focus

JULY/AUGUST 2008 • VOLUME 30, NUMBER 4

Catch the Wave
WWF Launches
Marine Campaign
A healthy planet depends
on healthy oceans — from
coral reef communities that
sustain thousands of species
to coastal waters that feed
millions. But our oceans and
the lives they sustain are
jeopardized by the combined
stresses of overfishing,
wildlife trade,
pollution
and climate
change.
From the
cold waters
of the Bering
Sea to the
reefs of the
Coral Triangle, WWF is working to reverse these alarming
global trends and protect the
world’s most extraordinary
places of ocean diversity.
Visit wwfwaveforward.org
to learn about WWF’s Wave
Forward marine campaign,
an interactive site where you
can talk with WWF marine
experts, learn how to shop
for sustainable seafood,
download lesson plans, play
interactive fish games, share
your favorite marine photos —
and much more!

Living in Harmony
with Nature P4

WORLDWILDLIFE.ORG

A Promising Future for
Rhinos in Nepal’s Chitwan Park
Operation Unicornis
a Success, But Threats
Remain

More rhino news.
Page 3

WHERE DID THEY GO?
Poaching Decimates Rhinos in Nepal’s Bardia Park

© WWF-Canon/Michel Gunther

MEMBER NEWS

FEATURE

WWF is expanding the successful
Operation Unicornis to Bardia
National Park, which continues to
be a hot spot for poaching.

© WWF-Canon/Michel Gunther

As Operation Unicornis clamped down in Chitwan, Bardia
National Park became a vulnerable target for poaching. Conservationists found only 22 rhinos
during a spring survey, nine fewer than a year ago. A survey is needed in India to confirm
if a few rhinos migrated from Bardia to Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India through
the Kahata forest corridor.
“It still won’t add up because WWF helped translocate 83 rhinos from Chitwan to
Bardia between 1996 and 2003,” says Shubash Lohani, senior program officer in WWF’s
Eastern Himalayas program. “We should have found over 200 rhinos in Bardia and this
enormous gap is almost certainly the result of rampant poaching.”
WWF hopes to expand Operation Unicornis to Bardia
There are incentives for local
communities to protect rhinos:
this year. “Rooting out poaching in Bardia is not going
They receive 50 percent of park
to be easy,” Lohani says. “But WWF is committed to
revenues.
making Operation Unicornis as successful in Bardia as
it was in Chitwan.”

Operation Unicornis, an
intensive campaign led by
WWF and our partners, has
resulted in an increase in numbers for critically endangered
one-horned rhinos in Nepal’s
famed Chitwan National Park.
Thanks to concentrated protection efforts, massive community
mobilization and risky undercover investigations, the rhino
population in Chitwan has
grown to over 408, up from
372 in 2005.
Poaching in Chitwan had
increased dramatically since
the late 1990s. At the peak of
the Maoist armed conflict in
2002, 38 rhinos were poached
in and around Chitwan.
Unfortunately, the return of
peace did not bring an end to
violence against rhinos: 13
rhinos were killed in 2005 and
another 20 were lost in 2006,
all to meet a voracious demand
for rhino horn.
“We knew in 2006 that we
had to change our game plan
and pull out all the stops to halt
poaching if we were going to
save the rhinos in Chitwan,”
says Tom Dillon, WWF’s senior
vice president for field programs, who writes about
Operation Unicornis in WWF’s
Spring Report 08.
Taking action, WWF first
studied the location and timing
of poaching incidents in 2005
and 2006 and found that most
of the poaching occurred at
the edges of the park and in
the buffer zones and national
forests beyond the edges—
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 ➤

U.S. Interior Lists Polar Bears as Endangered

IN THIS ISSUE:

Take Action 2

Interior Department list polar
bears as threatened under the
ESA. The department was
legally required to issue a formal decision on the listing by
January 9, 2008, but failed to
do so. In April, a U.S. District
Court ordered Interior to issue
a formal decision by May 15.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 ➤
© Steven Morello

After months of delay, in May
the U.S. Interior Department
listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act. Warming temperatures are causing Arctic sea ice
to melt earlier and form later,
threatening the bear’s survival.
More than 16,000 WWF supporters spoke out for the polar
bear during the comment period

on the listing. “The decision is
a victory not only for the polar
bear, but for sound science,”
says Margaret Williams, managing director of WWF’s Bering
Sea program. “The survival of
the polar bear is inextricably
tied to its Arctic sea ice habitat, which is melting more
rapidly than at any other time
on record.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service recommended in
September 2006 that the

Confirms Bears in Peril
from Climate Change

Over 16,000 WWF activists spoke out
in support of listing the polar bear
under the Endangered Species Act.

Species Spotlight 2

Conservation News 3

Travel 7

 2 • JULY/AUGUST 2008

FOCUS

President’s Message

TAKE ACTION

Wild Cats and Dogs Need Your Help

Track WWF’s Work Around the Globe

WWF’s new interactive map highlights our projects around the globe.

