WWF ACHIEVEMENTS



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upporting regional NGOs to build a strong local conservation movement is one of WWF's most important achievements. In addition to providing training workshops in the region, WWF is backing NGO participation in the development of an Environment Trust Fund in Colombia. Other projects include training workshops on conflict resolution and negotiating skills held in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador; organizational support for grassroots conservation initiatives; and forest management courses for both professionals and resource users in the northern Andes.

In Ecuador, a US$10-million debt-for-nature swap established in 1988, with US$6.5 million from WWF donations and the rest from the US-based Nature Conservancy, regularly funds conservation activities. Some US$10 million in local currency has been used to establish a trust fund managed by WWF's Associate Ecuadorian Fundación Natura. The fund's interest finances a wide range of conservation activities. These include studies of conservation and development problems such as oil exploration in rainforests and new legislation for protected areas; protected-areas management and training; conservation of Ecuador's biologically diverse western forests threatened by development activities and training and support for partner NGOs.

WWF's work in Ecuador has become a model for other countries in the region, where conservation funds are meagre. Both Colombia and Peru have set up private trust funds (ECOFONDO and PROFONANPE). Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile are using funds from restructured debt to fund conservation work.

In addition, WWF has played a key role in raising awareness about conservation. As a result of its pioneering work in such areas as Manu National Park, the Atlantic forest region, the Chocó, and Noroeste Biosphere Reserve, international donors have been alerted to the need for money for conservation.




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Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature