for more dams and to consider instead sustainable waysof addressing problems of the ageing Wloclawek dam.

Resource use in water intensive products: By 2010, private sector practices and related governmentpolicies concerning key water-using sectors are established and/or changed in order to sustain the integrityof the freshwater ecosystems on which they depend and/or impact.

■ A new partnership with an international drinks company to develop industry standards for minimizingwater use and improving water quality.

Mountain wetlands 3,600 metres high inthe Ecuadorian Andes.WWF-Canon / Kevin Schafer

commissioned assessment, we aremaking good progress in Poland infavour of abandoning the proposedNieszawa Dam and decommissioningthe Wlocalwek Dam on the VistulaRiver. And the World Bank’s draftstrategy on water resources wasamended to partially reflect WWF’sapproach to implementing therecommendations of the WorldCommission on Dams.

In 2003, the Living WatersProgramme will launch a newcampaign on dams, seeking toredirect investment into ecologically,environmentally and sociallybeneficial alternatives to dams forprovision of power and water. Inother work, we will be seeking abetter deal for people and nature bypromoting more efficient use of the87 per cent of fresh water used bythe agricultural and industry sectors;an assessment of the most water-demanding crops will help usidentify the most promisingopportunities for change.

WWF is collaborating with a majordrinks company to develop bestpractice standards for minimizingwater use and improving water qualityin manufacturing plants. And we haveconcluded a five-year agreement withHSBC for the conservation of fourmajor river basins, including theYangste and the Brazilian Amazon.This work will also develop practicalguidance on how the financial sectorcan apply the recommendations of theWorld Commission on Dams andpromote best practice in river basinmanagement based on WWF’sfieldwork experience. Lastly, as apartner with nine leading internationalwater and agricultural organizations inthe ‘Dialogue on Food, Water and theEnvironment’, WWF will be seekingagreement on solutions to the world’sfood, water and environmental needsin time for the 2006 World WaterForum.

WWF’s biggest challenge in 2003 andbeyond is to fight the mismanagementof water by finding and promoting

innovative solutions that conservefreshwater wetlands and benefit peopleand wildlife.


WWF made significant progress inadvancing some of the major wetlandconservation initiatives started last yearin Africa. Much of this work was aidedby the commitment of Africangovernments to wetland conservation –more than six million ha of newRamsar sites were declared across thecontinent.

Among these wetland initiatives wereefforts by the government of Tanzaniato re-establish year-round water flowsin the Great Ruaha River. Much of thisinvolves better management ofwetlands within the river’s catchment,which WWF is promoting under theGreat Ruaha River and CatchmentProgramme. Projects in Udzungwa andKipingere are helping to protect theRuaha’s headwaters and secure waterflows in numerous tributaries.

WWF has also initiated an ambitiousprogramme for the Niger River,together with Wetlands Internationaland the Nigerian ConservationFoundation. As with the Ruaha, acatchment approach is being adoptedto conserve the Niger’s wetlandhabitats and wildlife and to securesustainable livelihoods for humanpopulations that depend entirely on theriver for survival.

The Lake Bogoria Community-basedWetlands Project in Kenya intensifiedits conservation work through closerties with the peoples and councils ofthe Baringo and Koibatekcommunities. Some of theachievements resulting from theseefforts include the establishment ofenvironmental planning committees, anenvironmental education strategy,habitat and wildlife surveys, andinstallation of facilities for ecologicalmonitoring.

In Tanzania, WWF worked withgovernment and non-governmental


Freshwater

partners to focus public attention onthe plight of Tanzania’s wetlands.Efforts by the JournalistsEnvironmental Association ofTanzania, with backing from WWF,brought wetland issues to the frontpages of both Swahili and Englishlanguage newspapers, as well asradio and television. Two newRamsar sites were declared: LakeNatron Basin (224,781ha) and theKilombero Valley Floodplain(796,735ha). In addition, thegovernment established a broad-based wetlands working group withmembers drawn from government,civil society organizations, and theinternational community. WWF isalso working with local NGOs on theconservation of Lake Manyarawetlands.

In South Africa, the Table MountainFund developed a partnership betweenthe National Botanical Institute’sOutreach Programme, the City of CapeTown and local Reconciliation andDevelopment Forums that led to thecreation of the Edith StephensWetlands Park. A fundraising campaignwas launched to secure conservation ofthe Noordhoek Kommetjie wetlands –the missing piece in the consolidationof the Cape Peninsula National Parkthat will see the park attain WorldHeritage status.

In West Africa, WWF’s Living WatersProgramme lent its expertise to thedesignation of a suite of new Ramsarsites in the River Niger and Lake Chadbasins. New protected wetlandsamounted to 500,000ha in Niger,

1,650,000ha in Chad, and 4,500,000hain Guinea. A new protected site,Mazabuka, covering 47,000ha, hasbeen established in the Kafue Flats inZambia. Further Ramsar designationsare anticipated in the coming year inCameroon, the Central AfricanRepublic, Madagascar, and Nigeria.Three potential Ramsar sites have alsobeen identified in the Seychelles andagreement has been reached on aprocess for further designations oncethe government of Seychelles hasratified the Ramsar Convention.


The significance of the Asia/Pacificregion’s freshwater resources ismatched by the significance of theproblems facing them. Throughout thelast year, WWF has concentrated onthe establishment of new protectedareas, wetland restoration, andmanagement of river basins.

The year’s biggest conservationachievement came with the Chinese

government’s designation, on WorldWetlands Day, 2 February, of 14wetlands totalling nearly 2 million haas Ramsar sites. The government alsopledged nearly US$1 billion over thenext ten years for their management.The sites are located in the north-eastof the country (five sites), along theYangtze River (three sites), and at sixcoastal sites which include mangrovesand valuable habitats for migratorybirds, turtles and seals. WWFrecognized the declaration as a Gift tothe Earth and a major contribution tothe WWF-supported China Action Planfor Wetland Conservation.

Another Gift to the Earth, the 26,000haKinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary inMalaysia, received legal protectionunder the state of Sabah’s LandOrdinance in recognition of its“outstanding” biological, cultural, andeconomic importance. Kinabatanganprovides a refuge for severalendangered species, among themorang-utan, proboscis monkey, andAsian elephant, as well as a vital

27Freshwater

Water-lilies in the delta of the DanubeRiver, Romania.WWF-Canon / Michel Gunther


Freshwater

source of fresh water for over 200,000people living in Sabah.

More good news came in June 2002with the signing of the “Tri-nationalWetlands Initiative” between Australia,Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Theagreement commits the three nations towork together to achieve sustainablemanagement of 3 million ha of tropicalwetlands within three existingprotected areas, Kakadu National Park(Australia), Wasur National Park(Indonesia) and Tonda WildlifeManagement Area (PNG). Theinitiative will greatly improvemanagement of these parks andencourage the creation of furtherprotected areas.

China again led the way with wetlandrestoration. Altogether, 1,650ha ofwetlands were restored at three sites,including Qinshan polder, where thediversity of bird, fish and plant life hasincreased. With the advent of the new,multi-million dollar funding under theWWF-HSBC partnership, wetland

restoration in China will continue toflourish. Other restoration efforts in theregion include mangrove regenerationin India’s Kumarakom Bird Sanctuaryand management of wetland vegetationfor waterbirds in Hong Kong. As aresult of these efforts in Hong Kong,the endangered population of black-faced spoonbills has risen by 10 percent since 1997, following a longperiod of decline. There are only about600 of the birds left in the world and aconservation plan for the species iscurrently awaiting approval by theHong Kong government.

WWF has also been successful inpreventing incompatible orunsustainable development onwetlands in Hong Kong. For example,a revision in land use strengthenedprotection for the ecologically sensitiveTai Ho stream, one of Hong Kong’sfew remaining medium-sized naturalstreams known for its diversity offreshwater and brackish-water fish.Among 47 species of fish recordedthere are some new for Hong Kong,

such as the rare and migratory AyuPlecoglossus altivelis, a relative of thesalmon. And an application to developLut Chau – a Site of Special ScientificInterest comprising fish ponds withrich food sources for the thousands ofmigratory birds and nesting habitats fora number of species in the south ofMai Po Nature Reserve – was rejectedby the Hong Kong Town PlanningBoard on the advice of WWF.

Progress in wetland management at thecatchment level is a concept new to theAsia/Pacific region and has been slowto develop. Despite this, meetings wereheld with the Mekong RiverCommission and leading constructioncompany ABB in Indochina to discusspossibilities of a partnership. And inthe Murray Darling Basin in Australia,WWF has been prioritizing wetlandsites and helping to develop amanagement plan and voluntaryconservation agreement at LakeDartmouth, as well as pressing theCommonwealth and State governmentsto adopt a “free-flowing” rivers

agreement for the Murray-Darling andQueensland-Darling headwaters.Further progress on river basinmanagement should increase oncefunding is secured for majorprogrammes for the Mekong, and theSepik in Papua New Guinea.


The EU Water Framework Directive –if implemented in a comprehensive andtimely manner – has the potential todeliver sustainable use of water acrossEurope. The importance of this pieceof legislation makes it a prime focusfor WWF policy work in Europe overthe coming year. The Directive, whichcame into force in December 2000,encourages transboundary river basinmanagement and involves thosecountries seeking accession to the EU,such as Poland and Romania, and evennon-EU countries such as Norway,Russia and Switzerland. It is, however,a complex piece of legislation. In thepast twelve months, WWF has beenhelping to develop the Directive’s

Black darter covered in morning dew.

WWF / Fritz Pölking

Common Implementation Strategy,participating in technical workinggroups and developing guidancedocuments on “best practice” for itsimplementation in EU and accessioncountries, taking into account on-the-ground practicalities.

In 2003, the European component ofthe Living Waters Programme willlaunch the “Water and Wetland Index– Phase 2”, the follow-up to the indexfirst released in 2000 which ratescountries on their freshwatermanagement performance. The newindex will include Mongolia, Moroccoand Russia.

WWF continues its action against theSpanish National Hydrological Plan, aconglomeration of 120 dams and 261other supporting infrastructures beingbuilt to transfer water from the northof the country – mainly from the EbroDelta – to the south. The plan is likelyto have disastrous consequences forthe delta and its human and wildlifeinhabitants. WWF is pressing the EU

29Freshwater

Conserving ecoregions – freshwater wetlands in the Mediterranean

WWF is working in 33 river basins (also known as watersheds or catchments), demonstrating solutions towater management problems. A prime example is WWF’s freshwater work in the Mediterranean.

The pressures on fresh water in the Mediterranean are many and varied, not least from agriculture, tourism,and construction. Severe drought in the region, as the climate changes, have added to these pressures. Tomeet the growing demand for fresh water, a number of Mediterranean countries, such as Spain, Greeceand Turkey, are developing plans to transfer water between river basins. Already, the diversion of waterfrom the Segura River in Spain to irrigate fields and vast acreages of greenhouses has reduced the river toan ecological ruin, demonstrating the inadequacy of planning and overestimation of the water supply, andputting local economies, human livelihoods and wildlife at risk.

The Spanish National Hydrological Plan involves the building of 120 dams and 261 supportinginfrastructures to aid transfer of water from the north of the country, mainly from the delta of the Ebro River,to the south. Just over half of the water is earmarked for intensive agriculture, and the remainder for tourismdevelopment. The total estimated cost is in excess of EUR22 million, of which the Spanish government isseeking almost EUR8 million from the EU. Such developments are totally at odds with EU attempts toreduce agricultural subsidies to bring food prices closer to world market levels.

Transfer of water at the volumes proposed will reduce the quality of drinking water for one million people inthe Valencia region, and threaten the local fishing industry at the mouth of the Ebro, especially the port ofTarragona, as a result of reduced freshwater flows and increased sedimentation. From a wildlife point ofview, the Ebro delta, a Ramsar site, is one of the most important areas for breeding birds in theMediterranean and the third most important wetland in Spain.

WWF has taken an active stand against thedevelopment, both in Spain and across Europe,and is pressing hard for EU funds to be spentinstead on social, economic and environmentalimprovements that are both balanced andsustainable. These include environmentalactions that are in line with EU priorities, suchas improved monitoring of water quality andpromoting reductions in water consumption.

The Riba Roja dam on the Ebro River.WWF-Spain


Freshwater

to reject the Spanish government’sapplication for up to EUR8 billion tofinance the scheme. WWF sees theplan in its current form as clearlycontradicting EU laws, including theHabitats Directive and the WaterFramework Directive. WWF haspublished a socio-economic critique ofthe plan and a report givingalternatives to it, and will continue toraise public awareness across Europein attempts to halt the project (seeprevious page).

The 8th Conference of Parties to theRamsar Convention on Wetlands, heldin Valencia, Spain in November 2002,brought the opportunity to raiseEuropean freshwater issues, includingcross-border cooperation on protectedareas and the protection in particularof scarce alpine wetlands. Protectedareas are also a focus in the Danube-Morava-Dyje Floodplains, for which aMemorandum of Understanding wassigned by Austria, Czech Republic andSlovakia for designation of thefloodplains as a trilateral Ramsar site –

Protecting the Morava-Dyje floodplain

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe and the source of drinking water for 20 million people.More than 80 per cent of the original Danube floodplain has been lost to engineering projects for navigation,irrigation and power generation. Pollution is also a major problem. WWF has been supporting the “LowerDanube Green Corridor” scheme, combining protection of 935,000ha of wetlands and restoration of225,000ha and helping to reduce pollution, support freshwater fisheries, develop ecotourism opportunities,and conserve the river’s biodiversity.

One example is the tri-national initiative for theMorava-Dyje floodplain, lying across theborders of Austria, the Czech Republic and theSlovak Republic, by WWF’s Danube-Carpathian Programme and three partnerNGOs. At the heart of this project lies thesustainable use and conservation of the naturaland cultural heritage of the floodplains of theMorava and Dyje rivers. This riverinelandscape is one of the last regions in Europewhere traditional land use has secured a richbiodiversity. WWF and its partners broughttogether the Environment Ministries of thethree countries to establish a body of expertiseconsisting of ministry representatives, watermanagement institutions, national Ramsarcommittees, and NGOs to ensure collaborativemanagement. In recognition of thisachievement, WWF’s Danube-CarpathianProgramme was a co-recipient of the 2002Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award. WWF’spartners in the project are DAPHNE in theSlovak Republic, Distelverein in Austria, andVeronica in the Czech Republic.

The lower Morava River, close to its confluencewith the Danube on the Slovak-Austrian border.

M Cierna / DAPHNE-Centre for Applied Ecology

potentially the third such initiative inEurope after the Wadden Sea(Denmark, Germany and TheNetherlands) and Prespa Lake(Albania, Greece and FYRMacedonia). The Morava-Dyjefloodplains support freshwater habitats,such as wet meadows and seasonallyflooded forests, that were oncecommon along European rivers butnow sadly confined to a few remainingareas (see opposite).


With over 30 per cent of the world’savailable freshwater and some of theworld’s most biologically diverserivers, the Latin America andCaribbean (LAC) region holdstremendous opportunities forfreshwater conservation. River basin,or catchment, management is the mosteffective way to conserve freshwaterwetlands, so it is not surprising that itis a key component in WWF’s LACfreshwater strategy. Our capacity to

address the problems facing wetlandsis growing, as are the number offreshwater protected areas and Ramsarsites that WWF has helped toestablish.

In Bolivia, WWF developed a meansof identifying key wetlands withincatchments so that management effortscould concentrate on the mostimportant components of freshwaterbiodiversity. Applying the approach tothe Bolivian Pantanal, WWF was ableto produce a map and a report on theCorrereca sub-catchment whicheventually led to the declaration ofmore than 3 million ha of the BolivianPantanal as a Ramsar site. Another 1.4million ha were declared a Ramsar sitein the Chaco region.

In Venezuela, WWF is working withits associate FUDENA to develop ariver basin model for the Orinoco, oneof the six most biologically diverserivers in the world. The model will beused to demonstrate the changes inflooding and flow patterns that can be

expected if proposed infrastructureprojects go forward, and the impactsthat they would have on the Orinoco’sresources and the communities thatdepend on them.

In Central America, WWF is helpingthe communities in the Mosquitia toform a Water Board to protectcatchments important for drinkingwater. In Nicaragua, three new Ramsarsites have been designated. And inColombia, WWF and its local partner,ADC (Asociación del Campesino),helped local communities to stop theconstruction of a dam in the La CochaRamsar site. The site’s high Andeanparamo wetlands are among the mostunique and threatened wetlands in theworld. WWF also played a significantrole in the development of newnational wetland conservation policiesin Colombia.

Within the Amazon River and FloodedForest ecoregion, WWF has identifiedseveral priority sub-regions. One ofthese is the Abanico de Pastaza, a

geological depression located on theupper Pastaza River in Peru. Many rareand threatened aquatic species,including river otter, pink dolphin, andAmazonian manatee, thrive in thisarea. Numerous species of fish thatmake up an important part of the dietof local communities are also presentin large numbers. As a result of effortsby WWF and partners, this year over3.8 million ha of this ecoregion weredesignated under Ramsar.

In Brazil, WWF and other NGOsplayed an important role in blockinginfrastructure projects along theParaná-Paraguay River system.However, the cumulative impacts ofminor improvement plans in navigationstill pose threats in some places. WWFpublished a report drawing attention toerosion problems in riverbanks alongthe waterway caused by the impact oflarge barges transporting grain andminerals.

Several major activities for freshwaterconservation in the LAC region for the

31Freshwater


Freshwater

coming year are underway. WWF willcontinue to carry out technical studiesfor the designation of new Ramsarsites in the Amazon River and FloodedForest ecoregion. In Colombia, theorganization is proposing theestablishment of new freshwaterprotected areas in the Chocó, Paramos(northern Andes) and Llanos. A riverbasin management programmebetween Colombia and Venezuela isworking to mitigate or eliminatenegative environmental impacts posedby development projects in twocatchment areas of the Andes and theLlanos. Stopping the construction ofthe Guamez dam will protect raremountain wetlands in the northernAndes. In Peru, WWF will continue tofocus on road construction policies andpractices as a major component ofcatchment management in theMarañon watershed, part of theSouthwest Amazon ecoregion. Thisdevelopment is likely to lead todeforestation and subsequentsedimentation and loss of water withinkey wetlands.

North America

During the year, WWF stepped upefforts to conserve the vast,200,000km2 Canadian Arcticwilderness known as the CentralBarrens. Part of this process involvedsecuring the Thelon Game SanctuaryManagement Plan, for which approvalis still awaited.

In the US, work continued withgovernment agencies and NGOs toimprove water quality and fish passageon streams in the Klamath-Siskiyouecoregion, including funding theremoval of eight small dams on SuckerCreek, a tributary of the Illinois Riverin south-west Oregon. In the SouthFlorida ecoregion, WWF worked withthe Everglades Coalition to ensure fullimplementation of the historicEverglades restoration legislation,which provides for a 30-year, US$8billion plan to restore the Everglades.WWF successfully convinced thegovernor of Tennessee to place amoratorium on gas-fired steam

Floodplain management the answer to flooding

As floodwaters rose in Europe and other parts of the world in 2002,WWF named climate change as one of the leading causes of theextreme weather events occurring more frequently around theglobe. The way freshwater ecosystems are managed also plays acrucial role.

During the last 150 years, as rivers have been put intostraightjackets of dams and dykes, floodplains have been drainedon a massive scale to make way for agriculture and development.New housing, roads and infrastructure are constructed on the veryareas which store floodwaters and help to reduce flood damage. Asthe natural capacity of rivers and adjoining wetlands for flood controlgrows ever smaller, so severe bad weather channels more waterinto unnaturally small spaces, leading to higher and more damagingflood peaks. Floods are also worse where overgrazing anddeforestation in the watershed allows rainwater to run off faster intorivers. Forests and wetlands act as sponges, and when they areabsent in times of heavy downpours, there is no absorption providedby nature to even out river flows. WWF is arguing that floods arebest managed by working with nature, not fighting it.

The enormous economic and social cost of flooding could beprevented by recognizing the importance of floodplains and theneed for sustainable management – as well as restoration – ofthese areas. The need for floodplain management has never beenhigher. WWF called on leaders gathering in Johannesburg for theWorld Summit on Sustainable Development in August to agree tobetter manage river basins as the key to ensuring freshwaterresources and coping with floods. This went hand in hand withWWF’s call for world leaders to agree on effective measures tocombat climate change and to provide a sustainable energy future.

generating plants, which consumemillions of gallons of freshwater daily,returning only a fraction to rivers andstreams.

Working with an alliance of cavers andenvironmental NGOs, WWF’sSoutheast Rivers and Streamsecoregion office funded a scientificstudy of the unique biodiversity ofRumble Falls cave, the second largestcavern in the US. National mediacoverage of the cave’s discoveryresulted in a halt to plans to dischargetreated waste-water into the stream

flowing through the cave.

In the Chihuahuan Desert, WWF andthe Alliance for Rio Grande Heritageheld the first multi-stakeholderworkshop to develop a vision for therestoration of the heavily degraded RioGrande/Rio Bravo. In addition, WWFlaunched a strategic planning processwith the managers of six protectedareas on the Rio Grande which shouldresult in improved management forwildlife in over 1 million ha of riverbasin wetlands in the US and Mexico.

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Expenditure on Freshwater Conservation FY 2001

Channeling of rivers and urbandevelopment in floodplains, allied toclimate change, are the main factorsbehind increasingly severe floods inmany parts of the world.WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey


Oceans and Coasts

SIMON CRIPPS, Director of the Endangered Seas Programme, highlights some of WWF’s marine conservation efforts in 2002 and looks ahead to 2003.

The ocean is the naturalenvironment for millions ofspecies, but an array ofhuman activities, including

overfishing, insensitive coastaldevelopment, pollution and climatechange, are causing a deepening crisis.Today, more than three-quarters of ourseas are overexploited, threatening thelong-term sustainability and survival ofcoastal communities across the entireglobe.

To restore the balance in the use ofmarine and coastal areas, theEndangered Seas Programme isfocusing on human activitiesthreatening the oceans. We arehelping to create new marketincentives and penalties, influencinglegislation and leadership, andapplying pressure when appropriate.We are also encouraging industries toadopt practices which are bothprofitable for industry and beneficialto the marine environment.

Within a generation we aim to stopoverfishing and ensure that allexploitation of fish stocks issustainable. We are also workingtowards establishing networks of well-managed and ecologicallyrepresentative marine protected areascovering at least ten per cent of theworld's oceans, including the deepseas. Over the last year, good progresshas been made in this direction.

About 75 per cent of the word's mostvaluable fish species are eitheroverfished or fished to their limit. Toomany boats are chasing too few fish,fish stocks are being mismanaged, andharmful subsidies are being paid tooversized fishing fleets. This abuse ofthe marine environment will ultimatelydestroy the fishing industry, the fishstocks and the environment itself. TheEuropean Union has one of the world'slargest fishing fleets, which itsubsidizes with about EUR1.4 billioneach year. During 2002, the EU

reviewed its Common Fisheries Policy(CFP). To influence the debate, inFebruary 2002 WWF launched a high-profile campaign – the “StopOverfishing” campaign – calling forfar-reaching reforms to safeguard thefuture of fish stocks and fishingcommunities. It drew much politicaland public attention to the CFP andwon extensive media coverage of thereform process.

WWF has welcomed the adoption bythe world’s shipping nations at theInternational Maritime Organization(IMO) of a convention to eliminatethe dangerous chemicals used inpaints on ships’ hulls from themarine environment (see page 64).

The Regional Government of theAzores received a WWF Gift to theEarth certificate in recognition of itsoutstanding achievement to protect twodeep-sea sites – made possible in largepart due to intense lobbying by WWF.

Situated on the sea-floor at depths of850 and 1,700 metres, the two sitescontain hydrothermal vents – chimney-like structures which eject seawatersuperheated to 350˚C – hosting a uniqueand fragile fauna in extremeenvironments. They play an importantrole in regulating the temperature andchemical balance of the oceans. Theirprotection is the first in a proposednetwork of deep-sea MPAs in the north-east Atlantic and sets an importantprecedent for future work on importantoffshore and deep-sea sites lyingoutside national jurisdiction. Inaddition, the management plan for theAzores sites will serve as a blueprint forfuture deep-sea MPAs.

Batangas Bay, in the Philippines,provides food security and income formany fishing communities and, hometo one of the largest and most diversecoral reefs in the country, is a primeecotourism site. It is also, however, thesite of two major oil refineries. An oil

35Oceans and Coasts

spill in these waters would bringimmediate and long-lasting sufferingto the people and the environment inand around the bay. A viable solutionto the quick containment of oil is seenas oil spill response teams comprisedof local people. As part of efforts toaddress the issue of toxics in themarine environment, WWF organizedthe first ever community-based oilsspill management training course. Thecourse helped to broaden communityunderstanding of the issue andemphasized the need to work together.Similar courses are planned in otherregions of the world.


Protected areas: By 2020, the establishment and implementation of a network of effectively managed,

ecologically representative marine protected areas covering at least 10 per cent of the world’s seas.

■ The establishment of globally significant MPAs, including hydrothermal vents in Portugal (Azores), coral

reefs in Mozambique, and the brackish Baltic waters of Finland

■ Creation of the world's largest MPA at Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve in Australia

■ A commitment from the United Nations to look into the potential of creating MPAs in waters that lie

outside national jurisdiction.

Sustainable fisheries: Maintain the status of all fish stocks that are currently exploited sustainably and, by

2020, halve the number of fish stocks that are overexploited or depleted, as currently categorized by FAO.

■ As a key player in the EU fisheries policy reform process, WWF helped create media awareness, raise

public interest, and develop a political climate essential for the success. The reform proposal now

includes the ending of three of the most damaging subsidies: those for modernization, new vessels, and

export of capacity outside EU waters

■ The WTO committed to reform harmful fishing subsidies

■ The world's largest wild salmon fishery in Alaska was certified by the Marine Stewardship Council

■ The government of Mauritania has asked for greater environmental safeguards and fairer access rights

in the fisheries agreement negotiated with the EU.

WWF’s “Stop Overfishing” campaigncalled for far-reaching reforms tosafeguard the future of fish stocks andfishing communities.WWF-Canon / Kevin Schafer

At the WSSD in Johannesburg, someprogress was made with respect to themarine environment. In particular,participants agreed to reduce catchesand restore heavily depleted fish stocksby 2015. Although this decision wasless encompassing than the WWFtarget on fisheries, it contained exactlywhat WWF had been lobbying forduring the run-up to the Summit. Thedraft agreement even contained theprecise wording from several WWFbriefings on fisheries. A commitmentto establishing MPAs includingrepresentative networks was alsoreached, in line with WWF’s target onprotected areas.

In 2003, the Endangered SeasProgramme will be working with theWCPA and the US National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration tocomplete guidelines for effectivemanagement of protected areas. WWFwill also take the opportunity currentlyprovided by the high profile of coralreefs and the high seas to move theseissues forward both internationally and

at a local level. This work will besupported by several initiatives, suchas the Commonwealth Seas Initiativein which the international president ofWWF, Chief Emeka Anyaoku iscalling on the premiers of coastalCommonwealth countries to pledgegreater protection and bettermanagement of the marineenvironment. The European FisheriesCampaign (mentioned above) willreach its climax in efforts to reduceenvironmentally harmful subsidies andwill be stepped up at the WTO (seepage 41). WWF will also be seeking toinfluence an agreement on faireraccess to fisheries, particularlybetween the EU and African countries,as well as assisting the MarineStewardship Council to continue itssuccessful certification of keyfisheries.


WWF’s marine conservation work inAfrica and Madagascar is focusedprimarily on the Western Africa,

Eastern Africa and Western IndianOcean Marine ecoregions. In additionto advancing Ecoregion Action Plansfor all three, WWF continued itssupport to key protected areas withineach of the ecoregions

Building on Gift to the Earth events inSenegal, Guinea Bissau, andMauritania in 2001, WWF is workingwith IUCN and FIBA (FondationInternationale du Banc d’Arguin) tostrengthen management of MPAs andfill the gaps in the current network ofprotected waters in the Western AfricanMarine ecoregion. In the WesternIndian Ocean, WWF is helping tomaintain three MPAs in Masoala and isworking to increase the number ofmarine sites in Madagascar’s protectedarea system.

Under the Mafia Island Marine Parkproject, WWF is helping the Tanzaniangovernment and especially the MafiaIsland people and other interest groupsto conserve the island’s unique marineand terrestrial biodiversity. Monitoring

and patrolling are now beingundertaken by members of theCommunity Action Committee andartisanal miners’ associations.

Efforts by WWF and partnerorganizations in Mozambique resultedin the declaration by the government ofthe Bazaruto Archipelago NationalPark, together with a new marine andterrestrial protected area in Quirimbas(see opposite). The task for WWF nowis to support the government inmanaging these two globallyoutstanding areas effectively – both liewithin the Eastern African Marineecoregion. Other marine conservationareas within the ecoregion in whichWWF plays a crucial support role areMenai Bay in Zanzibar, Kiunga inKenya, and Mafia Island in Tanzania.

The Menai Bay Conservation Areaproject is helping to conserve naturalresources in partnership with the localcommunity through actions to curbillegal fishing and restore traditionalmanagement of fisheries. Following


Oceans and Coasts

37

official declaration of the ConservationArea, the government has enactedlegislation to enable 70 per cent ofrevenues raised there to be retained forconservation purposes. WWF ishelping to train project staff in radiocommunication, scuba-diving formarine surveys, seamanship andcoastal navigation, as well as inrevenue collection. In addition, a newlaw-enforcing patrol boat financed byWWF has significantly reducedincidence of illegal fishing.

In Kiunga, an artisanal fishing zonehas been established and WWF issupporting its management.Communities around the reserve haveintensified patrols and surveillanceagainst illegal fishing practices and areparticipating in the monitoring of fishcatches and mangrove harvesting. Theproject has also contributed to thedevelopment of new legislation inKenya that makes the use of scuba-diving equipment to catch lobstersillegal and requires the use of TurtleExcluder Devices (TEDs) by trawlers.

Oceans and Coasts

Conserving ecoregions – the seas of eastern Africa

From the coastal waters of Sodwana in South Africa to Chisamayu, some 4,600km to the north in Somalia,the Eastern African Marine ecoregion harbours a wealth of tropical species and habitats and provides forthe livelihoods of millions of coastal people. The major conservation issues in the ecoregion are over-harvesting of fish, molluscs, crustaceans, and sea cucumbers, damage to coastal and mangrove forestsand coral reefs, partly as a result of climate change, and pollution, particularly in and around major townsand river mouths. Populations of turtles and dolphins are declining as a result of both deliberate andaccidental capture, as are dugongs, which are at serious risk of disappearing altogether.

During 2002, WWF made very good progress, in conjunction with partner organizations and localcommunities, on the development of an Ecoregion Action Plan structured around coastal habitats, species,and fisheries. Twenty-three conservation targets were identified, including halting the loss of quality of reefsand coral communities, protecting at least 100,000ha of mangrove forests and their wildlife, and increasingthe number of dugongs.

