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2. Conserving Species of Special Concern
Many of the world's plant and animal species are in danger of extinction owing to habitat loss, unsustainable use, intrusion of invasive species, illegal trade, toxic contamination, and climate change. To tackle this situation WWF will:
- Help to protect populations of plant and animal species that are important for conservation and sustainable development and which are threatened by habitat destruction, overharvesting, or other human activities
- Develop conservation action plans and strategies for selected species, based on ecoregional action plans, concentrating on:
- flagship species (such as elephants, rhinos, whales, primates, and the tiger) around which major ecosystem or issues-based (e.g. trade) programmes can be built
- keystone species in the Global 200 ecoregions that serve as indicators of ecosystem health
- endemic species in Global 200 ecoregions whose ultimate survival is the responsibility of local authorities
- Promote sustainable benefits to local communities in species recovery programmes and management plans
- Carry out lobbying and advocacy work in relevant international treaties, and prepare WWF species status reports in cooperation with IUCN specialist groups and governments
- Help ensure that wildlife trade is at sustainable levels and in accordance with domestic and international laws and agreements by maintaining WWF/IUCN's Trade Records Analysis for Flora and Fauna in Commerce (TRAFFIC) programme.
 
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