WWF’s new website, which launched in April, features an
interactive map that gives viewers quick and easy access to our
conservation work and results around the globe.
By clicking on the interactive globe at the top of each page, you
can view WWF’s network presence, marine priority places,
terrestrial and freshwater priority places, and climate adaptation
projects. Drill down into each project place for an overview of
WWF’s in-the-field work, and see images of the place, the species,
and the people living and working to achieve conservation goals
around the world. www.worldwildlife.org

President
Carter S. Roberts
Editor
Jennifer Seeger
Contributors
Sarah Janicke, Mike Kite,
Elissa Poma, Debra Prybyla,
Diane Querey
Copy Editor
Alice Taylor
Production
Lee Freedman
Member Services
Phone: 800-960-0993
Email: membership@wwfus.org

World Wildlife Fund
1250 24th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-293-4800
worldwildlife.org

July/August
Volume 30 Number 4
World Wildlife Fund is the leading
U.S. organization working worldwide to preserve the abundance
and diversity of life on Earth.
WWF is affiliated with the international WWF Network, which has
representatives in more than 50
countries and an international
office in Gland, Switzerland. All
contributions are tax-deductible.
Unless otherwise noted, material
appearing in FOCUS is copyrighted and may be reproduced
with permission.
Volume 30, Number 4
(ISSN 0774-3315)
FOCUS is published bimonthly by
World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th
Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
20037. Annual membership dues
are $15.00. Nonprofit postage
paid at Washington, D.C. and
additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to: FOCUS, World
Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th Street,
NW, P.O. Box 97180, NW,
Washington, DC 20090-7180.

© Sam Kittner

W

’’

Carter S. Roberts

species SPOTLIGHT
Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros
(Rhinoceros unicornis)
Greater one-horned, or Indian, rhinos have
a single black horn and their grey-brown skin
has folds that give them an armor-plated
appearance. Populations have declined
dramatically since the beginning of the 20th
century as a result of poaching and encroaching
human populations. Today, the rhinos live mainly
in a few small parks in India and in Nepal’s
Chitwan and Bardia national parks.
In Nepal, where populations were severely
affected by the Maoist insurgency and now face
a surge in poaching activity, WWF is supporting
critical antipoaching efforts to ensure rhinos
remain in Nepal’s parks. We are also working
with local communities to enable them to benefit
economically from the presence of rhinos
(see page 1).
Habitat: Bhutan, Nepal and India
Diet: Grass, leaves, fruit and branches
Threats: Poaching and human encroachment
Interesting Fact: They have poor vision and
cannot see a non-moving animal 100 feet away.
Help save the rhinos and other threatened species and their habitats!
Visit worldwildlife.org/adopt to symbolically adopt a rhino. Your donation will be used in
general support of WWF’s conservation efforts around the world.

© WWF-Canon/Kevin Schafer

are also extremely vulnerable.
They need your help to
overcome the serious threats
they face from illegal hunting,
habitat loss, disease, and many
other factors. At current rates of
loss, many of the world’s
species of wild cats could
become extinct in the next 25
years. Wild canines are
declining just as quickly.
To take action, go to WWF’s
Conservation Action Network at
wwf.worldwildlife.org/action.

‘‘

…we succeed only

ith Namibia’s
when we have empowered
dramatic red
local communities to care
rock plains and
for their own natural
mountains as our backdrop, I met
Lena Florry, a gregarious woman who
resources…
grew up herding goats and rose through the ranks to
become the first woman in Namibia to manage a tourist tent lodge — no small accomplishment for a poor, rural Namibian woman.
For more than a decade she has managed Damaraland Camp, which is part of the Torra
Conservancy, one of the first community wildlife conservancies of its kind. Since the early
1990s, WWF has partnered with the government of Namibia to help villages throughout the
country organize conservancies, empowering them to manage wildlife and other natural
resources to generate income and employment for the local community.
As we sat around a campfire under the starry Namibian sky, Lena and other local leaders of
the Torra Conservancy shared stories of having money for the first time to build community
resource centers for the elderly, make physical improvements to the local school and enhance
health care services. All of this is a result of improved governance and management practices
that are enabling communities to make money while being good stewards
of the environment. Once wildlife became valuable and poaching was no
longer socially acceptable, populations of lions, cheetahs, black rhinos,
zebras and other native species began climbing in number.
In the great majority of places in which we work, people live in or near
vast, biologically rich areas that are open to outside interests to exploit.
Such expanses of intact habitat infer value that is fundamental to the
livelihood and well-being not only of local communities, but also of
humanity at large. Unfragmented forests help mitigate the effects of
global warming. Healthy coral reefs serve as nurseries for commercial
Lena Florry
fish. Intact river systems provide sources of energy and drinking water.
Whether in Namibia, Nepal’s Terai Arc, Peru’s Amazon or the Arctic, our best work delivers
not only measurable conservation results for the species we care about, but also measurable
benefits for the people who live there. Indeed, we succeed only when we have empowered
local communities to care for their own natural resources, which pays dividends for future
generations and the health of the planet itself.
Listening to Lena talk about how the conservancy has changed her life, and that of her
community, inspired all of us who sat around the campfire that night. It brought to life the value
of healthy, intact landscapes in the lives of the people who live on — and from — the land.

© WWF/Jan Vertefeuille

Two young Ethiopian wolves

WORLDWILDLIFE.ORG

focus

Empowering People to
Become Stewards of Nature

© WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

A bill to protect lions, jaguars,
cheetahs, leopards, African wild
dogs, Ethiopian wolves and
other imperiled wild cats and
canids has gained momentum
in Congress, but needs more
support to get enacted into law.
Modeled on highly successful
conservation programs for
elephants, rhinos, tigers, great
apes, sea turtles and
neotropical migratory birds, the
Great Cats and Rare Canids Act
(H.R. 1464/S. 1033) would
establish programs to protect
more of the world’s most
endangered and iconic species.
Thousands of WWF activists
have spoken out in support of
this measure over the past two
years, with great results.
Eighty-eight representatives
and four senators have joined
as cosponsors. A House
subcommittee held a hearing
on the bill last fall, at which Dr.
Eric Dinerstein, WWF’s chief
scientist, testified. The House
Natural Resources Committee
passed the bill in April.
Wild cats and canids may be
fierce and powerful, but they

 FOCUS

JULY/AUGUST 2008 • 3

conservation NEWS
CLOSE-UP: RHINOS

A Decade of Success for African Rhinos

© WWF-Canon/Michel Gunther

Black, White Rhino
Populations Increasing

WWF Relocates Indian
Rhinos to a Better Future

Two critically endangered
male Asian rhinos were moved
in April to northeast India’s
Manas National Park, a former
battleground in a protracted
insurgent war. The event
marked the launch of an
ambitious conservation project
to build a viable population of
3,000 rhinos distributed over
7 protected areas by 2020.
Local residents celebrated
the translocation, which was
organized by WWF-India and
the government of the State of
Assam. A decade ago, they
saw the rhinos disappear
during a 20-year period of
civil unrest that destroyed

Ten years after starting
WWF’s African Rhino program,
our conservation investments
are paying off: there are 14,500
white rhinos and nearly 4,000
of the far more endangered
black rhinos.
Africa’s savannas once
teemed with more than 1 million
white and black rhinos, but
relentless hunting by European
settlers caused populations and
distributions to quickly decline.

champions” at Pongola Game
Reserve in KwaZulu Natal.
Among the honorees recognized for their tireless dedication to rhino conservation were
Dr. Jacques Flammand, project
leader WWF/Ezemvelo KZN
Wildlife Black Rhino Range
Expansion Project, and Taye
Teferi, conservation director
of World Wildlife Fund’s East
Africa Regional Program.
Thanks to successful conservation
efforts, today there are 14,500 white
rhinos in Africa, up from 8,466 a
decade ago.

infrastructure in Manas and
allowed poachers free rein.
The rhinos are being moved
from nearby Pobitora Wildlife
Sanctuary, where 80 rhinos live
in less than 7 square miles.
Pobitora has the world’s highest
density of rhinos thanks to
antipoaching legislation and
active community engagement.
Conservationists hope the
translocation will reduce
pressure in Pobitora for food
and space, and reduce the
number of incidences of rhinos
straying into nearby villages.
Prior to the translocation,
significant steps were taken to
improve the infrastructure of
Manas National Park, which is
a Project Tiger site and a
UNESCO-designated World
Heritage site.

© WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

Launches Ambitious
Project to Increase
Rhino Population

In 1997, there were 8,466 white
rhinos and 2,599 black rhinos
remaining in the wild. Today,
most of Africa’s black rhinos are
found in South Africa, Namibia,
Kenya and Zimbabwe, where
populations are increasing
thanks to effective security
monitoring, better biological
management, wildlife-based
tourism and extensive assistance that enables communities
to benefit from wildlife.
To celebrate a decade of
successful rhino conservation,
WWF honored seven “rhino

SCIENCE UPDATE
Did the Sultan Save
the Pygmy Elephant?

Scientists Map Earth’s Freshwater Biodiversity
Create First Comprehensive Map and Database

Freshwater ecosystems, which
harbor nearly 6 percent of the
world’s known species, are among
the world’s most endangered.

The Borneo pygmy elephant may be a descendant of the
Javan elephant, accidentally saved from extinction by the Sultan
of Sulu centuries ago. New research coauthored by WWF and
published in April supports a long-held local belief that the elephants were brought to Borneo centuries ago by the Sultan of
Sulu and abandoned in the jungle. Javan elephants became
extinct sometime in the period after Europeans arrived in
Southeast Asia.
“It’s exciting to consider
that the forest-dwelling
Borneo elephants may be
the last vestiges of a subspecies that went extinct
on its native Java Island in
Indonesia centuries ago,”
says Shim Phyau Soon, a
retired Malaysian forester
whose ideas on the origins
of the elephants partly
inspired the current research.
If the Borneo pygmy elephants are from Java, an
New research suggests pygmy
elephants were brought to Borneo
island more than 800 miles
centuries ago by the Sultan of Sulu
south of their current range,
and abandoned in the jungle.
they could represent the first
known elephant translocation in history that has survived to
modern times. As such, they could provide scientists with
critical data from a centuries-long experiment. The elephants’
possible origins in Java make their conservation even more
of a priority.
“If they came from Java, this fascinating story demonstrates
the value of efforts to save even small populations of certain
species, often thought to be doomed,” says Dr. Christy Williams,
coordinator of WWF’s Asian elephant and rhino program.
© A. Christy Williams/WWF-Canon

WWF and The Nature Conservancy
brought together 200 leading freshwater
scientists to create a comprehensive map
and database of the planet’s freshwater
ecoregions — 426 in total. Freshwater
Ecoregions of the World (FEOW) —
feow.org— is a culmination of 10 years
of work mapping patterns of global
freshwater biodiversity.
Freshwater ecosystems occupy only 0.8
percent of the Earth’s surface, but harbor
nearly 6 percent of all known species. Yet,
freshwater species and habitats are among
the world’s most endangered. Covering all freshwater habitats on
the planet, the interactive maps on feow.org will be useful for
underpinning global and regional priority-setting efforts, serving as
a framework for broad-scale conservation planning, and providing
a global-scale knowledge base for increasing freshwater literacy.

© WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

© FEOW

Article Suggests It Descends from Java

 4 • JULY/AUGUST 2008

FOCUS

THE

LEARN MORE about WWF’s community
conservation projects—and how you can
support them! worldwildlife.org/communities

Human Face
OF

Conservation

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES:
NATURAL CONSERVATIONISTS
Working to Sustain Nature, Cultures and Livelihoods

Living in Harmony with Nature

© WWF/Aldo Soto

Indigenous peoples often live in the biologically richest —
and most threatened— places on Earth.
In the Peruvian Amazon, overfishing by commercial fishermen in Lake Rimachi in the Pasataza River led to declines
in fish populations, affecting the
Candoshi indigenous communities
who depend mainly on fisheries for
their livelihoods. WWF partnered
with representatives of
28 Candoshi communities to
provide funding, training and assistance to implement an indigenous
fisheries management plan, reduc- WWF was the first international
conservation organization to
ing overfishing and promoting
create a policy guiding our
healthy fish populations for sustain- work that recognizes the
rights of indigenous peoples.
able local use. WWF is also supporting efforts to improve livelihoods in the communities by
linking them directly to markets to sell their fish, so that they
avoid middlemen and take home more of the income earned
from fish sales. WWF is using this project as a model of innovative aquatic resource regulation by indigenous communities in
other areas of the Peruvian Amazon.
REDUCING POPULATION PRESSURE

In Nepal, where deforestation is a major issue, WWF is helping local communities cut firewood use through biogas and fuel-efficent stoves, which greatly
reduce womens’ work. Cattle prevent regeneration of forests, so communities are taking cattle out of the forests and keeping a smaller number near
their homes where they provide milk, improving children’s nutrition and
boosting family income through milk sales. And regenerating forests provide
many environmental services including income from natural resources and
protection against landslides.

© WWF/Nate Johnson

© WWF-Canon/Michel Gunther

rom the coasts of East Africa to the mountains of Nepal to the
forests of the Peruvian Amazon, WWF is working to protect
the world’s most spectacular wildlife and the habitats in which they live.
These intact ecosystems also hold great value to people, from sustaining clean water, to
sequestering carbon, to supporting local economies and putting food on the table. “The health
of our planet is inextricably linked to the health of people,” explains Judy Oglethorpe, director of
WWF’s Community Conservation program. “Healthy, intact forests, for example, act as sponges,
helping to reduce flooding and maintain clean water supplies.”
But while local communities and indigenous peoples have always been nature’s most important
stewards, today they face growing challenges, including outside competition for land and resources,
conflict with wildlife and a growing human population. And in many developing countries, they often
lack economic opportunities and have limited access to social services.
For decades, WWF has understood that the only way conservation works is to take into account
the needs of both nature and people. “Successful conservation depends on collaboration with the
people who live in the places in which we work, in keeping with their rights and interests,” says
Jenny Springer, director for WWF’s Livelihoods and Governance program. “By taking their needs
into account, we build a foundation for the larger conservation effort.”
Our efforts to weave local people into our conservation work are paying off. “When we sit down with
community members,” Oglethorpe explains, “they tell us how their lives have changed — how they’re
able to take care of their families, get out of poverty and make
important decisions about their environment. It’s incredibly
inspiring and we will continue to expand our projects.”

© WWF-Canon/© Philipp Goeltenboth

F

WWF is partnering with health organizations, USAID and
Johnson & Johnson to reduce population pressures on nature,
including bringing family
planning and basic
health services to some
of the most remote,
underserved, insecure
and traditional communities in the world. “It’s really difficult for women living in remote regions to
have access to modern
family planning and
basic health care,” says
WWF’s Cara Honzak,
In Nepal, WWF and our partners helped to
establish a health clinic and trained
senior program officer
community volunteers as family planning
for Population, Health
peer educators, commodity distributors
and Environment.
and first-aid responders.
“Before the projects
started, many women had to travel overnight to the nearest
health center, which is often expensive, dangerous or impossible because of childcare.”
In the Khata corridor of Nepal’s Terai Arc Landscape, which
sits below the foothills of the Himalayas, WWF is working with
local communities to improve access to family planning,
enabling couples to choose the timing and size of their families.
This improves the health and welfare of women and children,
gives children better educational opportunities and slows
pressure on forests from
an expanding population.

© WWF-Canon/Helena Teukanranta

Providing Access to Family Planning and Health Care

CONSERVATION LEADS TO FOOD SECURITY

In Coastal East Africa, where
mangroves were dying and
industrial trawlers were overfishing and destroying the sea
grass beds, the local fishermen
who depend on fish stocks for
their livelihoods were unable to
bring home enough catch to
feed their own families.
Working with local communities and the government of
Mozambique, WWF helped to
establish Quirimbas National
Park—the largest marine

protected area in the Indian
Ocean. We supported local
fishermen in setting aside “fish
replenishment zones” — fish notake zones in critical areas of the
park where fishing is banned —
and fish populations expanded
rapidly. Fishermen have seen
dramatic increases in the size of
individual fish and in their overall
catch outside these zones—and
in their earnings. The bloated
bellies of malnourished young
children are disappearing.

WWF partnered with the Mozambican
and U.S. governments to respond to
rising conflicts between local communities and illegal industrial fishing
vessels over declining fish stocks.
We helped improve enforcement in
marine protected areas, aided by
patrol boats donated from India,
France and South Africa. With financing from the U.S. Embassy, the boats
were overhauled and equipped. The
patrolling helps prevent illegal fishing
and reduce conflict. The result:
improved management of fisheries is
increasing food security for local people and contributing to lasting peace.