In Mozambique, protection of two globally outstanding areas within the ecoregion was strengthened andcelebrated by WWF as Gifts to the Earth: declaration of the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park in late 2001provides much needed protection for dugongs, while the newly created Quirimbas National Park provides ameans of securing the livelihoods oflocal fishermen through improvedfisheries management. In otheractivities to safeguard the future ofthe ecoregion, WWF has signed aformal agreement with the UnitedNations Environment Programme(UNEP), presented the EcoregionAction Plan to international meetingsof scientists, conservationpractitioners and policy-makers, andcontinued to build the skills andexpertise of local people and non-governmental organizations.

Loggerhead turtle.WWF-Canon / Michel Gunther

Activities to strengthen sustainableresource management on Mafia Islandincluded issuing more than 1,000identity certificates to local fishermen,delineation of a fishing zone in CholeBay, and training in marinesurveillance and natural resourcemanagement for more than 40 villageand ward officers. WWF also advisedon the preparation of an environmentaleducation programme and a survey ofvillagers’ awareness and understandingof marine conservation issues.

In West Africa, there is growingevidence that large-scale commercialfishing by both national and distant-water fleets has seriously depleted fishstocks, with impacts too on the marineenvironment, local fishingcommunities and even nationaleconomies. WWF is helping the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission andother partners to reach a regionalconsensus on access agreements tofisheries by both local fishing interestsand foreign, commercial fleets. In thecoming year, this work will be

complemented by projects withartisanal fishing associations and by amajor study on illegal, unregulated andunreported fishing.

In South Africa, WWF has beeninvolved in several marine researchprojects, the results of which are beingused to develop guidelines for speciesconservation and to control negativeimpacts of recreational activities onseabirds and sharks. The studiesincluded an investigation of the impactsof long-line fisheries on southern oceanalbatrosses which revealed a highnumber of mortalities to foraging birdsduring the incubation and early guardingphase of their reproductive cycle. Thedata suggest that some 20,000albatrosses and 10,000 other seabirds arekilled annually by tuna-fishing vessels inthe seas south of Africa. The resultshave contributed to the formulation ofthe Agreement on the Conservation ofSouthern Hemisphere Albatrosses andPetrels under the Bonn Convention,which will have far-reachingimplications for seabird conservation.


WWF’s work on conservation of themarine environment in the Asia-Pacificregion is growing fast, thanks in part toa 50 per cent increase in funding overthe past year. Much of the work hasfocused on protected areaestablishment and management, andsustainable fisheries.

A major achievement came with thedesignation of the 16 million haMacquarie Island Marine Park inAustralia as a marine protected area.This was followed, in late 2001, by theestablishment of the 270ha Tung PingChau Marine Park in Hong Kong.Another proposed park in Hong Kong– Soko Island – has still to beapproved.

In Indonesia, the local governmentagreed to a management plan forCendrawasih Bay Marine NationalPark. In the Philippines, conservationof 128,000ha of coastal habitats hasimproved through better planning,

enforcement, and managementpractices, as well as the introduction ofuser fees, which generate valuablerevenues for conservationmanagement. Partially as a result ofthese efforts, populations of fish inTubbataha Reef in the Sulu SulawesiSeas are rising. Delineation by WWFof the boundaries of the Sulu SulawesiSea ecoregion, which touches thecoasts of Indonesia, Malaysia and thePhilippines, paved the way for newmarine management areas, includingsanctuaries and no-fishing zones, whilethe identification of ocean “corridors”linking the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas hasgiven WWF a pioneering role inmarine corridor management in theregion.

Successful lobbying by WWF led tothe revoking of a permit for a pearlfarm in the Riung protected area in thenorth of Flores in Indonesia’s NusaTenggara (Lesser Sundas). WWF hasbeen working in the area since 1999,strengthening the capacity of localpeople and institutions in managing the


Oceans and Coasts

area’s rich marine resources. In 2002,these efforts began to pay off. Mostlocal fishermen have stopped usingdestructive fishing practices, andincreased awareness of marineconservation among villagers resultedin the district leader allocating fundsfor mapping and restoration of marinehabitats. WWF was appointed as anadvisor.

Collaboration between localorganizations and businesses in theBanda Flores Sea has led to thedevelopment of a code of conduct.Drawn up by 25 dive operators, theWater Sports Association, and theIndonesian Diving Association, work isnow underway to give the code legalstatus. Recognizing the efforts of allthose involved, the provincialgovernment and planning boardsassigned Bali Barat and BunakenMarine Parks as models of “bestpractice” for MPA management.Regular patrols in both parks resultedin the capture and conviction of eightcyanide-bomb fishermen. This example

of effective law enforcement attractednational attention and WWF hopes itwill be replicated in other marine parksin Indonesia.

Following certification of NewZealand’s hoki fishery, the MarineStewardship Council is now wellestablished in the country as a meansof promoting sustainable fishingpractices. In Indonesia, a newcertification group comprised ofgovernment agencies and NGOslooked first at aquarium productsderived from coral reefs; WWF and theMarine Aquarium Council also signedan accord to work together oncertification and monitoring issues. InIndia, WWF was involved in siteselection and pre-assessment for thecertification of a crab fishery. WWF’s Southeast Asia PolicyProgramme is carrying out a study onthe impact of trade on the Philippines’sfisheries sector. Although in its initialstages, the project has alreadyprompted a multi-stakeholderdiscussion on trade policies – the first

ever undertaken in the Philippines. Thegovernment has now indicated itswillingness to hold discussions onfisheries trade policy with the privatesector and, significantly, with non-governmental organizations such asWWF.

Sustainable fisheries also progressed inHong Kong with the drafting of afisheries management strategy,licensing system, and a proposal forthe creation of a Fisheries ProtectionArea. In Thailand, WWF is working onan amendment to the Marine NationalParks Act to accommodate sustainablefishing by small-scale fishermen, aswell as promoting policies and laws toeliminate destructive fishing gear andreduce fishing fleets.


WWF’s most significant advances inmarine conservation in Europe over thelast 18 months centred around theEuropean Commission’s approach tothe reform to the Common Fisheries

Policy, the continued development ofnetworks of marine protected areas,and the commitments given to anecosystem approach at the fifth NorthSea Ministerial Conference.

Publication of the Commission’s firstpackage of proposals for the reform ofthe CFP in May 2002 wasencouraging, with the conservation ofcommercial fish stocks and fleetreduction given as the major priorities.The Commission stated that its aimwas “a move towards an ecosystem-based approach to fisheriesmanagement” and “to incorporateenvironmental concerns into fisheriesmanagement, in particular bycontributing to biodiversityprotection”. This was very much inline with WWF proposals. However,dissention to major changes by France,Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, andSpain has slowed the process and adecision on the reforms is nowexpected in December 2002.

Despite delays, implementation of the

39Oceans and Coasts

Flocks of bar-tailed godwits and spoon-billed sandpipers wintering in the Bancd’Arguin National Park, Mauritania.WWF-Canon / Siegfried Woldhek

EU Habitats Directive in the marineenvironment is making good progress.A number of European states have nowagreed to the designation of sitesbetween 12 and 200 nautical milesoffshore. Germany has alreadyintroduced the necessary legislationand the UK is under way and hascommitted to protecting the deep, cold-water coral reefs of the DarwinMounds off the north-east coast ofScotland. The Darwin Mounds are anovel geographical formation lying onthe sea-floor at around 1,000m. Thefield contains hundreds of individualmounds typically 5m high and 100m indiameter that support coralcommunities and a diversity of seabedinvertebrates and deep-water fish. Theyare under immediate threat fromtrawling and are under considerationby the UK government as an offshoreSpecial Area of Conservation (SAC)under the Habitats Directive.

All North Sea states have committedto have in place by 2010 networks ofwell-managed MPAs. The Finnish

government has pledged to expandexisting and create new marineNational Parks and the government ofthe Azores has designated the firsttwo deep-sea MPAs in the NEAtlantic, the Lucky Strike and MenezGwen hydrothermal vent fields(described on page 34). Thesedevelopments have all resulteddirectly from WWF advocacy. WWFis now looking at threats to MPAsfrom industry sectors such as offshoreoil and gas, and shipping.

Also as a direct result of lobbying byWWF, North Sea states havecommitted to introducing an ecosystemapproach to the management of humanuse of the North Sea. Thecommitments include environmentalassessments and development of betterplanning controls for the North Sea.These steps are fundamental to thesuccessful creation of networks ofMPAs and the restoration and futuremanagement of fish stocks. WWF isencouraging such an approach in allEuropean marine ecoregions.


The marine and coastal systems of theLAC region support a complexinteraction of habitats and plant andanimal life, and are among the mostproductive in the world. Several of theworld’s largest estuaries are found here,such as the Amazon and Plata Riverson the Atlantic coast and Fonseca onthe Pacific. The coastal waters ofArgentina and Uruguay are home to theworld’s fastest-growing fishery. In Peruand Chile, an upwelling of nutrient-richwaters generates one of the top fivecommercial fisheries in the world. TheHumboldt current drives these watersnorth to the Galápagos where they meetthe warm tropical currents from thewestern Pacific, producing anastounding assemblage of marinehabitats and species on the equator thatinclude penguins as well as tropicalfish.

An estimated 29 per cent of theregion’s reefs are at risk from

increased runoff and sedimentationcaused by land-based activities such asdeforestation, coastal construction andmining. Several organizations, with thesupport of WWF, have joined forces toguarantee the long-term financialsustainability of efforts to conserve the700km long Mesoamerican CaribbeanReef, the second largest barrier reef inthe world. As well as providinglivelihoods to innumerable coastalcommunities through fishing, tourismand other marine-related activities, thisvast reef system also protects thecoastline and hosts a vast biodiversity,including one of the few remainingspawning sites for reef fish in theCaribbean. To sustain existing and newconservation efforts, environmentaland donor groups have come togetherto create a conservation plan for thereef that will contribute to itsprotection and rational management.

Fisheries throughout the region, thathave traditionally providedemployment and income for coastalresidents, are at great risk. In recent


Oceans and Coasts

41Oceans and Coasts

Fishing Subsidies and the WTO

In 1997, WWF began an international campaign to eliminate government subsidies that drive overfishing. A critical goal of that campaign since1998 has been to achieve binding and effective new rules under the World Trade Organization to discipline fishing subsidies. In an important victoryfor WWF, trade ministers meeting in Doha, Qatar in late 2001, agreed to include negotiations on fishing subsidies in the new round of WTO tradetalks. Thus, WWF’s first phase of work has succeeded in getting the issue into the formal WTO rule-making process.

The outcome in Doha presented a unique opportunity for the creation of new international laws aimed at reducing and reforming harmful fishingsubsidies – laws that could have a fundamental impact on the economics of the world’s fisheries. Moreover, the WTO talks on fishing subsidiesopen a new field of play for activists and policy-makers concerned with globalization more generally, and with the need to reform the WTO. For thefirst time, a piece of the multilateral trading system is to be explicitly focused on the sustainability of a vital natural resource. And for the first time, asignificant trade negotiation has grown out of pressures brought by environmental NGOs rather than by private commercial interests. Thus, onseveral fronts the WTO talks will break new ground.

WWF’s success to date at moving the fishing subsidies ahead in the WTO and elsewhere was the result of four years of research, communications,and policy advocacy that reflected:

■ WWF’s strength in the field (drawing on experiences with the impacts of fishing subsidies) combined with a capacity for strong andsophisticated policy advocacy in national capitals and in international fora (including FAO, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development,UNEP, and the WTO), and

■ WWF’s ability to work with governments and international bodies in a constructive, solutions-oriented manner, without losing the ability to usehard-hitting public communications when necessary.

Through this multifaceted work WWF has been able to put the fishing subsidies issue on the international political map, prompt a group of countriescalled the “Friends of Fish” to push the issue in the WTO, provoke a significant shift towards reform in the European Union, and attract a broadcoalition of governments from developed and developing countries in support of WTO action.

To capture this momentum, WWF will build upon successful policy advocacy in and aroundthe WTO, in Europe, key developing countries, and the US. The aim will be to influence thefishing subsidies negotiations and to advance the broader objective of seeking concretereforms in national policies on fishing subsidies, and in fishing industries. Success in theWTO talks will also require the participation of a broad array of stakeholders – not only in thenegotiations themselves, but also in following up on the results at national and internationallevels. Both the equity and the effectiveness of the mechanisms ultimately adopted by theWTO will depend on drawing a wider circle of voices into the process.

WWF activists at a demonstration for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy at the EU Fisheries Council inLuxembourg.LUXPRESS / Jean-Claude Ernst

decades, a steady increase in the sizeof fishing fleets has led to theoverexploitation of some 35 per cent ofthe region’s stocks. This has hadeconomic repercussions on localcommunities which depend onfisheries. These pressures have led toproblems of by-catch as fishermenstruggle to identify alternative species,such as turtles, for harvesting. WWF isworking with member governments ofthe Interamerican Tropical TunaCommission (IATTC) and regionalorganizations to promote measures toreduce overfishing and by-catch in theeastern Pacific Ocean. With thefinancial support of the PackardFoundation, WWF is leading this effortthrough a regional fisheries officerstationed in Central America, wheresome of the tuna fleet is growingfastest. In addition, WWF and the FAOpresented a fleet capacity managementpaper to the IATTC, marking the firsttime the FAO has provided technicalinput into a document prepared by anNGO for a regional fisheriesorganization. In other moves, WWF

and the Central American FisheriesOrganization (SICA/OSPESCA)organized a high-level meeting inPanama City to discuss accessagreements with distant-water fishingfleets and their effect on fishingcapacity in the eastern Pacific.

WWF has also been working onfishery certification. Lessons learned inspiny lobster certification in Mexicoare being applied to projects in CentralAmerica, including the development offisheries regulations in the Gulf ofHonduras for lobster, conch, grouperand snapper and the protection of keyspawning aggregation sites in GladdenSpit and Northern Ambergris Caye.

In Ecuador, WWF released acolourfully illustrated publicationcontaining recipes provided by world-renowned chefs for relatively stablefish species found in the Galápagosreserve. The guide is designed toinform local fisherman, restaurantowners, chefs and the general public ofthe conservation status of a variety of

Galápagos species and to offer tastyalternatives to over-harvested specieslike lobster and bacalao.

A major problem for marine areas ingeneral is lack of adequate protection.WWF is working with governmentsand a range of partners to create newMPAs and strengthen the managementof existing ones. Working with theScripps Institute of Oceanography,WWF in Mexico has proposed anetwork of marine reserves in the Gulfof California ecoregion, one of thelargest and most diverse semi-enclosedbodies of water in the world. Over thenext few years, WWF will work tohave these priority areas declared andmanaged as protected areas so thatthey may continue to protectthreatened and endangered species aswell as support the local fishingindustry. Already, San Pedro MártirIsland has been declared a BiosphereReserve and plans are underway tosecure declarations for San LorenzoArchipelago and Espíritu Santo andPartida Islands. Plans are also

underway to secure the first marinepark in Argentina – the Monte LeonNational Park – and establish a largeMPA for Jardines de la Reinaarchipelago in Cuba.

Once established, there is a need toensure that MPAs are working. WWFand the WCPA are jointly definingguidelines for assessing managementpractices in MPAs. Using a series ofgoals, objectives and indicators, thenew guidelines will be tested in theUpper Gulf Biosphere Reserve, LoretoBay and Sian Ka’an in Mexico, HolChan Marine Reserve in Belize, and onthe Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. Thelessons learned will be built into themanual to be published at the WorldParks Congress in September 2003.

