World Wildlife Fund

A community leader drops a buoy marking the boundary of Quirimba Island fish replenishment zone in the Quirimbas National Park. Following community meetings and defining the areas of these fishing sanctuaries, buoys are launched and the zone is declared.
© WWF / Peter Bechtel

Since 1962, WWF has collaborated with governments, conservation groups, industry and communities to improve the lives of thousands of rural people. These partnerships have helped the local people to capitalize on their most abundant asset—natural resources. WWF’s approach has proven that sustainable management of natural resources can attract tourists and provide water, energy, shelter and food for generations.

• Learn more about building parks in Mozambique
• Learn more about WWF's Peter Bechtel: Working for Wildlife and Communities

Notable Accomplishments

1960s

• Facilitated the longest continuous monitoring and protection program for loggerhead and leatherback turtles

1970s

• Helped establish Kenya’s Lake Nakuru National Park and the Shimba Hills National Reserve

1980s

• Began first Mozambique project - Survey of Potential National Parks and Reserves
• established WWF's Eastern Africa Regional Program Office in Nairobi

1990s

• Led efforts to establish and implement marine reserves in Kenya’s Lamu Archipelago and Tanzania’s Mafia Island Reserve
• Established a project for the conservation and management of the Selous Game Reserve, including a management plan for the endangered black rhino
• Pioneered an ambitious large-scale approach for conserving marine biodiversity in eastern Africa, through the Eastern African Marine Ecoregion Program (EAME)

2000s

• Established Quirimbas National Park in Mozambique—the largest marine protected area in Africa—through a community-driven process
• Advocated mandatory use of turtle exclusion devices in fishing nets in Mozambique, saving an average of 5,000 turtles each year
• Helped alleviate human-elephant conflict with “chili bombs,” saving the lives of hundreds of elephants and subsistence farmers
• Contributed to the development of a sustainable financing strategy for Mozambique's conservation areas, based on consideration of Mozambique's current financing needs and opportunities