World Wide Fund for Nature

For more than 45 years, WWF has been protecting the future of nature For more than 45 years, WWF has been protecting the future of nature. The world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally.

Mission WWF's mission is the conservation of nature. Using the best available scientific knowledge and advancing that knowledge where they can, they work to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth and the health of ecological systems by protecting natural areas and wild populations of plants and animals, including endangered species; promoting sustainable approaches to the use of renewable natural resources; and promoting more efficient use of resources and energy and the maximum reduction of pollution. 

Goal By 2020 WWF will conserve 19 of the world's most important natural places and significantly change global markets to protect the future of nature.

History The organization was formed on September 11, 1961, in Morges, Switzerland, under the name World Wildlife Fund. It was an initiative of Julian Huxley and Max Nicholson, who had thirty years experience of linking progressive intellectuals with big business interests through the Political and Economic Planning think tank.

Carter S. Roberts - 2005–Present Public meeting at The Royal Society of Arts in London, 1961. The speaker is Sir Julian Huxley. © WWF-Canon / WWF Intl. Presidents and Terms Ira N. Gabrielson - 1962–1971 C. R. Gutermuth - 1972–1973 Francis L. Kellogg - 1973–1977 Russell E. Train - 1978–1985 William K. Reilly - 1985–1989 Kathryn S. Fuller - 1989–2005 Carter S. Roberts - 2005–Present

Saving 19 priority places Amazon Amur-Heilong Arctic Borneo and Sumatra Chihuahuan Desert Coastal East Africa Congo Basin Coral Triangle Eastern Himalayas Galapagos Gulf of California Madagascar Mekong Mesoamerican Reef Namibia Northern Great Plains U.S. Southeast Rivers and Streams Southern Chile Yangtze These 19 spectacular places include the world's largest and most intact tropical rain forests, the most diverse freshwater systems, the most varied coral reefs, the most biologically significant deserts, and the most productive fishing grounds.

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