Unsustainable tourism developmentalong the Yucatan coast is spillingsouthwards and posing a major threatto conservation of the MesoamericanCaribbean Reef. Efforts to reduce the“footprint” of new and existingfacilities are required to prevent future


Oceans and Coasts

environmental degradation. WWF isencouraging the tourism sector toadopt environmental standards in itsoperation, which accounts for some 12per cent of the region’s GrossDomestic Product. This will be a focusfor WWF’s work in the coming year.

North America

In Canada, National MarineConservation Area legislation, onceapproved, will enable Canada’s Parksagency to protect and manage anetwork of MPAs, including a numberof key WWF sites, such as GwaiiHaanas (British Columbia) and LakeSuperior (Ontario). Parks Canadaaccepted recommendations for theestablishment of Lake Superior MarineConservation Area, a protected areacovering more than 10,000km2. A mapdepicting different marine habitats inboth the Canadian and Americanportions of the Gulf of Maine wascompleted and will be used by WWFto develop a proposal for a network ofMPAs in that part of the Grand Banks

ecoregion. And a new 3-4 yearinitiative has started to establish andmanage a system of MPAs in theCanadian part of the Beaufort Sea.

WWF worked with commercial andrecreational fishermen, NGOs, andgovernment officials to secureapproval of the Tortugas marinereserve, the largest no-take marinereserve in the US, located in the SouthFlorida ecoregion. The reserveincludes coral reefs, seagrass beds, andspawning grounds for marine life.

In the western Bering Sea, WWFsucceeded in creating a new,60,000km2 coastal protected area;Nalychevo Park Marine Zoneencompass a 5km band of coastalwaters in northern Avachinsky Bay, anarea renowned for its marine mammalsand seabirds. Also in the westernBering Sea, WWF’s pilot project withRussian government agencies infisheries enforcement has resulted inmore than 300 arrests and revokedpermits, representing as much as

43Oceans and Coasts

Imraguen fishermen with a catch ofyellow mullet, Banc d’Arguin NationalPark, Mauritania.WWF-Canon / Mark Edwards

US$1.5 million in losses for thoseviolating fisheries regulations.

Discussions with community leadersfrom the Bering Sea’s Pribilof Islands,in collaboration with The NatureConservancy of Alaska, may lead tothe development of a marineconservation zone around the islands.WWF is currently working on a

number of follow-up steps.

WWF has been working with WholeFoods and the Marine StewardshipCouncil to promote a nationwideconsumer campaign about the MSCand its first certified American product– wild Alaska salmon, which reachedstore shelves in June 2001.


Oceans and Coasts

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

2,610

2,086


Expenditure on Marine Conservation FY 2001

Melting sea ice in Bull Seal Bay, St

Matthew Island, Alaska.WWF-Canon / Kevin Schafer

45Species

Species

SUSAN LIEBERMAN, Director of the Species Programme, summarizes WWF’s approach to species conservation and highlights recent and forthcoming work.

Successful conservation of keyspecies benefits not only thethousands of lesser knownplants and animals with which

they co-exist but also humancommunities that depend on thesespecies and habitats for theirlivelihoods. By adopting this approachthroughout its 41-year history, WWFhas a proven track record insustainable development, providingother organizations, governments andcommunities with working examplesof how to achieve development goalswithout cost to biodiversity.

Two major threats to sustainabledevelopment are illegal, unsustainable,or unregulated wildlife trade and habitatloss. Addressing these threats forms thecore of WWF’s Species Programmeactivity. WWF is working to stop thecommercial overexploitation of some ofthe world’s most threatened animals,including tigers, rhinos, and marineturtles, and to ensure the conservation

of other species subject to illegal orunsustainable harvesting and trade, suchas toothfish, sharks, and big-leafmahogany. To achieve these goals,WWF engages with governments,industries and communities in both site-based conservation and internationaltreaties, in particular CITES (theConvention on International Trade inEndangered Species of Wild Fauna andFlora).

New species are being discovered allthe time, yet at the same time speciesare disappearing at a faster rate thanever. In June 2002, two monkeyspecies new to science were found inBrazil's Amazon rainforest. Thescientists responsible for the discoverysay there are likely to be other specieswithin the rainforest that are unknownto science. This find highlights theurgent need to save the Earth’s mostbiologically diverse ecosystems. Bycontinuing efforts to secure a future forsome of the most inspirational and

ecologically important wildlife,WWF’s Species Programme is able tomaximize its conservation impact, aswell as gain the support necessary tofinance this work. Our “flagship”species are thus the giant panda,African and Asian elephants, Africanand Asian rhinos, tigers, the great apessuch as gorillas and orang-utans,whales, and marine turtles.

To preserve individual species WWFhas adopted a landscape – or ecoregion– approach, ensuring that as well asprotecting core populations ofthreatened animals, their habitats arealso protected. One such landscape isTesso Nilo, an extensive tract oftropical forest in Sumatra, which WWFhopes will soon be declared a NationalPark by the Indonesian government. Afocus on the development of healthy,secure elephant populations, as well astigers and rhinos, has driven theimplementation of sustainablelandscape management.

Marine turtles are another goodexample of how WWF looks to protectpopulations of wildlife while taking anecoregional approach to conservation.Wide-ranging, highly migratory ocean-going animals, turtles are found in alarge number of ecoregions. Marineturtles are truly in the global commonsand are not native to any one country.The Canary Current and MesoamericanCaribbean Reef ecoregions, forinstance, harbour six of the world’sseven species, which form an integralpart of the complex pattern of marinelife that make the ecoregions soimportant in a global context. In theWest Madagascar marine ecoregionWWF is promoting turtle conservationas an essential part of sustainingcoastal community life. Monitoring ofturtle populations over a long periodhas shown rising numbers of nestingleatherbacks and loggerheads. WWF isnow looking to involve tourists andtourism operators in conservationactivities, develop educational


Species

programmes, train sea turtlespecialists, and improve local lawenforcement.

Much of the work of the SpeciesProgramme is designed to reachfruition by 2010. Stepping stones in2003 will consist mainly of newprecedents for the internationalfisheries and timber trades through theCITES listing of at least one fish (e.g.toothfish and/or basking or whaleshark) and one tree (e.g. big-leafmahogany) of economic importance. Alot of this work hinges on theNovember 2002 CITES meeting inChile, where other priority issues willbe fisheries and CITES, hawksbillturtles, elephants and ivory trade, andwhales. Elsewhere, law enforcementactions will be pursued to eliminateillegal trade in at least five species ofglobal concern, including tigers, snowleopards, Asian and African elephants,Asian and African rhinos, Tibetanantelope, and musk deer. The SpeciesProgramme will also lead thedevelopment of a major global


Flagship species: By 2010, populations of key species of global concern are stabilized or increased andtheir critical habitats safeguarded.

■ Agreement with the Chinese government to establish Qinling Panda Reserve■ Training programmes to mitigate human-elephant conflict in Africa ■ Increases in African populations of black rhinos and white rhinos■ At the 2002 International Whaling Commission WWF helped ensure pro-whaling nations were unable to

resume commercial whaling■ Relocation of shipping lanes in Canada’s Bay of Fundy to reduce risk of right whale/ship collisions■ WWF’s successful campaign to encourage Pacific island nations to declare their Exclusive Economic

Zones (EEZ) as whale sanctuaries■ Finalization of a new strategy for reduction in cetacean by-catch■ Development of national legislation to protect marine turtles in Latin America and the Caribbean■ Finalization of a new Action Plan for the conservation of tigers.

Wildlife trade: By 2010, at least ten species of global concern are no longer endangered byoverexploitation.

■ WWF was instrumental in the commissioning of CITES Appendix II listing proposals for whale shark andtoothfish submitted by proponent countries for the November 2002 CITES meeting, and the successfulsubmission of an Appendix II listing proposal for big-leaf mahogany

■ Led advances relating to CITES and marine fisheries■ Through CITES, raising awareness of poaching of snow leopards.

campaign on marine turtleconservation. Another goal is to stopforest loss and conversion in TessoNilo and to secure its future as aNational Park. And work will beundertaken in both Africa and Asia toreduce conflict between people andelephants.

Nurturing WWF’s reputation as aninternational centre of speciesconservation expertise is part of theSpecies Programme’s endeavour. Theprogramme draws on the knowledgeand experience of WWF offices andecoregion programmes around theworld to provide a solid base for theconservation of species in anincreasingly competitive and complexworld.


Africa hosts four of WWF’s “flagship”species groups: black and white rhinos,African elephants, four of the world’ssix species of great apes, and marineturtles. Conservation programmes are

already in place for rhinos, elephants,and apes, with turtles in preparation.

The WWF African Rhino Programmeis committed to the protection andmanagement of the continent’sendangered populations of black rhinosand white rhinos and to strengtheningnational and international measures fortheir conservation. The programmefocuses principally on Kenya,Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe,while WWF has also joined aconsortium to implement the SADC(Southern Africa DevelopmentCommunity) Rhino ConservationProgramme.

During 2002, WWF continued itssupport to rhino conservancies inZimbabwe, despite the ongoingpolitical instability that has impactedconsiderably on the work. Politicallymotivated invasions by squatters intoconservancies led to widespreadsnaring and disruption of conservationactivities. One positive developmentduring this crisis, however, was the

stance by senior politicians stronglysupportive of wildlife-based land usesin the conservancies, but withresource-sharing to support theinvading families. This firmrecognition of conservancies, aftersome years of conflicting officialattitudes, gives encouragement that theobjective to increase rhino numberswill not be compromised throughmajor loss of habitat, despite a certainamount of subsistence cultivationstarting in some sections of theconservancies. The situation remainsunstable.

Significant conservation achievementsincluded completion of Kenya’sNational Black Rhino Strategy, incollaboration with the Kenya WildlifeService, and development of a

National Black Rhino ConservationStrategy for Namibia, in collaborationwith Namibia’s Ministry ofEnvironment and Tourism and theSADC Rhino Programme. Overall, thepopulations of the black rhino and thewhite rhino have shown healthyincreases. Intensive conservationefforts have helped the black rhino toincrease from an estimated 2,704 in1999 to 3,100 in 2001. The number ofwhite rhinos rose from 10,405 in 1999to some 11,600 in 2001. These areencouraging trends but there is stillmuch work to be done, especially withthe small endangered population ofnorthern white rhinos.

WWF’s African Elephant Programmewas established in 2000 and supportsseven projects (see overleaf). In

47Species

Black rhinos, here in Ngorongoro Crater,Tanzania, increased to over 3,000 across

Africa in 2001.WWF-Canon / Michel Terrettaz


Species

addition, WWF has continued to assista number of protected areas whichharbour large populations of elephants,including Comoé and Tai NationalParks in Côte d’Ivoire, Korup and LacLobeke National Parks in Cameroon,Dzanga-Sangha Reserve in the CentralAfrican Republic, Minkebe Forest andGamba Protected Area Complex inGabon, Selous Game Reserve andTarangire National Park in Tanzania,and Gashaka Gumpti National Park inNigeria.

WWF has been working with partnerorganizations to develop the AfricanGreat Apes Programme (see page 51)which got underway in mid-2002. Onelong-standing project that forms partof the new programme is theInternational Gorilla ConservationProgramme (IGCP) which conservesmountain gorillas in DRC, Rwanda,and Uganda. WWF support has helpedto increase the population by 11 percent over the last 12 years – asignificant feat given the civil unrestin the region during this time. The

WWF’s African Elephant Programme

Building on 41 years of experience in elephant conservation, WWF launched a new African ElephantProgramme in 2000. Its objective is straightforward: to guarantee a future for this most spectacular ofmammals.

By June 2002, there were seven projects underway:

■ Conservation of forest elephants in the Mont Nlonako-Makombe-Ebo forest block, south-west Cameroon– WWF is working with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to survey elephant populations andestablish new protected areas.

■ Mitigating human-elephant conflict in the Mara ecosystem, Kenya – the Durrell Institute of Conservationand Ecology, with Kenya Wildlife Service, is testing methods for mitigating human-elephant conflict incommunities bordering the Masai Mara.

■ Exchange visits between West, Central and Southern African range states to share experiences inelephant conservation and management – WWF is working with the Zimbabwe Department of NationalParks & Wild Life to enhance the exchange of ideas, approaches and lessons learned between rangestates.

■ Assessing domestic ivory markets in West Africa – TRAFFIC is conducting a study on three domesticivory markets in West Africa to assess their impact on elephant conservation.

■ Using modern methods and tools to mitigate human-elephant conflict in selected sites in Africa – IUCN’sAfrican Elephant Specialist Group is training wildlife managers and local communities in human-elephant conflict mitigation around ten WWF project sites.

■ The conservation of elephants in a new protected area in Mozambique – WWF provides equipment andtraining for elephant anti-poaching operations in the proposed Quirimbas National Park, and trains staffand local communities in human-elephant conflict mitigation.

■ Supporting the development and implementation of the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) –TRAFFIC is developing an analytical framework for assessing the data and information in ETIS, and istraining Tanzanian wildlife managers in its application.

Virungas Environmental Programmearound Virunga National Park in DRChas run an education programme onmountain gorillas and has also helpedto resettle families away from thegorillas’ Sarambwe forest home. OtherWWF projects are conserving habitatsfor western lowland gorillas (e.g. in theDzanga-Sangha, Lobeke, Nouabale-Ndoki, and Minkebe protected areas)and chimpanzees (e.g. in Tai andGashaka-Gumpti). In DRC, WWF hasalso helped Milwaukee ZoologicalSociety to conduct surveys of bonobosand other large mammals, train parkstaff in survey techniques, and carryout public awareness activities.

While preparing the new conservationprogramme for Africa’s marine turtles,WWF has continued to support effortsto slow the decline in turtle numbers.This has been particularly successfulalong the coast of northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique,where recent counts of egg-layingturtles revealed 437 loggerheads and126 leatherbacks; the latter figure was

the highest number yet recorded forleatherbacks in the survey area.

Amongst other highlights, four turtlebreeding sites have been identifiedalong 200km of coast in Gabon.Protecting places such as these frompoachers will form a central part of thenew programme, along with researchinto turtle nurseries.

Complementing two other turtleconservation networks along theAtlantic coast of Africa, a new regionalnetwork – “Tortues Marines d’Afriquede l’Ouest” – has been formed byrepresentatives from the six countriescovered by the Western African Marineecoregion: Cape Verde, Gambia,Guineau Bissau, Guinea, Mauritania,and Senegal.

In the coming year, special emphasiswill be placed on conservation actionsin the Western African Marine andEastern African Marine ecoregions,and in the Western Indian Ocean,especially Madagascar.


Monitoring, anti-poachingenforcement, provision of alternativeincome schemes such as ecotourism,developing conservation action plansfor flagship species, and investigationsinto wildlife trade and consumptionwere the main areas of WWF’s work inthe Asia/Pacific region during 2002. Following efforts by WWF andTRAFFIC, the government of Laosagreed to work towards CITESmembership. This leaves Bhutan,Solomon Islands, and Cook Islands asthe region’s only remaining non-CITES countries. In Thailand, 60CITES and customs officials receivedtraining in preventing illegal wildlifetrade, while Nepal established a CITESunit within its Department of NationalParks and Wildlife Conservation.

Increased anti-poaching efforts arebearing fruit. In Bhutan, the illegaltaking of musk deer, pheasants, fish,and medicinal plants has gone down byhalf. Poaching of Javan rhinos in

Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Parkappears to have ceased altogether –which is good news for the four youngrhino calves found in August 2001.New initiatives, such as the pilotcommunity-based monitoring andpatrolling programme in Pingwu,China, are aimed at enhancing long-term species conservation. Australia isalso involving indigenous communitiesin species conservation, for examplethrough an Aboriginal RangersConference for green turtlemanagement.

Significant headway was also made forturtle conservation in Indonesia where,by the start of 2002, the taking of turtleeggs was reduced by 25 per cent, andtrade in the species reduced by morethan half; annually over 20,000 turtlesused to be traded in Bali, the heart ofIndonesia’s turtle trade. Much of thissuccess is due to enforcement of lawson domestic consumption and sale ofturtle meat and eggs, and support forturtle conservation from communityand religious leaders and traditional

49Species

Young bull African elephant – WWFseeks to ensure a future for the species.WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey

villagers. A further fillip came inJanuary 2002 when the IndonesianHindu High Council declared the useof turtles in religious offerings as notobligatory, and called on Hindus torespect turtle protection laws. Thisfollowed efforts started in 1996 byWWF with religious leaders, includinga signature campaign in which manyHindu high priests and traditionalleaders declared their support for turtleconservation in Bali. Elsewhere, thefirst Turtle Conservation Trust Fundwas established in Thailand withprivate funds.

Whales received a big boost whenseveral island nations in the Pacificdesignated their Exclusive EconomicZones (EEZ)) as whale sanctuaries.The Cook Islands were the first to takeaction, followed in May 2002 byPapua New Guinea, Niue, FrenchPolynesia, and Samoa. The total areaof EEZ whale sanctuaries in the Pacificis now close to 12 million km2. MorePacific countries are expected todesignate whale sanctuaries in due

course. Indonesia has also signalled itsintention to follow suit.

Species Action Plans have beendeveloped by WWF for tigers, Asianelephants, Asian rhinos, and giantpandas, and WWF-Indonesia andWWF-Malaysia are developing one fororang-utans. The plans look at theunderlying causes of species loss andoffer solutions to overcome them. Anew project in the Qinling Mountains,a critical area for panda conservation,is looking at ways of establishing andmanaging “corridors” linking forestedareas which have become fragmentedas forests have been cleared. Theproject hopes to identify and securenew panda reserves between whichpandas can roam freely, allowinggenetic exchange between differentgroups of animals.

Although killing tigers is illegal underIndonesian law, the number ofSumatran tigers, estimated in 1999 atfewer than 500, continues to dwindle.WWF has been working with local

NGOs to strengthen local enforcement.A decree issued by the governor ofJambi province, for instance, requiresdistrict authorities to control thehunting and trading of tigers.Conservation efforts received a furtherboost in March 2002 when Thailand’sMinistry of Health refused permissionfor 30 companies to sell 78 differenttraditional medicines containing tigerbone and other endangered species.This was a significant achievement forWWF Thailand’s “Wildlife TradeAwareness” campaign.

In 2002, the Asian Rhino and ElephantAction Strategy (AREAS) entered its

second phase. The translocation ofrhinos continued in Nepal with a totalof 25 rhinos now moved from ChitwanNational Park to Bardia National Parkand Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve.The translocations, started in 1986,have helped in the revival of the one-horned rhino. Asian elephants,however, have not fared as well overthe past 18 months. Reports werereceived of elephants killed inCambodia for their tusks and otherparts, and in Assam, India, where in amatter of 70 days, 31 elephants werefound poisoned to death. The latterincident is a critical example of theneed to solve human-wildlife conflicts– increasingly rife across Asia aspeople fight with animals for livingspace. An “e-petition”, run throughWWF’s on-line Panda Passport, helpedinitiate a meeting between WWF andAssam’s Chief Minister at whichactions were agreed to find thoseresponsible for the poisoning.

One of the greatest threats to the long-term conservation of species is human


Species

Protecting rhinos – game guards onpatrol in Royal Bardia National Park,Nepal.WWF-Canon / Soh Koon Chng

poverty. Increasingly, conservationplanning therefore identifies alternativeincome sources, such as ecotourismdevelopment. A community-basedecotourism scheme in China’sWanglang Reserve won acceptancefrom the local community as a keysource of income, proving that pandaconservation and social and economicdevelopment can go hand in hand. Asimiliar initiative is underway inIndonesia's Ujung Kulon NationalPark, and in Bhutan WWF has drafteda national ecotourism strategy. WWFhas also contributed to tourism plansfor Bardia, Chitwan and KanchenjungaNational Parks in Nepal.

Not all ecotourists are lucky enough toencounter wildlife close up. Imaginethe excitement, therefore, whenparticipants in a WWF-Hong Kongdolphin tour witnessed the birth of aChinese white dolphin. Only about 150of these dolphins are found in HongKong waters, where they face threatsfrom pollution, reduced foodabundance resulting from overfishing,

and frequent marine developments.Another critically endangered dolphin,the North Island Hector’s dolphin ofNew Zealand, has suffered a setbackafter making some gains. A ban on set-netting imposed by the New Zealandgovernment in the dolphin’s knownrange would have significantly reducedthe accidental capture of dolphins.However, the decision was overturnedby a judicial review instigated by thefishing industry. WWF is pressing thegovernment for adequate measures toprotect the world’s smallest and rarestmarine dolphin.


WWF’s work on illegal wildlife tradein Europe is led by TRAFFIC Europe,the joint WWF-IUCN programmewhich specializes in combating illegalwildlife trade.

One of the best-known products thatTRAFFIC focuses on comes from alarge prehistoric fish: the sturgeon.Sturgeons can grow to 6m in length,

51Species

WWF’s African Great Apes Programme

Africa is home to four of the six species of great apes: easterngorilla, western gorilla, chimpanzee, and bonobo. All four are listedby IUCN as Endangered. Two subspecies of gorilla are listed asCritically Endangered: the mountain gorilla (about 650 individualssurviving in two populations) and the cross river gorilla (probablyless than 250 in eight fragmented populations).

Africa’s great apes face a number of threats:

■ Illegal hunting and trade – the precise levels of hunting areunknown but between 3,000-6,000 apes may be killed each yearin Africa to provide meat.

■ Habitat degradation and fragmentation – logging in West andCentral Africa continues to reduce ape habitat. In addition, thepresence of loggers and logging roads increases poaching.

■ Disease transmission – apes are susceptible to many of thesame viruses and parasites as humans and have suffered as aresult. For example, in Gombe National Park in Tanzania humandiseases such as scabies, pneumonia and gut parasites causedan almost 40 per cent decline in a chimpanzee population.

■ Human-ape conflict – with increasing human expansion, peopleand apes are coming into conflict more regularly. Many apes raidcrops and are sometimes killed as a result.

To address these threats, WWF has launched a new African GreatApes Programme. Its goal is to improve the conservation status ofat least two populations each of eastern gorilla, western gorilla,chimpanzee, and bonobo. Activities include protection andmanagement, capacity building in range states, gaining communitysupport for ape conservation, policy and legislation, trade, andeducation and awareness. In addition, WWF will continue to providesupport to ongoing ape conservation projects (see under Africa andMadagascar).

The subject of renewed conservationefforts – a mountain gorilla in Virunga

National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo.

WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey


Species

weigh up to 1,200kg and live for 150years. The largest populations of thefish live in Russia and someneighbouring countries. The product,highly prized all over the world, iscaviar. Dubbed “black pearls”, caviarcomprises the unfertilized eggs ofsturgeons. The main exportingcountries are Russia and Iran, and themain importers are France, Germanyand Switzerland. Since the opening upof Russia’s markets, illegal harvestingof caviar has increased dramatically.Today, TRAFFIC estimates that areduction of catches by 80 per centwould be needed to stabilize sturgeonpopulations and secure a future for thefish.

To combat illegal trade in caviar,TRAFFIC has been drawing up alabelling system that extends from theprocessing plant to retail outlets.TRAFFIC was looking for a move byCITES to make the labelling system alegal requirement. After lobbying hardto convince the main players, the draftresolution put to CITES members

contained wording to make the systemoperational. WWF is hoping for apositive response. Work on the groundby TRAFFIC Russia includesprovision of information and trainingfor local authorities and businessesalong the Caspian Sea and the AmurRiver, the border between Far EasternRussia and China.

WWF and TRAFFIC also carry outwork to protect plants. Anotherproposal for the CITES conferenceaimed at better protection for tropicalhardwood trees such as big-leafmahogany. The proposal includesdevelopment of easy-to-use recognitionsystems to enable customs authoritiesto differentiate between internationallyprotected tree species.

In other work, WWF has drafted aproposal to establish a marineprotected area for a population ofaround 100 grey whales off north-eastSakhalin in the Sea of Okhotsk in theRussian Far East. The reserve willprotect the whales’ feeding grounds

and important coastal areas such asPiltun Bay. In conjunction with otherNGOs, WWF succeeded in curtailingseismic surveys by two oil companiesthat were shown to be driving thewhales away from feeding areas. Theproposal is being considered by bothfederal and regional governments.

Also in the Russian Far East, WWF,together with the Wild LifeFoundation, instigated the first Russianregulations for ecological corridors inthe region of Khabarovsky Kray. Theregulations restrict land use interritories where it is difficult toestablish protected areas. TheMaiminsky ecological corridor linkstwo key habitats of the Amur tiger,enabling the tiger to migrate freely.

In the Ligurian Whale Sanctuary in theMediterranean Sea, WWF undertookelectronic tagging of whales usingsatellite and radio-transmitters. Thearea is an important feeding ground for18 species of whale. Despite thesanctuary, however, the cetaceans are

threatened by increasing maritimetraffic and pollution. The new researchis part of the “Cap Ligures” scientificprogramme launched in 1999. One ofits primary objectives is to betterunderstand the behaviour ofMediterranean whales. Informationfrom the study will help to shapeproposals for managing the sanctuary.


Habitat loss remains the greatest threatto the survival of plant and animalspecies in Latin America and theCaribbean. As well as its work toensure the survival of forest,freshwater and marine habitats, WWFis concentrating on two species ofregional importance – marine turtlesand mahogany. At the same time,initiatives are also underway to protectother threatened species such as themonarch butterfly and the vaquitaporpoise.

Big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia

macrophylla) represents one of themost important economic resourcesoriginating in the forests of LatinAmerica. With the goal of ensuring thelong-term stability of mahogany, WWFhas joined with ConservationInternational, IUCN and TRAFFIC toset an agenda for mahoganyconservation from the standpoint offorest management and internationaltrade. WWF has played a key role indiscussions with the timber industry inBrazil regarding ways to resolve illegallogging, much of which targetsmahogany. In Peru, WWF hasadvanced the cause of sustainableforest management by successfullyimplementing the Peruvian forest lawin Madre de Dios and Ucayali. Thelaw requires management plans basedon 40-year logging rotations and5,000-50,000ha concessions, many ofwhich hold the last commerciallyviable populations of mahogany in theAmericas.

In 2002, plans to expand protectedareas in the Peruvian Amazon –

through a Gift to the Earth campaign– will go a long way to ensuring thegenetic viability of maintaining standsof mahogany. On the forestmanagement side of the issue,significant achievements are expectedin northern Guatemala andAmazonian Peru that would expandthe coverage of FSC-certified forestsover the natural range of the species.Such a move will increase the flow ofcertified mahogany into the marketsof North America and Europe. On thedemand side, focus will fall onlegislation concerning procurementpolicies that favour certified woodover non-certified wood. Suchlegislation is currently beingconsidered in New York City, whichconsumes large quantities of tropicalhardwoods, particularly mahoganyand Guyanese greenheart, in its cityconstructions. With an eye to theCITES meeting in Chile, WWFplayed a key role in helpingNicaragua submit a proposal for theinclusion of mahogany on CITESAppendix II.

53Species

Mahogany ‘Swietenia macrophylla’in the rainforest of Manu

National Park, Peru.WWF-Canon / André Bärtschi


Species

Some of the world’s largest and mostpristine nesting beaches for marineturtles are located within the LACregion, the oceans of which containsix of the seven species. The issuesand circumstances surrounding marineturtle conservation are diverse, whichis why WWF has drawn up a regionalmarine turtle action plan. Part of thisplan involves local users andcommunities in efforts to protectturtle habitats. WWF is alsoaddressing threats such as the illegalharvesting of green turtles in the Gulfof California and Galápagos, andhawksbill turtles in the Caribbean, formeat, eggs and shells, and theincidental death of turtles caught incommercial fishing nets. In 2002,WWF and many partners throughoutthe Caribbean argued against aproposal before CITES to reopeninternational trade in hawksbill shellsand their products. If approved, thiswould result in a major setback ofglobal efforts to ensure the survival ofthe species. In addition, WWF andother NGOs are working to influence

turtle conservation strategies underthe newly formed InteramericanConvention on Sea Turtles.

At a local level, in Peru WWFundertook an aggressive environmentaleducation and communicationscampaign among the local PiscoParacas population and restaurantowners. Nationally, WWF played a keyrole in setting up a working group formarine turtle conservation and inmoving forward legislation to protectturtles. In Colombia, WWF issupporting the development of anational strategy for marine turtleconservation. The greatest efforts havecome in the Guyanas where WWF hasled the development of a five-yearComprehensive Marine TurtleConservation Program, which includesprotection of the largest concentrationof leatherbacks in the world.

WWF is committed to protectingmonarch butterflies and thebiological phenomenon of theirmigration to overwintering sites in

Mexico. Despite the recent massivemortality of an estimated 250 millionmonarch butterflies as a result ofstorms in the Sierra Chincua and ElRosario wintering colonies,significant advances have been made.The WWF-designed MonarchButterfly Conservation Fundcompensated landowners in theMonarch Butterfly Reserve for thecancellation of logging permits. Thisnew scheme will provide economicincentives to gradually transformland use and the economy of the areafrom one based on unsustainablelogging to one of conservation andsustainable forest management,ensuring the integrity of the butterflypopulation in a 54,000ha reserve.Some US$15 million are still neededto secure the programme and WWF

is approaching the governments ofCanada, Mexico and the US forsupport. Mexico has so farcontributed US$250,000.

Also in Mexico, WWF and a group ofMexican and international NGOs,government agencies and academicinstitutions launched a campaign tosave the highly endangered vaquitaporpoise. Only 567 individuals arethought to remain in the upper Gulfof California. Excellent coverage ofthe campaign in national newspapersand on radio and television newsprompted a call to WWF from theMexican Environment Ministeroffering his assistance. By mid-2002,the campaign had raised more than9,000 letters sent to President Foxcalling for action.

North America

A successful proposal by WWF andothers submitted to the IMO to movethe shipping lanes in the Bay of Fundyis expected to reduce collisionsbetween right whales and ships – thesingle biggest threat to this criticallyendangered species – by as much as 80per cent.

In the first study anywhere in theworld of leatherback turtles intemperate waters, satellite-tagging ofmales, which do not show up ontropical nesting beaches, will help toreveal their patterns of movement andbehaviour. It is hoped that theinformation gained will aid efforts to

reduce turtle by-catch.

WWF-Canada and WWF-US joinedforces to develop a bi-nationalconservation programme for some ofthe most intact prairie ecosystems ofthe Northern High Plains. As well assupporting a number of unique andrecently discovered plant communities,the region is also important fordeclining species such as mountainplover, sage grouse, swift fox, black-tailed prairie dog, and black-footedferret. WWF is working with theNorthern Plains ConservationNetwork, consisting of more than 20NGOs, to develop a conservation planfor the region.

55Species

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

2,902

1,5132,280

0


Expenditure on Species Conservation FY 2001

Monarch – some US$15 million areneeded to secure the conservationprogramme for the butterfly.WWF-Canon / Kevin Schafer


Climate Change

JENNIFER MORGAN, Director of the Climate Change Programme, provides an overview of WWF’s recent efforts to fight climate change and the challenges that lie ahead.