© WWF/Nate Johnson

In Mozambique, Healthy Fish Stocks Mean Healthier Children

 FOCUS

JULY/AUGUST 2008 • 5

HIV/AIDS in Africa

Creating a Brighter Future

Destroying Lives, Impacting Biodiversity

WWF’s Education Program Empowers Girls

© WWF/Nate Johnson

people are harvesting, often
not knowing how to do this
sustainably, and the plants are
disappearing in many areas.”
In Namibia, which has one of
the highest rates of HIV in the
world, WWF belongs to an
association which is raising
awareness about HIV/AIDS and
promoting prevention, testing,
treatment and care for local
communities in some of the
most remote and underserved
parts of the country. The
HIV/AIDS program works
through the communal conservancy structures to get
HIV/AIDS messages to people
in ways that they understand,
and provide support to AIDSaffected people from revenues
generated through natural
resource use.

Beyond East Africa, WWF has provided education to girls in the Eastern
Himalayas, Madagascar’s Spiny Forest and the Philippines’ Turtle Islands.

In 1982, Zahra Shahib’s village near Kenya’s Kiunga
Marine National Reserve was
ambushed by Somali bandits,
forcing her family to move to a
nearby island with few
resources. It was there, however, that Zahra excelled in
school. But her parents couldn’t
afford to send her on to secondary school. Thanks to WWF’s
Girls Education Program, Zahra
was able to continue her education and become an environmental ambassador for the
marine reserve, receiving handson experience on turtle, coral
and mangrove conservation.
WWF launched the Girls’
Education Program in 1997 to
provide girls from poor families
living in areas of high biodiver-

In Namibia, community theater is an
effective way to communicate
HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention
messages along with natural
resource management education.

CREATING INCENTIVES TO CONSERVE
Empowering Communities to Manage Their Natural Resources
During decades of colonial rule and apartheid, the people of Namibia received limited benefits
from wildlife and had little incentive to conserve it. Widespread poaching and habitat loss pushed
wildlife populations to historic lows.
But since achieving independence in 1990, Namibia has become a model for communitybased natural resource management thanks to
the national Communal Conservancies program,
which has received extensive support from
WWF’s LIFE Project (Living in a Finite
Environment), with funding from USAID. With
support from WWF and other partners, villages
across Namibia are organizing conservancies to
sustainably manage their resources. Proceeds
from activities like ecotourism and closely regulated sport hunting are going back to the communities as wages and investments in health care
and schooling.
Over the last 15 years, the WWF-supported LIFE
Communities now value the wildlife and are setProject has helped Namibian partner organizations
ting
aside large tracts of land for wildlife manageform 50 communal conservancies with many more in
development. In most conservancies, women hold the
ment. As a result, poaching is no longer socially
highly coveted position of treasurer, which raises
acceptable and populations of lion, cheetah,
their status within their communities.
black rhino, zebra and other native species are
being restored. Lives are improving, too, thanks to more than
$5.5 million in annual income the conservancies generate for
the communities.
“These programs work because they give people benefits and
incentives to protect wildlife,” explains Chris Weaver, WWF’s field
director for the LIFE program in Namibia. “When communities
can earn as much — or more — by conserving wild land as they
can by burning and planting it, potential conflicts can be turned
into win-win solutions for both people and wildlife.”

sity with a basic education
and the knowledge needed to
become active stewards of
natural resources.
Today, Zahra is a teacher in
Lamu, Kenya, and brings environmental messages into the
subjects she teaches. She is an
inspiring role model for girls. “I
realize that girls can do anything they want,” she says.
“This is the message that I want
to spread to aspiring youth.”

© WWF

with the disease, they need to
find an alternative livelihood,
which many times means selling firewood or going fishing,”
WWF’s Oglethorpe explains.
“Many people are also using
medicinal plants to treat the
side effects of AIDS. This growing market means that more

© WWF/Judy Oglethorpe

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is
ravaging Africa, destroying
lives and devastating families
and communities. It’s also
impacting the continent’s biodiversity, affecting both conservation capacity and the use of
natural resources. “If a family’s
main breadwinner is stricken

© WWF/John E. Newby

© WWF-Canon/Helena Teukanranta

© WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

Zahra Shahib

In Cameroon and Nepal, WWF is working with local communities to improve
water supplies and sanitation. New latrines are being built in many needy
households to reduce disease. In Nepal, latrines power biogas stoves in the
kitchen, reducing chest infections from smoke in women and children.

ADAPTING TO A CHANGING CLIMATE

© WWF-Canon/Cat Holloway

People around the world are
experiencing impacts from climate
change, but those living in the
developing world are particularly
vulnerable. In Fiji, where fishing,
tourism and agriculture dominate the
economy, WWF is working with local
communities, the government of Fiji
and other NGOs to raise awareness
about climate change and support
communities to build resilience. This
includes protecting coral reefs from
pollution and overfishing to give
them the best chance of adapting to
climate change, and training
community members in monitoring
techniques to track the extent of
coral bleaching. Communities are
restoring mangroveso for storm
surge protection, and establishing
alternative water sources when
previous sources become saline.

