What WWF is doing


The wonder of wetlands



When WWF was launched in 1961, one of its first undertakings was to purchase 6,668 hectares of Coto Doñana, the internationally important wetland in southern Spain. More than three decades later, the commitment is as firm as ever. Indeed, WWF has declared all wetlands a global priority in which it will invest maximum resources and expertise between now and the millennium.





Europe


lake Coto Doñana is one of Europe's most important areas for breeding, migrating, and overwintering waterfowl, waders, and other birds. It is also the last stronghold of the Iberian lynx, one of the most endangered mammals in Europe, whose survival is more precarious than ever following a three-year drought. WWF retains an important management role in the area and is currently monitoring the progress of the lynx and one of the causes of its decline - the severe loss of natural underground water supplies.





Africa


coast The Banc d'Arguin National Park in Mauritania is an extensive wetland stretching along 180 kilometres of Africa's Atlantic coast. It is one of the world's largest spawning and feeding grounds for fish and shellfish, and is home to a close-knit community of 600 traditional fishermen, who use small sailing boats and even dolphins to round up their catches.


But as the demand for fish grows, industrial trawlers and diverse commercial interests have moved in. So WWF and other agencies have developed a programme in which new and more efficient boats are being built, a traditional fish-drying operation set up, and village cooperatives established. The result is that standards of living are being maintained, sustainable practices made more efficient, and the environment conserved.





Latin America


river The governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay are planning to carve a 3,500-kilometre commercial waterway through the Pantanal, the immense wetland in the heart of Latin America. WWF is opposing some controversial aspects of the US$3 billion proposal on the grounds that they will cause irreversible damage of catastrophic proportions not only to the wetland itself, but also to thousands of indigenous people and to the region's unique wildlife. The organization is also coordinating an international survey of migratory shorebirds that rely on the Pantanal, and will undertake aerial assessments of the wildlife that will be displaced and devastated if the plan is allowed to go ahead.





Asia


kid The replanting of coastal mangroves in Pakistan, the establishment of water management schemes in India, and the setting up of management training programmes and wetland visitor centres in both countries are among the many projects WWF is running in Asia.


In addition, WWF and the United Kingdom government are funding a programme to train hundreds of people in wetland surveying and evaluation techniques. Administered by Wetlands International, the programme is resulting in qualified specialists using their skills throughout southeast Asia. The information they provide is circulated to governments and agencies across Asia.





Australasia


Although Australia is the driest continent in the world, it is host to an impressive number of wetlands, ranging from mangroves and coral reefs to montane swamps and coastal mudflats. WWF has warned, however, that 62 per cent of the country's Ramsar-listed sites are under serious threat, and it is promoting the conservation of a further 520 notable, though unprotected, wetland sites across Australia. WWF is involved in the preparation of a national wetlands conservation strategy to be adopted by the Federal Government, and has a training programme linking Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory with the management of wetlands in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.



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