The impacts of climate changeon biodiversity threatenmuch, if not all, of WWF’smission. Scientists warn that

the increase in temperatures, coupledwith more intense weather events, areplacing coral reefs, arctic and montaneareas, and forests at very serious risk.WWF’s Climate Change Programme isworking across the world to reducethat risk by leveraging commitmentsfrom governments, business andindustry, the financial sector and thepublic to bring about deep cuts in theemissions of greenhouse gases thatcause global warming.

There are four components whichtogether form an unprecedentedinternational programme working inover 30 countries and internationally tosave the planet from climate change:pressing for positive changes tointernational and national policies,heightening the awareness andimproving the performance of business

and industry, mobilizing the public totake action, and documenting theimpacts of climate change andmitigating those impacts.

Against the odds, 2001 ended with thesuccessful conclusion of the Kyotoclimate treaty, due in no small part todogged campaigning over four yearsby WWF. The outcome was all themore remarkable in that it wasachieved in the face of opposition bythe US administration and the oil, coaland car industries. WWF believes thatthe treaty provided a small first step incombating climate change. Its entryinto force, even without the UnitedStates, will send a clear signal to theglobal market and policy-makers thatbinding climate action is required. Thiswill also bring pressure on the US tojoin the rest of the world. The treatycontains mandatory commitmentsrequiring most of the industrializedworld to start cutting back on globalwarming pollution. It also lays a

foundation for the deeper reductions incarbon dioxide emissions over comingdecades needed to prevent the worstprojected impacts from becomingreality.

WWF’s first task in 2002 was toensure Kyoto was turned intointernational law. The “Go for Kyoto”campaign needed to persuade a “hit-list” of up to 25 industrialized nationsto ratify the treaty. The campaigncombined direct lobbying and themobilization of WWF’s global networkof activists to call on prominentgovernment leaders to discharge theirresponsibilities. This was especiallytrue in Japan, the European Union andRussia. By mid-2002, entry into forcelooked likely, with the eyes of theworld focused on the RussianFederation following a promise byPresident Putin that Russia wouldratify the treaty.

With Kyoto on course, WWF shifted

its focus away from the UnitedNations’ climate negotiations towardsimplementing cuts in carbon pollutionby policy-makers, business andindustry, and the financial sector. TheClimate Change Programme is nowworking to ensure that industrializednations make substantial reductions intheir domestic emissions of CO2, themain global warming gas, by 2010,and to promote the use of energyefficiency and clean renewableenergy in the developing world. Amajor effort is concentrated onreducing CO2 emissions fromelectricity generation – the singlelargest cause of global warming andthe sector where emission reductionoptions are most readily available andcost effective.

WWF offices are working nationally toachieve aggressive policies, while theprogramme is assessing where pressurecan be applied internationally foremissions reductions. Success depends

57

on ensuring that effective power sectorpolicies are introduced, that decisionsby business and industry and byfinancial institutions lead to lowercarbon emissions, and that consumersuse their spending power to benefitpower companies pursuing a low-carbon future. WWF is aiming for aninternational agreement to increase theshare of new renewable energy to 10per cent by 2010; this would send aclear signal to markets that renewableenergy is a serious source for todayand the future.

WWF’s “Climate Savers” programmecontinues to grow. Working withcompanies that agree aggressivecommitments to reduce theiremissions, Climate Saversdemonstrates that climate business isgood business. Six companies havenow joined – IBM, Johnson &Johnson, Nike, Collins Pine, Polaroid,and Lafarge. Our work to garnerbusiness support for the Kyoto climatetreaty was also highly successful, withmore than 180 companies enlisting.

In June 2002, WWF adopted a newtack with the start of a campaign topromote clean, “green” electricity tobusinesses and public institutions inthe five nations that together accountfor three-quarters of the EuropeanUnion’s power production: France,Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK (seepage 60).

Influencing investment decisions ispivotal to curbing rising carbonemissions. In response to the Kyototreaty’s Clean DevelopmentMechanism, which offers credits toindustrialized countries that set uppollution-reduction projects indeveloping countries, WWFestablished a new scheme to ensurethat the market favours sound andeffective projects. In leadingindustrialized countries, WWF isengaging fund managers to ensure thatgovernments are aware of the financialrisks of investing in projects with highcarbon emissions and to steer themtowards low- and zero-carboninvestment options.

Climate Change


Emissions reductions in industrialized countries: By 2010, a 10 percent reduction below 1990 emissions in industrialized country carbondioxide emissions.

■ Finalizing the Kyoto Protocol and setting it well along the pathwayof entry into force

■ Lafarge, Nike, and The Collins Companies join the Climate Saversprogramme

■ Launch of a website with Ben and Jerry’s that gave people in theUS, western Europe and Japan the opportunity to pledge to takeaction to reduce their own carbon footprint and send a politicalmessage to politicians

■ Support for renewable energy in the EU (Renewable EnergyDirective) and the US (renewable portfolio standard in the USSenate energy legislation).

Solutions in developing countries: By 2010, initiatives should beunderway in thirty developing countries to implement solutions leadingto a significant reduction in carbon intensity, in particular from thecombustion of fossil fuels.

■ Sustainable energy trade mission to the EU by the PhilippinesMinister of Energy and a delegation of companies, organized byWWF, which helped to raise investment support for renewableenergy projects in the Philippines and raised the international profileof the country as a destination for sustainable energy investors.

National impacts management plans and strategies: By 2010, fiftycountries are implementing adaptation strategies in keyecoregions/biomes and sectors of their economies on the basis ofnational plans for the reduction of vulnerability to climate change.

■ First field test of adaptation strategies begun in American Samoathrough a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Theproject aims to discover what role freshwater river basins, throughnutrient runoff, and protected area status might have on limitingbleaching of coral reefs

■ Research in the north-west Pacific to determine if floodplainprotection and condition can offer salmon protection from warmingPacific waters.

WWF continues to lead the field indocumenting and publicizing theimpacts of climate change onbiodiversity. A new analysis by WWFrevealed that habitat changes resultingfrom global warming could lead to acatastrophic loss of species in one-fifthof the world's most vulnerable natureareas, ranging from the equator to thepoles. Another study showed thatglobal warming is taking a dramatictoll on the Arctic and the polar bearsthat live there. The website linked tothe study (www.panda.org/polarbears)was recommended by leading mediaorganizations in the UK and the US.

Publicizing the impacts of globalwarming remains a key element ofWWF’s work. However, because theworld is committed to significantlevels of warming over the comingdecades, WWF is developing a newarea of work aimed at reducing thevulnerability of nature and economiesto the inevitable impacts of climatechange. The first step involves thepreparation of an adaptation manual

for field conservation professionals, tobe combined with a series of pilotprojects.

Our first field test of adaptationstrategies began in American Samoathrough a grant from the USEnvironmental Protection Agency. Theproject will examine the role that land-based watershed condition (throughnutrient run-off) and protected areastatus have on limiting the scope ofcoral bleaching. These studies maydemonstrate that it is possible to offersome protection to coral reefs from thedeleterious effects of coral bleachingby creating marine protected areasand/or protecting watersheds. And inthe north-west Pacific, WWF isworking with University ofWashington researchers to determine iffloodplain protection/condition canoffer salmon any protection fromwarming Pacific waters. Using El Niñoyears as a proxy for long-term changesin North Pacific temperature regimes,we are examining the success ofsalmon from streams with and without

intact floodplain habitat. The study willexamine data gathered over manyyears, focusing primarily on the USstates of Oregon and Washington, andthe Canadian province of BritishColumbia.


WWF’s work on climate change inAsia and the Pacific revolves aroundpressing countries to reduce CO2

emissions, for example from theburning of fossil fuels such as coal,and encouraging the development ofnational plans to cope with the impactsof climate change.

Low-lying countries will be affectedmost by sea-level rise caused by globalwarming. At particular risk are coralreefs in the South Pacific, Indonesiaand the Philippines which arevulnerable to “bleaching” – so-calledbecause large areas of coral die andturn white. In Indonesia, WWF isusing such occurrences as an indicatorof the ecological and economic

impacts of climate change. A rapidresponse team is on standby waiting todocument mass bleaching of reefs withthe aim of understanding thephenomenon and raising awarenessamong local governments,communities, and the media of theneed to take preventative action.

Similarly in the South Pacific, WWF isworking to strengthen Pacific Islandcountries’ understanding of the impactof climate change on biodiversity.There is already wide political andpublic acknowledgement that climatechange is having an impact, so thefocus here is to help governments


Climate Change

City traffic, such as here in the streets ofBangkok, Thailand, contributes to the 23billion tonnes of carbon dioxide entering

the atmosphere every year.WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey

59

develop appropriate adaptationmeasures and ensure that the Pacificvoice is heard in global fora. Ofparticular concern in the region is therefusal by some industrializedcountries, such as Australia, to ratifythe Kyoto climate treaty and cut backon CO2 emissions.

WWF is acknowledged by theJapanese government as an opinionleader on climate change. As such, theorganization was invited to participatein the drafting of a National EmissionScenario as a member of thegovernment’s Study Committee. India,a major emitter of greenhouse gases, isbeing encouraged by WWF to look atits obligations under the Kyoto treaty.With this in mind, WWF met withgovernment officials, policy-makers,economists, and environmentalists in aworkshop in May 2002 to draw uppolicy recommendations for limitingclimate change impacts. In Nepal,WWF signed an agreement with theMinistry of Population andEnvironment for closer collaboration

Climate Change

Working with business and industry

Changes in corporate practice are essential to achieve measurable progress in tackling global warming,moving to renewable energy systems and clean technologies, phasing out toxic chemicals and ensuringsustainable use of commodities such as timber, fish and agricultural products. Although corporations areoften part of the problem, they should undoubtedly be part of the solution. According to the Institute of PolicyStudies (1995), of the world’s top 100 economic entities, 51 were corporations and only 49 were countries.

WWF believes that corporate engagement is a key to transforming markets, to changing domestic andinternational law and to adopting and promoting a shift of the sector to sustainable development and to bestpractice.

WWF’s policy is to enter into business and industry relationships which deliver conservation on the groundand contribute to the attainment of the organization’s mission, while endeavouring to protect and enhancethe WWF brand, independence and integrity. WWF will work with most companies when the companydemonstrates a real commitment to the principles of sustainability. Three of the most important of WWF’sown guiding principles for engagement are mutual respect, transparency and WWF’s right to criticize; WWFand the corporate partner will not agree on all things all the time. Agreeing to disagree in a transparentframework has been a key factor in sustaining relationships that are beneficial to both partners.

WWF’s approach to working with business is constructive and solutions-oriented. It is both collaborative inits methods and challenging in its objectives. And it is always forward-looking; WWF works with companiesto help them change the way they do business.

WWF International’s Business and Industry Unit aims to encourage and facilitate a coordinated andstrategic approach by the global WWF Network to business and industry relations by:

■ supporting the development and implementation of global programme-led partnerships■ supporting the development of the network’s capacity to address business and industry issues and

encouraging engagement in an informed and coordinated way (e.g. risk assessments), and■ developing innovative, strategic partnerships with a wide

range of influential actors to help achieve WWF’s globalconservation targets.

Under the Conservation Partnership with WWF, Lafarge, a world leader inbuilding materials, has made a major commitment to reducing its carbon

dioxide emissions by 10 per cent below 1990 levels, by 2010.

on urban and pollution issues;polluting vehicles in the KathmanduValley have already been banned.

Much of WWF’s climate change workin the region is taking place in China,where the focus is on greater use ofrenewable energy. Studies ofrenewable energy options and trainingfor renewable energy enterprises,including a study tour by Chineseindustry leaders to Europe, have beenundertaken. A campaign to promote“green” electricity is at the planningstage and will include engaging themedia to make the link between watershortages and climate change. InThailand, WWF is helping to reformthe power sector, promoting policiesand economic incentives thatencourage energy saving and efficiencyand renewable sources of energygeneration.

In addition to assessing impacts ofcoral bleaching on Tubbataha reef inthe Sulu Sulawesi Seas, WWF in thePhilippines is also helping the country

to establish itself as a regional leaderin renewable energy technology. Thisincluded a study tour to Europe led bythe Philippine Energy Secretary.


In addition to successfully promotingratification of the Kyoto climate treatyby European countries, in particularthe EU which ratified the treaty inJune, WWF’s efforts in Europe havefocused on measures to improve theenvironmental performance of thepower sector. Globally, WWF plans toassess the 10-15 largest powercompanies in Western Europe, EasternEurope and Russia, North America,Australia, and key countries in Asia.The performance of these companies(e.g. carbon dioxide emissions, nuclearpower, renewable energy generation)will be used to generate “scorecard”ratings of power sector companies.WWF will also be sending open lettersto companies inviting their support forWWF’s “Clean Power Agenda” orparts of it. This will help WWF to

identify those companies willing tochampion actions against climatechange and prompt change within theindustry.

WWF is currently gathering supportfrom EU member states for theEmissions Trading Directive. Thisoffers the potential for both a viablealternative to the flawed Kyotoemissions trading system and a strongincentive to cut CO2 emissionsdomestically in the EU. WWF isworking to get the Directive agreed bythe European Parliament by mid-2003.

The Climate Change Programme hasentered into a working relationshipwith leading construction companyABB. With ABB support, WWF isworking on a draft Directive on co-generation of power in the EU. WWFviews co-generation, combiningnatural gas-fired power stations withsolar and other energy sources, as acost-effective means of reducinggreenhouse gas emissions. WWF iscollaborating on the proposal with

COGEN Europe, the European TradeAssociation for the Promotion ofCogeneration based in Brussels. WWFhopes that the first draft of theDirective will go before the EuropeanCouncil and Parliament before the endof 2003.

In cooperation with otherenvironmental NGOs, WWF hasestablished the European GreenElectricity Network (EUGENE) withthe objective of defining an eco-standard for “green” electricity. Underthe scheme, electricity generated fromrenewable sources would carry anecolabel and will be available to


Climate Change

Reef fish – increasingly at risk wherecorals die from bleaching caused by

global warming.WWF / Catherine Holloway

61Climate Change

Conserving ecoregions – the forests of New Guinea

During 2002, WWF released a new analysis revealing that habitat changes resulting from global warming could lead to a catastrophic loss ofspecies in one-fifth of the world's most threatened nature areas, ranging from the equator to the poles. In addition to working to reduce greenhousegases, WWF is developing a new area of work aimed at reducing the vulnerability of nature and economies to the inevitable impacts of globalwarming. The first step involves the preparation of a manual advising nature conservation managers on how to adapt management regimes to achanging climate. By looking ahead, the effects of climate change may be reduced and hard-won conservation achievements saved. This isparticularly important for the Global 200 ecoregions, such as the Forests of New Guinea.

New Guinea is the world’s largest and biologically richest tropical island, supporting the largest remaining intact block of tropical rainforest in theAsia/Pacific region. These forests, and their extensive freshwater systems, are the lifeblood for 6.5 million people, more than four-fifths of whom live avillage-based subsistence lifestyle. The forests host an extraordinarily diverse and unique wildlife, including some 25,000 plant species, most of themunique, almost 800 bird and 147 mammal species, many found nowhere else. Most recognizable are the fabulously colourful birds of paradise, aswell as many other organisms which reach their greatest diversity here, including orchids, tree-dwelling marsupials, pigeons, and reef fish.