© WWF-Canon/Cat Holloway

Helping Communities Build Resilience

 6 • JULY/AUGUST 2008

FOCUS

marketing PARTNERSHIPS

World Turns Out Lights for WWF’s Earth Hour

Pure & Natural

Thirty-six million Americans
and millions of others around
the world turned off their lights
for one hour on March 29 in an
unprecedented global event
to raise awareness about the
need to take action on climate
change. From Sydney’s Opera
House to Rome’s Coliseum to
Bangkok’s Wat Arun Buddhist
temple, the world’s most iconic
landmarks were darkened.
People in over 35 countries
participated in Earth Hour, as did
residents of some of Earth’s
most remote places, like the

Some of the country’s most
well-known structures (and
websites!) went dark on
March 29:
• Golden Gate Bridge
• Coca-Cola billboard in
Times Square
• US Airways Arena in Phoenix
• Empire State Building
• CNN Center in Atlanta
• Sears Tower
• Alcatraz
• Google’s homepage

The Henkel Corporation has launched a
new line of Pure & Natural personal care
products which are biodegradable and
include recycled and recyclable
packaging. The Henkel
Corporation makes an annual
donation of at least $100,000
per year to WWF from the sale
of its Pure & Natural product
line, which is available at major
retailers nationwide.
(www.pure-natural.com)

Polar Bears Endangered

© John Storey

Continued from page 1

The Golden Gate bridge before
(above) and during Earth Hour (right).

National Geographic
Channel Honors WWF
WWF Receives ‘Preserve Our Planet’ Award

© Howard Buffett

National Geographic Channel (NGC) presented WWF with a
“Preserve Our Planet” award for its efforts to preserve the diversity
and abundance of life on Earth and the health of ecological systems.
WWF was one of four organizations honored during an event
in April at National Geographic Society’s headquarters in
Washington, D.C. NGC was the U.S. media partner for Earth
Hour and participated by darkening its headquarters. Visit
preserveourplanet.com to learn more.

Amundsen-Scott South Pole
Station in Antarctica. In the United
States, more than 100 cities
got involved, including Denver,
Miami, Honolulu and Dallas.
“The true power of Earth Hour
can be seen in the tremendous
opportunity for individuals, governments, businesses and communities around the world to
unite for a common purpose,
against a common threat which
affects us all,” says Carter
Roberts, WWF’s president and
CEO. “The simple action of turning off lights can inspire people
around the world into taking
action and making a serious
long-term commitment to living
more sustainable lives.”

WWF, Aquarium
Team Up to
Protect Gulf
of California
Debut Exhibit, Film at
Aquarium of the Pacific

Sea ice, which polar bears
depend on for all aspects of
their life cycle, melted to record
low levels last summer. The
National Snow Ice and Data
Center announced in May that
current measurements and projections indicate that the 2008
melt season may also be
extreme, possibly exceeding
the record set in 2007. Some
scientists have predicted that
summer Arctic sea ice could be
gone entirely as early as 2013.
“Based on the best available
science, if current sea ice
trends continue, two-thirds of
the world’s polar bears will be
lost by 2050,” says Geoff York,
coordinator of WWF’s Polar
Bear Conservation program.
“The threatened species designation, when fully implemented,
will provide additional legal
protections for the bears,
including the conservation of
critical habitat and the development of a government-supported recovery plan.”
While WWF applauded the
decision, Interior Secretary Dirk
Kempthorne demonstrated the
flexibility inherent in the ESA by
promulgation of a rule (4d rule)
that exempts energy production in Alaska from ESA
requirements. WWF strongly
disagrees with this position.
Despite an outpouring of
public opposition— including
22,000 WWF activists — in
February the Minerals

Management Service (MMS),
which is under the jurisdiction
of the Interior Department, auctioned off nearly 30 million
acres of prime wildlife habitat
in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea for
oil and gas exploration. WWF
is part of a coalition of Alaska
Native and conservation

© Steven Morello

© John Storey

Over 26 Cities on Seven Continents Participate

The listing will provide legal
protections for the bears.

groups that filed suit in federal
district court challenging the
lease sale in Chukchi, a priority
area for WWF and home to one
of the country’s two polar bear
populations.
“We should be taking every
action possible to reduce
stresses on polar bears,” says
York, “and we believe that oil
and gas activities pose formidable risks to the Arctic sea ice
ecosystem and the polar bears
that inhabit it.”

Students Collect Pennies for the Earth

Visitors to a new exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long
Beach, Calif., can explore some of the Gulf of California’s
extraordinary marine life while learning about the pressures it faces
from unsustainable tourism, development and commercial fishing.
“The Gulf of California is one of the most biologically diverse
places on the planet,” says Stephen Cox, vice president and
director of WWF’s Gulf of California program. “Human actions are threatening the gulf, and it is
now at a tipping point. Through our partnership with the Aquarium we hope to inspire its 1.4
million annual visitors and others to get involved in protecting this gem before it is too late.”
The Gulf of California lies between Mexico’s mainland and the Baja California Peninsula. It is home
to one-third of the world’s marine mammal species, over 170 seabird species, and over 900 fish
species. It is also home to animals found nowhere else in the world, including the world’s smallest
cetacean, a critically endangered animal called the vaquita, and the endangered totoaba fish.
“After looking for a partner for an in-the-field conservation project for more than five years, the
Aquarium was pleased to find one that we expect will have an enormous positive impact, both for
the ecosystem and the local people who depend on it,” says Jerry Schubel, Aquarium of the
Pacific president and CEO.

© Crestview Preparatory Elementary School

The Gulf of California, which lies
between Mexico’s mainland and the
Baja Peninsula, is home to one-third
of the world’s marine mammal
species, including the humpback
whale.

