Species Conservation Protecting Nature and People

Since our founding in 1961, protecting rare and endangered species has been a core focus of WWF’s mission to save a living planet. Our success has helped bring many species back from the brink of extinction, while preserving rich and varied ecosystems that sustain local people and countless plants and animals. But the global extinction crisis is escalating: habitat destruction, poaching, wildlife trafficking, climate change and other destructive human activities have led to an extinction rate that is 100 to 1,000 times higher than the expected natural rate.