New Guinea is divided politically between the nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the east and the Indonesian province of Papua (formerly IrianJaya) in the west. Almost all land in PNG is held in customary ownership while state control of land in Papua is now recognizing some communalownership of resources. Taken together, this is one of the poorest regions on Earth, with desperate needs for improved health, education and incomeoptions. Under the UK Department for International Development’s (DfID) poverty alleviation programme, and in partnership with local communitiesand organizations, WWF is helping to deal with these issues by shaping new economic options that protect the environment, supporting conservationareas and encouraging a more integrated approach to decision-making on resource management that respects community values.

Of the seven Global 200 ecoregions in New Guinea, WWF is focusing on the great river basins of the Sepik, Mamberano, Kikori, Fly and DigulRivers as well as the Birdshead peninsula of Papua. Building on the successes of earlier work across the TransFly savannahs ecoregion linkingPNG, Indonesia and Australia, a process of ecoregional planning across the whole island of New Guinea was begun in 2001. With a range ofpartners, WWF is helping to spearhead a more integrated and expansive approach to conservation and resource management which has alreadyresulted in:

■ a new resource centre – the Pacific Ecoregions Centre – for large-scale planning in Madang, PNG■ signing of a Tri-National Wetlands Agreement for cooperation between PNG, Indonesia and Australia■ commitments to river basin management in PNG■ endorsement by the PNG government of ecoregions as the basis of large-scale resource planning ■ a multi-stakeholder process to sustainably manage and capture revenue from the valuable trade in gaharu – large evergreen trees prized for

their fragrant wood and oil■ high-level exchange visits between PNG and Papua on ecoforestry.

companies and consumers wanting toswitch to cleaner, renewable sources.WWF is promoting environmentfriendly electricity to businesses andpublic institutions in five countries –France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and theUK – that together account for three-quarters of the European Union’spower production.


Awareness continues to grow in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean regardingcurrent and potential future impacts ofclimate change, and the Kyoto climatetreaty, particularly the CleanDevelopment Mechanism. Climatechange is also becoming an integralpart of WWF’s conservation activitiesin the region. For example, in Brazil itis one of the variables taken intoaccount in the planning of newprotected areas. However, beforeWWF can move forward with pilotprojects that address climate change inentire ecoregions (such as the Amazon

River and Flooded Forests or ValdivianTemperate Rainforests ecoregions),there is a need to build moreunderstanding of the subject and thecapacity to address it, both within andoutside the organization. As well asmaking the necessary investments,over the next year and beyond WWFwill be studying the possibilities offorming alliances with other NGOs,research institutes, and business andindustry, participating in regionalnetworks, and preparing CleanDevelopment Mechanism projects.

North America

Over the last year, WWF’s climateteam, in partnership with CanadianNGOs, looked at the barrierspreventing Canada’s ratification of theKyoto climate treaty. This includedcomparing the US and Canadianenergy-efficiency programmes tochallenge the notion that non-ratification by the US would have aharmful effect on the Canadianeconomy, as well as exploring the


Climate Change

likely benefits to Canada of ratifyingthe treaty, particularly where forestsand agricultural lands are concerned.

In other work, WWF supported a studyof climate change impacts on polarbears, seals and ice edge in HudsonBay, part of ongoing research intoways of mitigating the effects ofclimate change on the Arctic. Thereport, Polar Bears at Risk, reviewsthe threats faced by the world’s 22,000polar bears and highlights climatechange as the main threat to theirsurvival. As Arctic temperatures rise,longer ice-free periods limit the time

the bears have on the ice to hunt,leading to greater mortality, especiallyamong cubs. A new WWF website –www.panda.org/polarbears – containsextensive information about polarbears and their Arctic domain, andincludes satellite-tracking of twofemale bears as they roam the ice packin search of prey.

Two new North American companies,Nike and The Collins Companies,joined the Climate Savers programme,increasing its credibility as a means ofreducing greenhouse gas emissionsfrom business and industry.

63Climate Change

A new report supported by WWF namedclimate change as the main threat topolar bears as their Arctic home melts.WWF / Fritz Pölking

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


Expenditure on Climate Change FY 2001


Toxics

CLIFTON CURTIS, Director of the Toxics Programme, summarizes WWF’s work over the last year to curb the spread and use of dangerous, life-threatening chemicals.

Over the last 50 years,evidence has been mountingon the threat posed bysynthetic chemicals to the

health and well-being of wildlife andpeople. Wherever scientists look, theyfind the impact of toxic chemicals. Noperson, species, or region of the Earthcan escape the reach of these insidiouspollutants. Contamination frompersistent synthetic chemicals is apervasive problem that will takeenormous effort, resources, andcreativity to address effectively.

WWF's Toxics Programme is meetingthe toxics challenge head on at nationaland international levels. Havingsuccessfully challenged governmentsto adopt the Stockholm PersistentOrganic Pollutants (POPs) Conventionin 2001, we are pressing those samedecision-makers to ratify that globalagreement expeditiously, enabling itsearly entry-into-force. Excellentprogress has been made in promoting

ratification during the past year. WWFwill continue to champion that effort in2003 and work to ensure effectiveimplementation, including adequatefunding for developing countries andtransitional economies. In addition, theToxics Programme is enhancing ouroutreach to business and industry tosecure their commitment to reduce andeliminate POPs.

Benefiting from WWF's ground-breaking role in bringing attention tohormone-disrupting chemicals, manyscientists have concluded that syntheticcompounds have already harmed manywildlife populations and humans byinterfering with the development of thebody, including the brain, and byundermining the ability to learn, tofight off disease, and to reproduce.WWF scientists in Canada, the US andthe EU have been alerting people tothe threats they pose, helping decision-makers to appreciate and respond tothese contaminants. In the EU and

elsewhere, this evidence will aid inWWF's efforts during 2003 to promotethe enactment of environmentallysound chemicals managementstrategies and to engage companies toreduce their use of hormone disruptingchemicals.

Already, WWF has achieved a historicsuccess when, at the IMO in October2001, the world's shipping nationsadopted a new global convention onchemical anti-fouling paints. Thechemicals – organotins such astributyltin (TBT) – are used on ships'hulls to prevent barnacles and othermarine organisms from attaching andare among the most toxic everdeliberately released into the marineenvironment. At the same time, WWFannounced the creation of the "2003Group", which involvesenvironmentally responsible shipowners whose fleets are alreadyorganotin-free. With the IMOresolution urging industry to stop

using, selling and marketing organotins– giving a clear message that thesechemicals are no longer acceptable –the "2003 Group" provides anopportunity for the shipping industry toadhere to the spirit of the newconvention and stop using organotinsbefore the convention is due to becomelegally binding in 2003.

The international community has madesignificant progress in addressing toxicchemicals issues, but much more needsto be done to protect life on Earth fromthese dangerous compounds. Thepervasive and global nature of thethreat underscores the urgency ofcontinued and heightened action inaddressing toxic chemicals-relatedissues. With projects underway inlocations around the world, fromBering Sea communities to Colombia'snorthern Andes, and from Pakistan'sIndus River Delta to the FloridaEverglades, WWF will continue to beactively engaged, using science-based

65Toxics

initiatives to inform and drive policyreforms at all levels of governance.


An innovative, on-the-groundpartnership to address threats fromobsolete pesticide stockpiles in Africais gaining momentum. The WWF-initiated Africa Stockpiles Programme(ASP) brings together the resourcesand talents of intergovernmentalorganizations, international aidagencies, environmental NGOs and thepesticides industry. Designed to cleanup existing stockpiles and prevent theirfuture recurrence, the project isestimated to cost US$250 million over15 years, contributing to povertyalleviation as well as a moresustainable development for nationaland local economies. Clean-upoperations in several countries are setto begin in mid-2003. Financialsupport from the GEF and theCanadian government, withcontributions of time and furtherresources by WWF, the World Bank,

UNEP, the African Union, PesticideAction Network and others, areenabling the development of acomprehensive, effective programme.Nonetheless, to ensure the long-termsuccess of the project, substantialfunds still need to be raised, leveragingGEF support with that of governmentaid agencies and others.


WWF in Pakistan is leading theorganization’s work to eliminate theproduction and use of toxic chemicalsin the Asia/Pacific region, where anumber of advances have been madeover the last 18 months.

In Indonesia, WWF convinced a largemining company to be openlyresponsible over the impact of minetailings on the vegetation and wildlifeof a mangrove forest. WWF alsopersuaded the company not to dumptoxic material into local river systems. In the Philippines WWF joined withindustry leaders, shipping owners,


Elimination: By 2007, eliminate or reduce at least 30 of the most

hazardous industrial chemicals and pesticides, with special

emphasis on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and endocrine

disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

■ Progress toward ratification and entry into force of the Stockholm

(POPs) Convention

■ The decision by the International Maritime Organization to phase

out organotin anti-fouling paints.

Informed decision-making: By 2007, scientific, educational and

regulatory initiatives will be firmly in place, enabling decision-makers

(governments, industry, consumers) to make informed choices about

toxic chemicals and their alternatives.

■ Introduction in the United States of the “Hormone Disruption

Research Act of 2003”

■ Development of a European Union Chemicals Strategy.

The WWF-initiated Africa StockpilesProgramme is gaining momentum to ridthe continent of 50,000 tonnes ofdangerous, out-of-date pesticides.Pesticide Action Network-UK


Toxics

resort owners, national and localgovernment agencies, and other NGOsto sign a Memorandum ofUnderstanding committing all partiesto cooperate in mitigating oil spills andtheir effects in Balayan Bay. Amongthe signatories were Shell, Caltex, thePhilippine Coast Guard, PhilippinePorts Authority, and Friends ofBalayan Bay, a resort association. AGIS-aided oil spill response system forthe area was also successfully piloted.

In other efforts, WWF continued toadvise on management of solid wasteand pollution. In Sagarmatha andKanchenjunga National Parks inNepal, for example, where wastemanagement is a major component ofthe tourism plan, clean-up effortsresulted in the collection and disposalof 1,000kg of rubbish. A competitionorganized for high schools in Thimphu,Bhutan, saw the collection of 11,300kgof plastic waste and 15,000kg ofbiodegradable waste. And in Pakistan,WWF developed a community-basedmunicipal solid waste management

system for 750 households in a low-income urban area – a model whichwill be replicated in other urban areas.


The EU is beginning to take on globalresponsibility for chemicalsmanagement and legislation by tryingto produce a far-reaching strategy, theprinciples of which can be used aroundthe world, to reduce currentlyuncontrolled exposures to toxicchemicals. In this, WWF is keenlysupporting the Directorate General forEnvironment in the EuropeanCommission and working hard in theexpert/technical drafting groups. WWFis also lending support to Members ofthe European Parliament who arebacking the initiative. At the sametime, WWF will highlight theinadequacies of the current law, theresulting dangers posed by chemicalsthat have not been tested for theirsafety, and the irresponsible behaviourof the chemical industry in puttinghumans and wildlife at risk.

The new legislation, when completed,will help with phasing out theproduction and use of persistentorganic pollutants and other harmfulbioaccumulative substances throughoutEurope, along with chemicals withendocrine-disrupting properties. WWFhas played a key role in lobbying for“global responsibility” with respect totoxic chemicals, but the battle is farfrom won; the US and the Far East(along with certain EU states) are notyet totally supportive of the newpolicy.

WWF is the only environmental NGOcurrently pressing to ensure that new,low-dose studies on the impact of theendocrine disrupter Bisphenol A onwildlife are properly considered in theEU’s review of this chemical. A majorindustrial chemical, Bisphenol A is aproven endocrine disrupter that hasbeen shown to affect wildlifedevelopment at low levels. The presentreview could potentially restrict its usein the EU, encouraging thedevelopment of safer alternatives. The

WWF work on this process is alsosetting a benchmark for how riskassessment of chemicals can be donein a precautionary way.


As industrialization and urbanizationhave become more widespread in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean, so theissue of toxics has grown inconsequence. WWF’s work to reducethe harmful effects of toxics on humanand wildlife populations is alsogathering pace in the region.

In Colombia, WWF has been studyingtoxics issues that may affectbiodiversity conservation in theNorthern Andes. The organization isalso looking at threats posed by aerialfumigation of illicit crops and hasinfluenced US foreign policy regardingenvironmental impact analyses. InGuyana, as part of the GuayananForests Environmental ConservationProject, WWF is working with local

67Toxics

communities to monitor theenvironmental and health impacts ofmercury used in artisanal goldmining.Preliminary results show significantlyhigh levels of mercury in localinhabitants and fish sampled in bothSuriname and Guyana.

Following the Jessica oil spill thatpolluted some of the waters around theGalápagos Islands in 2001, WWF hasdeveloped and is promoting adoptionby the Ecuadorian authorities of the“Galápagos Energy Blueprint”. Theblueprint aims at transformingpolluting energy systems currently inuse in the archipelago to clean,sustainable technologies.Complementing two energy-relatedinitiatives already being implementedby the Ecuadorian government, WWFhopes the blueprint will help preventfuture man-made disasters that couldthreaten the biological wealth of theGalápagos Islands.

While it is clear that toxics affectecoregions, the full extent to which

this is so is unknown. It is important,therefore, to gain a clearerunderstanding of how the world’s mostdangerous chemicals, such as POPsand EDCs, which continue to be used,are affecting the region’s biodiversity,including human life. For this reason,WWF is exploring ways to integrate atoxics component into future work. Anearly step will be a region-wideassessment, or assessments focused onindividual ecoregions, to identify themost significant threats to biodiversityposed by POPs and EDCs, and howthey relate to commercial andindustrial processes.

North America

WWF has led the campaign forreform of Canada’s pesticidelegislation. Alliances with farmers, asuccessful court case whichentrenched the right of municipalitiesto ban the use of pesticides locally,and strong messages aimed at thepublic and politicians culminated withthe introduction of amendments to

Conserving ecoregions – North-East Atlantic Shelf

WWF’s Toxics Programme is working to reduce the number of toxicchemicals threatening the world’s ecoregions, for examplecombating chemical runoff from land-based activities which entercoastal systems and oceans, affecting coral reefs and fisheries. Inthe North-East Atlantic, WWF is collaborating with OSPAR, theConvention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of theNorth-East Atlantic, to phase out highly persistent polybrominatedbiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) – fire-retardant chemicals added to plasticsin a wide range of products – which build up in body tissues.

The North-East Atlantic Shelf ecoregion is a collection of highlyproductive marine ecosystems of critical importance for people andwildlife. The seas, including the shallow Wadden Sea, the NorthSea, the Irish Sea, and the deeper waters of the Celtic Sea, are richin marine wildlife – sharks, seals, whales, dolphins, and sea-birds –as well as commercially important fish stocks. There are highlyproductive plankton and bottom-dwelling communities, kelp forests,sea grass beds and even cold water coral reefs. Millions ofmigratory waterfowl and waders depend on feeding and breedinggrounds along the sea coasts.

Despite its size, this fragile marine environment is at risk. Oncehighly productive fisheries face collapse, shipping lanes are some ofthe most congested in the world, demand for non-renewable marineresources such as oil, gas and minerals continues to grow, and theadjacent coasts support some of the most concentrated urban andindustrial developments in the world. WWF’s North-East AtlanticProgramme aims to protect and, where necessary, restorebiodiversity and maintain the natural productivity and status of themarine environment. Its special focus is on the land-sea interfaceand land-based activities which affect the sea. By working withintergovernmental organizations, such as OSPAR, WWF hasobtained commitments to keep the ocean clean and to “green”fisheries policy. Recent WWF successes include the protection ofhydraulic vents in the Azores (see page 34) and action to save theharbour porpoise.

