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Where We Work
Marine Places
From the coldest seas on earth to the warmest tropical waters, WWF's strategically designed marine program is working to conserve our planet's vital marine biodiversity.
WWF works with the world’s leading conservation and technology partners to bring the best information on marine protected areas to a global audience.
Learn more.
Based on the Global 200 - a comprehensive scientific assessment of the most important places in the world for conserving biodiversity - we have selected six critical marine regions for intensive work at the field level: Coastal East Africa, Bering Sea and Kamchatka, the Galapagos, Coral Triangle, Mesoamerican Reef, and the Gulf of California. We have also selected critical global forces that contribute to the loss of biodiversity in these and other areas for policy changes and new industry practices.
Did you know . . .
- We protect more than 62 critically important areas in marine places around the world.
- Our protected areas work covers more than 403,150 square kilometers.
Click here to see larger map and in-depth information.
Through our marine program, we work to assure adequate protection of critical elements of the marine environment through marine protected areas and other spatially oriented management approaches. We also seek to assure that critical threats such as overfishing or poor coastal development are better managed, and where key species are threatened, we address the threats to them.
Other threats to marine resources are global, including the worldwide pattern of poor fishing practices and climate change. WWF seeks to change the wild fishing and aquaculture industries through a variety of mechanisms including changing market demand patterns, better regional governance and industry practices. Climate change poses serious threats to the marine environment, and in our key geographic areas, we are beginning to consider what adaptation strategies may be appropriate. We also work in a variety of ways at the global level to reduce green house gas emissions.
And throughout all of our marine work, we strive to achieve our conservation goals in a way that also enhance the livelihoods of local people that may be particularly dependent on these resources.
Bering Sea
The remarkable waters of the Bering Sea and the vast wilderness of the Kamchatka Peninsula together make up one of the world’s most biologically productive and diverse environments. The nutrient-rich sea attracts marine mammals, such as humpback and gray whales, that travel great distances to forage and raise their young. These waters provide more than half the seafood caught annually in the United States and a
third of Russia’s seafood harvest. Read more
Coastal East Africa
Few places on Earth can match the vibrancy and diversity of life found in Coastal East Africa. From the shores of Lake Malawi—home to nearly 1,000 endemic species of fish—and the Eastern Arc Mountains and Miombo woodlands—where humans live alongside the highest collection of endemic and threatened species in all of Africa— to the Indian Ocean and the East African marine ecoregion, Coastal East Africa stretches for 2,900 miles, from southern Somalia to the shores of South Africa. Read more
Coral Triangle
The pristine waters of the Coral Triangle hold the richest concentration of iridescent corals, fish, crustaceans, mollusks and marine plants in the world. Labyrinths of limestone reefs, extensive sea grass meadows and coastal mangrove forests attract sea turtles and giants of the sea such as humpback whales to feed, breed and rest in the rich and sheltered waters. Read more
Galapagos
Far off the coast of Ecuador, bathed in the swirling currents of the Pacific, lie the Galápagos, the iconic islands that inspired one of the most important insights into life on Earth : Darwin’s theory of evolution. The islands emerge as jet-black cliffs rising from a sparkling sea of blue and remain a priceless living laboratory for scientists today. Read more
Gulf of California
Between Mexico’s mainland and the Baja California Peninsula lies the Gulf of California, a mystical frontier of splendid coastlines and turquoise waters. The Gulf’s rocky shores and hundreds of miles of gently-sloping beaches are home to coves, bays, lagoons and estuaries that sustain an extraordinary richness of marine life. Its waters are primary breeding, feeding and nursing grounds for a myriad of migratory and resident marine species, and its countless islands are important nesting sites for millions of seabirds. Read more
Mesoamerican Reef
The jewel of the Caribbean Sea, the Mesoamerican Reef is a rich tapestry of fringing reefs, atolls, patch reefs, sea grass pastures and mangrove forests. An ancient natural system dating back 225 million years, it acts as a natural barrier against severe storms for Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras, and its presence is vital to the survival of many plants and animals as well as humans. Read more
