World Wildlife Fund Canada

Founded in 1967, World Wildlife Fund Canada has become one of the country's leading conservation organizations, enjoying the active support of more than 50,000 Canadians. As a member of the WWF International network, we actively contribute to the achievement of the organization's 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

WWF Canada's 2000 - 2005 Conservation Program is tackling some of the most daunting conservation challenges facing the country, as well as the broader international community. Our energies are directed to completing a national network of marine protected areas, safeguarding the Arctic, supporting leading-edge research to protect Canadian wildlife and habitats, addressing priority conservation concerns for North America, and protecting Cuban wildlife and habitats.

WWF employs a range of tools to achieve its conservation results. These include field research, scientific mapping, policy initiatives, market solutions and public education. WWF works closely with local communities and others who share the common goal of protecting the natural world.

WWF's conservation results include the protection of 96 million acres of Canadian wilderness through the Endangered Spaces Campaign; the development and implementation of recovery plans for a number of species, including the St. Lawrence beluga whale and the right whale; the banning of carbofuran, a grasshopper spray implicated in the decline of the burrowing owl; and the protection of thousands of acres of tropical forests throughout Latin America.

With almost five million regular supporters and with a network of 27 national organizations, 22 program offices and five associate organizations, WWF is the world's largest independent conservation organization dedicated to the conservation of nature.

In carrying out its work, WWF cooperates with many partners, including governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and individuals.

WWF concentrates its conservation efforts on three areas on which the majority of life depends: forests, fresh water, and oceans and coasts. In addition, WWF works to reduce global emissions of the greenhouse gases which are changing the world's climate and threatening our very survival.

To further focus its efforts, WWF has identified some 200 ecoregions that it considers the most representative of the world's major habitat types. Dubbed the Global 200, these range from the wetlands of the Florida Everglades to the unique environments of Madagascar, and from the rainforests of the Amazon to the Pacific coral reefs.

In the field, WWF carries out science-based projects in almost 100 countries, working alongside local communities, as well as regional and national governments to find practical solutions to conservation problems large and small. And to make sure that the results are long lasting, WWF plays a leading role in ensuring that environmental issues are integrated into international conventions.

WWF International, based in Switzerland, leads and coordinates the WWF network. It develops shared policies and standards; fosters partnerships around the world with other international organizations, governments, and businesses; and coordinates WWF's international conservation program.