Saving endangered species

Restoring lost species

Using species sustainable




Baltic sea

North-west Russia

Creat Arctic reserve

Okhotsk sea, Russia

Species as part of WWF's policy work

Mediterranean

Mongolia

Russian far east





SELECTED WWF SPECIES INITIATIVES


BALTIC SEA

Toxic pollutants are affecting the reproductive success and disease-resistance of marine mammals at the top of the food chain. WWF's Baltic Programme is running an active campaign to clean up the Baltic Sea and to enable recovery of grey, ringed, and harb our seals. WWF will also be monitoring Baltic salmon and white-tailed sea eagles as indicators of the health of the Baltic ecosystem.

NORTH-WEST RUSSIA

Migratory routes taken by the rare lesser white-fronted goose have long been largely unknown. Recently, WWF-supported scientists discovered a key autumn staging area for these geese on the Kanin Peninsula, which borders the eastern shores of the White Sea . Here, the birds settle to rest and feed on their way from their breeding grounds in the Arctic to their winter areas in central and southern Europe and central Asia. WWF needs funds to ensure that the Kanin staging area and other important sites along the migration route are given long-term protection.

GREAT ARCTIC RESERVE

Numerous migratory waterfowl and waders, including brent geese, dunlins, curlew sandpipers, and knots, nest in the tundras and broad river deltas of the 41,692 km2 Great Arctic Reserve on the Taimyr Peninsula, Russia. WWF is engaged in a long-term programme to create a network of protected areas along the East Atlantic Flyway - the migratory route taken by the birds. By providing protection for these birds in their breeding grounds, the Great Arctic Reserve is a vital link in a chain of other reserves such as those in the Waddensee of Germany, Holland, and Denmark, an autumn and spring staging area, and the Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania, where many of the birds overwinter.

OKHOTSK SEA, RUSSIA

On the shelf of the Okhotsk Sea, more than 20 of the world's largest oil companies are poised to begin drilling in an area famous for frequent earthquakes. Oil spills would pose a grave threat to the principal feeding areas of endangered bowhead and grey whales which are only now beginning to recover from years of whaling. The shelf oil fields also extend along the whole breeding range of Steller's sea eagle. Studies of these magnificent birds - the world's largest eagles - have shown that nesting declines by one-third in areas already affected by oil development. Funds are needed to lobby the industry to introduce appropriate safeguards.