On Earth Day, April 22, students at Crestview Preparatory Elementary School
in La Canada, Calif., presented WWF’s Britta Justesen with $1,900, which they
raised for WWF during their “Pennies for Earth” coin drive. Every Monday
morning throughout the 11- week fundraising campaign, a student volunteer in
each classroom presented a 2-minute educational tip about climate change.
Students learned about the importance of planting trees, recycling, and
turning off appliances such as televisions and computers when they are not
being used.

 FOCUS

UPCOMING ADVENTURES!

Namibia

Ute von Ludwiger

The highly adaptable savanna elephants of Namibia are
among Earth’s largest land animals. They wander the
varied landscapes, along with lions, cheetahs, black
rhinos, zebras and others. This tour hits several of the
country’s distinct geographical zones, including the misty
Skeleton Coast and the rugged dunes of Sossusvlei.
November 6 – 22, 2008

New Zealand: The Last Great Paradise
aboard the Clipper Odyssey

Hiroshi Nameda

Isolated from Australia and other landmasses by the
swells of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean, many
species have evolved on New Zealand, making it the
prime place to see yellow-eyed penguins and other
intriguing wildlife. This 16-day tour combines such
nature outings with explorations of the Maori culture.
January 24 – February 8, 2009

Tanzania: Ultimate Serengeti Safari

Antipoaching patrol members.

The pace of this safari provides ample time to observe
wildlife— ideal in a country with one of the highest concentrations of animals in the world. Highlights include visits to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti
National Park. Stay in comfortable tented camps and
lodges that are ideally situated for wildlife viewing.
February 6 –18, 2009

Joe McDaniel/Chris Dawson

areas where security was particularly weak.
A team led by Anil Manandhar,
head of WWF-Nepal, spurred
the government and community
members to join them in rhino
protection efforts. A critical
component of the campaign
was an increase in public
attention to the plight of
the rhinos.
“Intense media attention really
helped Operation Unicornis,”
says Shubash Lohani, senior
program officer in WWF’s
Eastern Himalayas program.
“Rhino poaching became
front-page news and spurred
action from the national level
to the grassroots.”
The Ministry of Forests and
Soil Conservation remobilized
the Armed Forest Guards who
had disarmed during the political unrest, and we supported
increased patrolling along
with expanding the number
of security posts from 8 to 20.
Young community members
also formed community-based
antipoaching operations. They
patrolled the forests and
guarded rhinos at night.
“Being on antipoaching patrol
is dangerous work,” Lohani
says. “Poachers usually have

wwf TRAVEL

The Galápagos aboard The Letty
Home to an array of wildlife — including basking sea
lions — the Galápagos Islands offers an immersion in
nature that feels primeval. Cruise among the islands’ prolific wildlife aboard an intimate, 10-cabin vessel and
make stops to sunbathe with iguanas, kayak among dolphins and walk with giant tortoises.
Multiple departures year-round

WWF IN THE FIELD

Shark Tagging in the Galápagos

© Emily Supernavage

Continued from page 1

guns, but antipoaching patrol
members are unarmed, or at
most they carry a sturdy stick.”
There are incentives for local
communities to protect the rhinos: They receive 50 percent
of park revenues, and tourism
will flourish if there’s a healthy
rhino population.
While it is clear Operation
Unicornis is yielding good
results, poaching remains a
threat in Chitwan. “Illegal trade
has deep roots and our work is
not done yet,” Lohani says.
“We need to expand and scale
up our antipoaching work in
the Eastern Himalayas and we
need all the help we can get to
ensure that the magnificent
rhino survives.”

© WWF-Canon/Jeff Foott

Rhinos in Nepal

JULY/AUGUST 2008 • 7

ALSO COMING!

CI/Sterling Zumbrunn

Belize Barrier Reef: Jewel of the Caribbean aboard Le Levant .............January 4 –11, 2009
Copper Canyon and the Sea of Cortez aboard the Sea Bird .................January 5 –13, 2009
Baja California: Among the Great Whales aboard the Sea Bird...........January 24– 31, 2009
Patagonia by Land and Sea featuring the Via Australis .......................February 8 – 23, 2009

The waters surrounding the Galápagos Islands are one of the most important shark refuges of in the Pacific Ocean. But despite laws, sharks continue to be captured for their fins, which are in high demand on the Asian
black market. Using satellite-based technology, WWF and our partners are
tagging and tracking sharks in the Galápagos Marine Reserve so we can
better understand their population, distribution and migratory patterns, as
well as the impact commercial fishing and other human activities are having on them. The information collected during the survey will be used to help
improve the management and conservation of sharks in the Galápagos.

A copy of World Wildlife Fund’s latest financial report may be obtained by writing to
World Wildlife Fund, 1250 Twenty-Fourth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037; (202)
293-4800. Residents of the following states may obtain information directly by
contacting the state agencies listed below. REGISTRATION WITH OR LICENSING
BY A STATE AGENCY DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR IMPLY ENDORSEMENT,
APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THAT STATE.
Florida: A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL
INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER
SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE, WITHIN THE STATE, 1-800-HELP-FLA. SC NO.
00294. Maryland: For the cost of postage and copying, documents and information
filed under the Maryland charitable organizations laws can be obtained from the
Secretary of State, Charitable Division, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401.
Michigan: MCIS No. 9377. Mississippi: The official registration and financial
information of World Wildlife Fund may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary of
State’s office by calling 1-888-236-6167. New Jersey: Information filed with the
Attorney General concerning this charitable solicitation may be obtained from the
Attorney General of the State of New Jersey by calling 973-504-6215. New York: A
copy of World Wildlife Fund’s latest annual report can be obtained from World
Wildlife Fund or from the Office of the Attorney General by writing the Charities
Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271. North Carolina: Financial information
about World Wildlife Fund and a copy of its license are available from the State
Solicitation Licensing Branch at 1-888-830-4989. Pennsylvania: The official
registration and financial information of World Wildlife Fund may be obtained from
the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free,within Pennsylvania, 1-800732-0999. Virginia: Financial statements are available from the State Division of
Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218. Washington: Information
relating to the financial affairs of World Wildlife Fund is available from the Secretary
of State, and the toll-free number for Washington Residents: 1-800-332- 4483.
West Virginia: West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and
financial documents from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305.

