The
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
is an
international
non-governmental
organization
for the
conservation,
research
and
restoration
of the
natural
environment,
formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains
its official name in the
United
States
and
Canada.
It is the world's largest independent conservation
organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide,
working in more than 90 countries, supporting 15,000
conservation and environmental projects around the
world. It is a charity, with approximately 90% of its
funding coming from voluntary donations by private
individuals and businesses.
The group
says its mission is "to halt and reverse the destruction
of our natural environment".
Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation
of three
biomes
that contain most of the world's
biodiversity:
forests,
freshwater
ecosystems, and
oceans
and
coasts.
Among other issues, it is also concerned with
endangered
species,
pollution
and
climate
change.
The organization runs more than 1,200 field projects
worldwide in any given year. |