Common seals hauled out on a sandbeach in the Wadden Sea, Netherlands –a species at risk from toxic pollution inthe North-East Atlantic.WWF / Jan van de Kam

Canada’s Pest Control Products Act.In the US, WWF continues to pressthe government to ratify theStockholm Convention on persistentorganic pollutants.

Based on evidence of endocrinedisruption, or the need forprecautionary action in the absence ofsuch evidence, WWF has beenpressing the US EnvironmentProtection Agency to encouragestricter controls on endocrine-disrupting pesticides, includingatrazine, lindane, endosulfan, and 2-4D. WWF is also gearing up its workon toxics issues with the businesscommunity.

In the Yukon-Kuskokwim region ofwestern Alaska, WWF worked withfive native communities to collect andanalyse sediment samples close to aformer military airfield that has a longhistory of toxic spills and dumping ofchemical contaminants. The US AirForce allocated US$650,000 for thestudy which was used to develop theresearch design, train communitytechnicians to collect biologicalsamples, and analyse the data. AnotherWWF study, on the impact of POPsand EDCs on the health of wildlife inthe territory of Nunavut, blendstraditional knowledge with scientificanalyses and has received strongcommunity-level support.


Toxics

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

2,902

1,5132,280

0


Expenditure on Toxics FY 2001

69Financial overview

$$W

WF relies on thegenerosity ofindividuals as its majorsource of funding. In

2001, 49 per cent of the organization’sincome came from this source.Legacies and donations from trusts andfoundations amounted to 18 per cent.

A substantial part of WWF’s income isderived from government grants andaid agencies. Often, these funds –which in 2001 amounted to 22 per cent– are provided either as “matched”funds made available only when WWFitself raised a specific amount, or as“restricted” funds for use on onespecific project or in a particularcountry.

WWF also works in creative andinnovative ways with business andindustry to raise funds and spread theconservation message. These “mutual

benefit marketing” relationshipsinclude licensing WWF’s panda logoto companies in exchange for royalties.Companies engaging in this practicebenefit through a visible link with theworld’s most recognizableconservation organization, while thenatural world benefits from the fundsraised.

Established in 1971 by HRH PrinceBernhard of the Netherlands, WWF’s1001: A Nature Trust comprises 1,000individuals who have made substantialfinancial contributions to WWF overthe years. The interest from the trust,the capital of which is currently morethan CHF18 million, helps meet WWFInternational’s basic administrationcosts. When vacancies occur in thetrust, new members are invited to joinfor a contribution of USD25,000(CHF37,500).

Conservation54%

Education 9.1%

Fundraising14.5%

Administration7.2%

Awareness10.2%

Conservation policy5%

WWF NETWORK INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FY 2001

Income US$329 million Expenditure US$351 million

Individuals 49%

Governments and aid agencies

22%

Legacies12%

Financial income1.5%

Royalties5%

Trusts and foundations6%

Corporations3%

Other1.5%

Financial overview


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 Morgan

Toxic Chemicals ProgrammeClifton Curtis

Africa/Madagascar ProgrammeYaa Ntiamoa-Baidu

Asia/Pacific ProgrammeIsabelle Louis

Europe/Middle East ProgrammeMagnus Sylven

Eastern Europe/Central Asia ProgrammeHartmut Jungius

Western EuropeDr Georg Schwede

Latin America/Caribbean ProgrammeDr Guillermo Castilleja

International PolicyGordon Shepherd

Governments and Aid AgenciesTimothy Geer

Programme Services and EvaluationPeter Dickinson

Programme AuditsSheila O’Connor

WWF International Senior Programme Staff The WWF Network

INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIATAve du Mont-Blanc, 1196 Gland, SwitzerlandTel: +41 22 364 9111Fax: +41 22 364 5358President: Chief Emeka Anyaoku

AUSTRALIAGPO Box 528, Sydney NSW 2001Tel: +61 2 9281 5515Fax: +61 2 9281 1060President: Mr Robert PurvesChief Executive: Dr David Butcher

AUSTRIAPostfach 1, 1162 ViennaTel: +43 1 488 170Fax: +43 1 488 1729Chairperson: Dr Helmut PechlanerChief Executive: Dr Günther Lutschinger

BELGIUMBoulevard Emile Jacqmain 90, 1000 BrusselsTel: +32 2 340 09 99Fax: +32 2 340 09 33President & Chairperson: Mr Guido RavoetChief Executive: Mr Xavier Ortegat

BHUTANPost Box 210, Chubachu, ThimphuTel: +975 2 323 528/316Fax: +975 2 323 518Representative: Mr Kinzang Namgay

BOLIVIAP.O. Box 1633, Santa CruzTel/Fax: +591 3 3115041Representative: Mr Roger Landivar

BRAZILSHIS EQ QL 6/8, Conjunto E - 2° andar71620-430 BrasiliaTel: +55 61 364 7400Fax: +55 61 364 7474President & Chairperson: Mr José Roberto MarinhoChief Executive: Dr Garo Batmanian

CANADA245 Eglinton Ave East, Suite 410Toronto, Ontario M4P 3J1Tel: +1 416 489 8800CEO Fax: +1 416 489 3418Fax: +1 416 489 3611Chairperson: Mr Michael de PencierChief Executive: Mr Monte Hummel

CAUCASUSM. Aleksidze str. 11, 380093 TbilisiRepublic of GeorgiaTel: +995 32 33 0154/55Fax: +995 32 33 0190Representative: Dr Giorgi Sanadiradze

CENTRAL AFRICAImmeuble Panda, Bastos B.P. 6776,Yaounde, Cameroon

71

Tel: +237 221 70 83Fax: +237 221 42 40Representative: Mr Laurent Magloire Somé

CENTRAL AMERICACentro Agronómico Tropical de Investigacióny Enseñanza, Turrialba7170 Catie, Costa RicaTel: +506 556 1383/ 1737/ 2528Fax: +506 556 14 21 Country Representative: Ms Sylvia Marin

CHINARoom 901, The Gateway, No.10 Yabao Road,Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020 Tel: +86 10 856 36538Fax: +86 10 856 15731Representative: Mr Jim Harkness

COLOMBIACarrera 35 #4A-25 Fernándes BenítezSan Fernando, Cali, ValleTel: +57 2 558 2577Fax: +57 2 558 2588Representative: Ms Mary Lou Higgins

DANUBE/CARPATHIANMariahilferstrasse 88a/3/91070 Vienna , AustriaTel: +431 52 45 470 Fax: +431 52 45 470 70Representative: Mr Jonathon Hornbrook, ad interim

DENMARKRyesgade 3 F, 2200 Copenhagen NTel: +45 35 36 36 35Fax: +45 35 24 78 68Chairperson: Mr Johan SchroederChief Executive: Mr Kim Carstensen

EASTERN AFRICAPO Box 62440, Nairobi, KenyaTel: +254 2 577 355Fax: +254 2 577 389Subregional Representative: Dr Samuel Kanyamibwa

EUROPEAN POLICY36, Avenue de Tervuren - B12 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 743 88 00 Fax: +32 2 743 88 19Representative: Mr Tony Long

FINLANDLintulahdenkatu 10, 00500 Helsinki 50Tel: +358 9 774 0100Fax: +358 9 774 02139President & Chairperson (Board): Mrs Elisabeth RehnChief Executive: Mr Timo Tanninen

FRANCE188, Rue de la Roquette75011 ParisTel: +33 1 55 25 84 84 Fax: +33 1 55 25 84 74President: Mr Daniel RichardChief Executive: Mr Cedric du Monceau

GERMANYPostfach 190 44060326 Frankfurt/MainTel: +49 69 79 14 40Fax: +49 69 61 72 21Chairperson: Mr Carl-Albrecht von TreuenfelsChief Executive: Dr Peter Prokosch

GREECE26 Filellinon Street, 105 58 AthensTel: +30 10 331 4893Fax: +30 10 324 7578 President: Mr Thymio PapayannisChief Executive: Mr Demetres Karavellas

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

HUNGARYNémetvölgyi út 78/b, 1124 BudapestTel: +36 1 214 5554/212 3041Fax: +36 1 212 9353Representative: Dr Ferenc Markus

INDIA172-B Lodi Road, New Delhi 110 003Tel: +91 11 469 17 60Fax: +91 11 462 6837President: Mr Jamshyd N GodrejChief Executive: Mr Ranjit C Nag, ad interim

INDOCHINAInternational PO Box 151Hanoi, VietnamTel: +84 4 733 8387Fax: +84 4 733 8388Representative: Mr Eric Coull

INDONESIAPO Box 5020 JKTM 12700, Jakarta Tel: +62 21 576 1070Fax: +62 21 576 1080 Chairperson: Mr Haroen Al RasjidChief Executive: Mr Agus Purnomo

ITALYVia Po 25/c, 00198 RomeTel: +39 06 844 9 71Fax: +39 06 853 00 612President: Mr Fulco PratesiChief Executive: Mr Michele Candotti

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

MACROECONOMICS FORSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT1250 24th St NW

Washington, DC 20037-1175Tel: +1 202 778 9752Fax: +1 202 293 9211Representative: Dr David Reed

MADAGASCARB.P. 738, Antananarivo 101Tel: +261 20 22 34885Fax: +261 20 22 34888Representative: Mr Jean-Paul Paddack

MALAYSIA49 Jalan SS23/15, 47400 Petaling Jaya , SelangorTel: +60 3 7803 3772Fax: +60 3 7803 5157Chairperson: YM Tengku Datuk Zainal AdlinChief Executive: Dato’ Dr Mikaail Kavanagh

MEDITERRANEANVia Po 25/c, 00198, Rome, ItalyTel: +39 06 844 97227Fax: +39 06 841 3866Representative: Mr Paolo Lombardi

MEXICOAve. Mexico No. 51, Col. HipodromoCondesa06170 Mexico, D.F. Tel: +525 286 5631/5634Fax: +525 286 5637Representative: Mr Miguel Jorge, ad interim

MONGOLIAc/o Hydrometeorological & EnvironmentalDorjgurhem, Monitoring Agency TuyachimegKhudaldaany Street 5, Ulaanbataar 46Tel: +976 11 311 659Fax: +976 11 310 237Representative: Ms Junain Chimeg

NEPALPost Box 7660, KathmanduTel: +977 1 410 942Fax: +977 1 438458Representative: Dr Chandra Prasad Gurung

WWF around the world


NETHERLANDSPostbus 7, 3700 AA Zeist Tel: +31 30 6937 333Fax: +31 30 6912 064Chairperson: Dr Hans WijersChief Executive: Mr Hans Voortman

NEW ZEALANDPO Box 6237, WellingtonTel: +64 4 499 2930Fax: +64 4 499 2954Chairperson: Mr Paul BoweChief Executive: Ms Jo Breese

NORWAYPostboks 6784, St Olavs plass, 0130 OsloTel: +47 22 03 65 00Fax: +47 22 20 06 66Chairperson (Board): Dr Jorgen RandersChief Executive: Mr Rasmus Hansson

PAKISTANPO Box 5180, Lahore 54600Tel: +92 42 586 2360Fax: +92 42 586 2358President: Brig Mukhtar AhmedChief Executive: Mr Ali Hassan Habib

PERUCasilla Postal 11-0205, Lima 11Tel: +51 1261 5300/5301Fax: +51 1463 4459Country Representative: Mr Edgar Maravi

PHILIPPINESLBI Building, # 57 Kalayaan AvenueDiliman, 1101 Quezon CityTel: +632 433 3220-21-22Fax: +632 426 3927Chairperson: Mr Jaime Zobel de AyalaChief Executive: Mr Jose Ma Lorenzo Tan

POLANDul. Kaliska 1 m. 9, 02-316 WarsawTel: +48 22 659 5540/659 2270Fax: +48 22 824 0053Representative: Mr Ireneusz Chojnacki

RUSSIAFrom Europe:WWF Russian Programme OfficeAccount No: WWF 232P.O. Box 289, WeybridgeSurrey KT 13 8WJ, UKFrom the US:WWF Russian Programme OfficeAccount No. WWF 232208 East 51st Street, Suite 295New York, NY 10022, USATel: +7 095 727 0939Fax: +7 095 727 0938Representative: Dr Igor Chestin

SOUTH AFRICAPrivate Bag X2, Die BoordStellenbosch 7613Tel: +27 21 888 2800Fax: +27 21 888 2888Chairperson: Mr Ton VoslooChief Executive: Mr Tony Frost

SOUTHERN AFRICAP.O. Box CY 1409, CausewayHarare, ZimbabweTel/Fax: +263 4 703902 Subregional Representative: Dr Harrison O Kojwang

SOUTH PACIFICPMB, GPO Suva, FijiTel: +679 331 5533Fax: +679 331 5410Representative: Mr Dermot O'Gorman

SPAINGran Vía de San Francisco 828005 MadridTel: +34 91 354 05 78Fax: +34 91 365 63 36President: Prof Dr Francisco Díaz PinedaChief Executive: Mr Juan Carlos del Olmo

SWEDENUlriksdals Slott, 170 81 SolnaTel: +46 8 624 74 00

Fax: +46 8 85 13 29Chairperson (Board): Dr Lennart AhlgrenChief Executive: Prof Lars Kristoferson

SWITZERLANDPostfach, 8010 Zürich Tel: +41 1 297 21 21Fax: +41 1 297 21 00President: Dr Hans HüssyChief Executive: Dr Christoph Imboden

TANZANIAPO Box 63117, Dar es SalaamTel: +255 22 27 00077Fax: +255 22 27 75535Representative: Dr Hermann Mwageni

THAILANDP.O. Box 4, Klong Luang 12120Tel: +66 2 524 6129Fax: +66 2 524 6134Representative: Dr Robert Mather

TURKEYP.K.971, Sirkeci 34436, IstanbulTel: +90 212 528 20 30Fax: +90 212 528 20 40President: Mr Okan TapanChief Executive: Mr Tansu Gurpinar

UNITED KINGDOMPanda House, Weyside ParkGodalming, Surrey GU7 1XRTel: +44 1483 426 444Fax: +44 1483 426 409Chairperson: The Honourable Mrs Sara MorrisonChief Executive: Mr Robert Napier

UNITED STATES1250 24th St. NW. Washington, D.C. 20037-1193Tel: +1 202 293 4800Fax: +1 202 293 9211Chairperson (Board): The Honorable William ReillyChief Executive: Ms Kathryn S Fuller

WESTERN AFRICA08 B.P. 1776, Abidjann 08, Côte d'IvoireTel: +225 22 44 87 86Fax: +225 22 44 87 74Subregional Representative: Mr Souleymane Zeba

WWF Associates

ARGENTINAFUNDACION VIDA SILVESTREARGENTINADefensa 251, 6° Piso, Dto.KC1065 Buenos AiresTel: +54 11 4343 4086 / 4331 3631Fax: +54 11 4331 3631 Ext. 24President: Dr Héctor LaurenceChief Executive: Mr Javier Corcuera

ECUADORFUNDACION NATURACasilla 17-01-253, QuitoTel: +593 2 2503 385Fax: +593 2 2503 385President: Ms Andrea MantillaChief Executive: Mr Xavier Bustamante

NIGERIANIGERIAN CONSERVATIONFOUNDATIONPO Box 74638, Victoria Island, LagosTel: +234 1 2642 498Fax: +234 1 2642 497President: Chief Isoma P C AsioduChief Executive: Dr Muhtari Aminu-Kano

VENEZUELAFUDENAApartado Postal 70376, Caracas 1071-ATel: +58 212 238 2930/1761/1793Fax: +58 212 239 6547President: Mr Enrique SanchezChief Executive: Mrs Deborah Bigio

2002/2003 wwf’s global conservation programme · those events threw into stark relief the...

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