.

WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE

HUMAN IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

THE PANDA HAS BECOME THE SYMBOL OF WWF

Our mission is to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature

WWF an international organization

established in 1961 to raise funds for projects including the conservation of endangered species or of

valuable habitats. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.

The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. It is the world's largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300 conservation and environmental projects.

The group says itsmission is: "to halt and reverse the destruction of our environment". Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world's biodiversity: forests, freshwater ecosystems, oceans and coasts. Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, pollution andclimate change.

WWF has set up offices and operations around the world. It originally worked by fundraising and providing grants to existing non-governmental organizations, based on the best-available scientific knowledge and with an initial focus on the protection of endangered species. As more resources became available, its operations expanded into other areas such as the preservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of natural resources, the reduction of pollution, and climate change. The organization also began to run its own conservation projects and campaigns, and by the 1980s started to take a more strategic approach to its conservation activities.

In the 1990s, WWF revised its mission to: “Stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by:• conserving the world's biological diversity• ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable• promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.”

We shan't save all we should like to, but we shall save a great deal more than if we had never tried. — Sir Peter Scott 

WWF scientists and many others identified 238 ecoregions that represent the world's most biologically outstanding terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, based on a worldwide biodiversity analysis which the organization says was the first of its kind.

In the early 2000s (decade), its work was focused on a subset of these ecoregions, in the areas of forest, freshwater and marine habitat conservation, endangered species conservation, climate change, and the elimination of the most toxic chemicals.

CURRENT CONSERVATION APPROACH

WWF's current strategy for achieving its mission specifically focuses on restoring populations of 36 species (species or species groups that are important for their ecosystem or to people, including elephants, tunas, whales, dolphins and porpoises), and ecological footprint in 6 areas (carbon emissions, cropland, grazing land, fishing, forestry and water).

WWF works with a large number of different groups to achieve its goals, including other NGOs, governments, business, investment banks, scientists, fishers, farmers and local communities. It also undertakes public campaigns to influence decision makers, and seeks to educate people on how to live in a more environmentally friendly manner.

Match the vocabulary words on the left with the definitions on the right: 1. Extinct

2. Pollution

3.Endangered species

4.Greenhouse effect

5. Poacher

6. Conservation

7. Habitat

8. Biosphere

a) A specific habitation place where an animal lives

b) A person who trespasses, usually to hunt or fish illegally

c)When something is completely gone and doesn’t return

d) A specific species that is at risk for extinction due to natural and human forces

e)The process or act of contaminating

f) an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere

g)The area that surrounds the earth that may support life

h) The act of preserving; to keep from being used up or lost

CHECK YOURSELF1. Extinct

2. Pollution

3. Endangered species

4. Greenhouse effect

5. Poacher

6. Conservation

7. Habitat

8. Biosphere

When something is completely gone and

doesn’t return

The process or act of contaminating

A specific species that is at risk for extinction

due to natural and human forcesAn increase in the amount of carbon dioxideand other gases in the atmosphereA person who trespasses, usually to

hunt or fishIllegallyThe act of preserving; to keep from

being usedup or lost A specific habitation place where an

animallivesThe area that surrounds the earth that

maysupport life