Tuesday, October 5, 2010

World Wide Fund for Nature

WWF is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that is involved with protecting the environment. It has offices all over the world, including Canada. The organization was created in 1961 as a charitable trust in Switzerland. It later spread all over the world.

Mission: "Stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature." It plans to do this 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.
In the early 2000's, WWF scientists undertook a worldwide biodiversity study that was the first of its kind. They thoroughly analyzed 238 ecoregions. They looked at the risks that these regions were facing including toxic chemicals, pollution and endangered species. Subsequent to this major study, conservation measures were proposed to preserve forest, freshwater and marine habitats.

Major WWF Achievements

1. Cuba
Jardines de la Reina

In 1999, WWF was instrumental in getting Fidel Castro to sign the Ramsas global wetlands treaty. This identified Jardines de la Reina as a national park. This resulted in preserving this beautiful region of Cuba, rich in biodiversity and natural beauty. Furthermore, it identified the marine turtle as an endangered species hence banning its harvesting.

2. Canada
Nunavut

Niginganiq is a large area in Nunavut that WWF has identified as a National Wildlife Area. In doing so, endangered species such as the bowhead whale and the polar bear are protected.


Largest Land Withdrawal for Protection Ever in Canada

WWF helped the local First Nations people to pressure the government of Canada to identify the Mackenzie River Basin in the North West Territories as a protected area. This prevents industrialization and deforestation of the area.

Protection for Seabirds

WWF efforts and lobbying led to the government's passing Bill C-15. This prevents ship owners from dumping oil and other toxic chemicals in our lakes. This results in saving thousands of seabirds yearly.

Banning the Hunting of Wolves

WWF was able to persuade the Ontario government to pass a bill permanently banning the hunting of wolves Algonquin Park.


My Opinion

I think that all of WWF's achievements are amazing. By accomplishing all of these projects, they have saved countless animals and plants from destruction or extinction. The efforts of WWF are definitely an example of a positive human influence on the environment. Hopefully, these tasks will raise awareness and encourage more people to be careful of their effect on the environment. 

References
  • "Conservation Successes." WWF.ca. World Wide Fund for Nature. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. 
  • ec.gc.ca.  Environment Canada. Web. 28 Sept. 2010.
  • greenpeace.org. Greenpeace International. Web. 28 Sept. 2010.
  • iucn.org. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Web. 28 Sept. 2010.
  • cbc.ca/news. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 28 Sept. 2010.
Blogs I Commented On

2 comments:

  1. Hi Amanda!

    I like how you focused and pinpointed the positives that humans are doing to protect biodiversity. These days people, and by people I mean the media, tend never to focus on what we do good, rather they try to always find the fault in us for the reason why everything is the way it is. The detail and background of the organization I thought you noted well and examples of how the organization is making a difference were also given.
    I think you should have mentioned the negative that does go on, and the perspective that most of us come in with before reading your blog, that way you can persuade us to believe that your point is true, that humans really do also positively affect the environment with your blog entry. I also think you could of maybe added more visuals such as videos to make it more interactive.

    Terrence Santhakumar
    SBI 3U1/06
    Ms. Saran
    TA: 57

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  2. I have heard a lot about WWF but I never knew that they had accomplished so many amazing tasks. I like how you described each project and talked about how many animals they saved. It's terrible to hear about the horrors happening to our wildlife and the face that WWF is doing something about it is comforting.

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