With WWF, you’ll journey to the world’s top spots to see spectacular wildlife in its natural environment. You will
travel with small groups of like-minded people who share your interest in wildlife and the environment. By traveling with us, you are supporting WWF’s conservation work around the globe. So, join us on the adventure of
a lifetime!
To receive detailed itineraries for these or other WWF membership tours to North and South America, Africa,
Asia, the Arctic, Antarctica or the South Pacific, please complete and return the form below, or contact us.
Phone:
Email:
Visit:

202-778-9683 or toll-free 888-WWF-TOUR (993-8687)
membertours@wwfus.org
worldwildlife.org/travel

Please send me brochures for the following trips:
❏
❏
❏
❏

Namibia
New Zealand
Tanzania
The Galápagos

❏
❏
❏
❏

Belize
Copper Canyon/Sea of Cortez
Baja California
Patagonia

❏ Trips to other specific
destinations:
___________________

❏ Please add me to your mailing list to receive WWF travel brochures
Name ___________________________________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________________________________________
City____________________________________________ State ________ Zip ______________________

Our monthly travel e-newsletter highlights WWF membership trips throughout the year, including
announcements about new tours and special offers. If you would like to receive the travel
e-newsletter, please provide your email address here __________________________________,
or sign up on our website at worldwildlife.org/travel.
Return to: WWF Travel Program, 1250 24th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-1132

 8 • JULY/AUGUST 2008

FOCUS

GREEN TIP

Lights Out!

Your plan…

© WWF-Canon/Michel Gunther

Safely Dispose of
Your Light Bulbs

Overfishing, poor coastal development and climate change
are just a few of the threats impacting our marine environment. WWF is working to conserve the world’s most important
places — including marine habitats— and protect endangered
species with solutions that enhance the livelihoods of local
people who are dependent on natural resources.
By joining WWF’s Wildlife Rescue Team, you can support
our marine conservation work and other projects that protect
endangered spaces and address global threats. Call 1-800960-0993 or visit worldwildilfe.org/join to learn more.

Create Your Own Panda Website
Create your own personalized page on WWF’s
website and take an
active role in raising funds
to help support WWF’s
conservation work. Panda
Pages are a great way to
mark a special occasion
(like a birthday), honor a
loved one or simply highlight your passion for protecting endangered species.
wwf.worldwildlife.org/pandapages

their future.
Swapping out standard light
bulbs for energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) is
a smart and easy way to reduce
energy use at home and prevent emissions that contribute to
climate change. But because
CFL’s contain a small amount of
mercury, an essential component that helps make them
energy efficient, it’s important to
recycle them. The good news?
According to the EPA, almost all
of the components of CFL and
fluorescent bulbs—from the
metal end caps to the glass
tubes to the mercury and phosphor powder— can be separated and reused.
Visit epa.gov or Earth911.org
to find light bulb collection and
recycling programs in your area.

© WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

Help WWF
Protect Our Marine
Environment

Make the long-term conservation
of nature part of your plan by
including World Wildlife Fund
in your will or trust.
We recommend this language:
“I give _______ (specific amount or property, percentage or
residue) to World Wildlife Fund, Inc., (“WWF”) having its
principal offices at 1250 24th Street, NW, Washington, DC,
20037, for its general purposes to save life on Earth.”

3

For our free booklet, Giving Through Your Will,
please call toll-free or email
1-888-993-9455
legacygifts@wwfus.org
For membership inquiries, please call 1-800-CALL-WWF.

focus

JULY/AUGUST 2008 • VOLUME 30, NUMBER 4

CONSERVATION’S

Run for WWF and support
our efforts to fight global warming
On August 31, Nike is hosting the Nike+
Human Race, a 10-kilometer race in 25 cities
worldwide. You can participate in the United
States in four cities — Austin, Texas, Chicago, Ill.,
Los Angeles, Calif., and New York, N.Y.— or you
can run where you live.
Aligning with three global charities — including
WWF — Nike is using the Human Race to allow
participants to run for a global cause: poverty,
health or climate change.
Nike has committed a minimum
donation of $500,000 to WWF to
highlight our efforts to reduce the

impacts of climate change. And, Nike will donate
an additional amount to WWF depending on
your participation in its “Vote with Your Feet”*
initiative at nikeplus.com.

Human
Face

HERE’S HOW IT’S DONE:
✔ Go online to www.nikeplus.com and register
for the Nike+ Human Race
✔ Designate WWF as the recipient of your
pledge to run
✔ Decide where you’d like to run on August 31—
in one of the 4 U.S. cities or in your hometown
✔ Track your practice miles and “Vote with Your
Feet” online at www.nikeplus.com
Tanzanian child

*As participants train and run the Nike+ Human Race, mileage tracked at nikeplus.com and at city races will count
towards “Vote with Your Feet” and increase the potential donation WWF can receive from this program.

© WWF-Canon/Roger Hooper