Wildlife conservation

Conserving wildlife is at the heart of our mission. Since we started in 1961, WWF has been a leader in wildlife conservation and has been working to protect biodiversity across the globe.

Biodiversity across the planet is declining at an alarming rate. Many experts point to human activity as the dominant influence on climate change and biodiversity loss. We focus on protecting populations of some of the world’s most ecologically, economically, and culturally important species—the survival of which is threatened by poaching, illegal trade, and habitat loss.

The biodiversity crisis has far-reaching consequences for all aspects of human well-being—including health, food, and water security, along with our ability to adapt to climate change. Given the crucial role biodiversity plays in the livelihoods and economies of people around the world, maintaining biodiversity and associated ecosystem services is essential and is a driving reason for conservation.

We are leaders in using science and technology to underpin and guide our work and solutions. We synthesize insights, learning, and traditions from Indigenous cultures and local communities to identify conservation solutions. We drive the agenda to combat wildlife crime and illegal and unsustainable trade in wildlife. And we cultivate partnerships, resources, and new solutions to disrupt these highly damaging drivers of species loss and continue to address the economic inequity of local people.

Supporting the Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a global treaty to conserve the diversity of life on Earth, including how to use biodiversity sustainably and who reaps the benefits. WWF brings to the convention a distinctive breadth of conservation expertise from decades of presence, work, and deep local partnerships across the globe. We work with partners to define strong positions on the issues to be negotiated, we push for ambitious commitments on agreed targets as well as meaningful actions toward these, and we work with governments to strengthen and implement their conservation plans.

WWF focuses on supporting particular progress on making sure each country has an ambitious and comprehensive strategy, closing the large funding gap for biodiversity conservation, promoting the need for infrastructure development to conserve and restore biodiversity, and keeping local leadership and inclusive participation at the helm of efforts worldwide.

Conserving threatened wildlife and their habitat

Area-based conservation is a cornerstone of our efforts, as land-use change remains a primary driver of global biodiversity loss, mainly through the destruction of natural areas (such as forests, grasslands, and mangroves) for food production and urban expansion. Scientific evidence underscores the need for the protection of a minimum of 30% of land and sea to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030—especially in regions where climate change is anticipated to add additional stressors. The Wildlife Team prioritizes the following area-based outcomes to ensure that wildlife can thrive:

• Wildlife populations are protected from overexploitation and other direct threats, as well as climate impacts.
• Landscapes and aquascapes are protected, connected, and resilient.
• Conserved areas are well-managed and are provided with sustained financial and institutional support.
• Conservation is inclusive and delivers equitable and sustainable benefits for local communities.
• Global-to-local wildlife policy and governance, including anti-corruption approaches, is strengthened for the benefit of wildlife conservation.

Reducing threats to wildlife and people

Whole-planet solutions, like policy and regulation changes, complement area-based conservation for a more impactful and all-around, integrated approach for lasting conservation change. Our work leverages partnerships with governments, the private sector, civil society, scientists, and international policymakers to establish the enabling conditions, governance, and policies to support our area-based work and tackle the systemic drivers that counter effective conservation.

Our whole-planet approach fosters equitable resource governance, develops innovative financial mechanisms to support and reward conservation and sustainable resource management, integrates climate resilience and adaptation, and advances our work in the online and social media space to reduce the overexploitation of biodiversity. The Wildlife Team prioritizes the following whole-planet outcomes to systematically reduce both direct and indirect threats to biodiversity:

• Wildlife trafficking is disrupted, criminal incentives and illegal and unsustainable demand for wildlife and their products are reduced, and the risk of zoonotic spillover is mitigated.
• Climate resilience for wildlife and local communities is strengthened.
• Human-wildlife conflict is reduced and managed.