Wildlife Conservation
Ensure the world’s most iconic species, including tigers, rhinos, and elephants, are secured and recovering in the wild
Overview

Saving nature is at the very heart of what we do as WWF. For nearly 60 years, we have made it our mission to find solutions that save the marvelous array of life on our planet by applying the best science available and working closely with local communities.
But our work is far from done. Humans are behind the current rate of species extinction, which is at least 100–1,000 times higher than nature intended. We’ve seen an astonishing 60% decline in the size of populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians in just over 40 years, according to WWF's Living Planet Report 2018.
And the impacts will reach far beyond the potential cultural loss of iconic species like tigers, rhinos and whales.
The good news is we’ve also seen what’s working. WWF has been part of successful wildlife recovery stories ranging from southern Africa’s black rhino to black bucks in the Himalayas. And this, in turn, is helping to protect rich and varied ecosystems while ensuring people continue to benefit from nature.
This much is clear: we cannot afford to fail in our mission to save a living planet.
Tatyana Minenko, polar bear patrol team leader
Every fall, the Ryrkaipiy polar bear patrol, with the support of WWF Russia, works to protect the community and prevent human-wildlife conflict. Tatyana Minenko has been leading the patrol team since 2006. That’s when the climate crisis increased conflict in her village.

Why It Matters
What WWF Is Doing

Conserving wildlife is at heart of our mission. We focus on protecting populations of some of the world’s most ecologically, economically, and culturally important species—the survival of which are threatened by poaching, illegal trade and habitat loss.
We use the best science available to link on-the-ground work with high-level policy action to create lasting solutions that benefit wild animals as well as the people that live alongside them.
Stop Wildlife Crime
WWF uses our expertise in policy, wildlife trade, advocacy, and communications in an effort to stop wildlife crime in the US and around the world. At home, we ensure the US enacts tight ivory commerce restrictions. Partnerships with technology companies help us develop innovative ways to combat wildlife crime using everything from drones to infrared cameras that can detect poachers in the dead of night. To combat the trade in illegal wildlife products through web-based platforms, WWF has teamed up with e-commerce and social media companies to adopt a standardized wildlife policy framework for online trade.
Double the Number of Tigers
WWF aims to double the world’s wild tiger population by 2022 (TX2). We’re working with world leaders to take action, focusing conservation efforts in key sites, raising funds to permanently protect landscapes, and supporting community-based conservation. Saving tigers is about more than restoring a single species. As a large predator, tigers play an important role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Every time we protect a tiger, we protect around 25,000 acres of forest—forests that sustain wildlife and local communities and supply people around the world with clean air, water, food, and products.
Empower People to Protect Wildlife
Over the last few decades, conservationists have come to understand just how central community involvement is to wildlife conservation success—and how important it is for communities to actively steward the natural resources around them to improve economic and social well-being. WWF’s community-based conservation work today reflects this fundamental reality. We work across a variety of communities and customize our work based on the specific needs and interests of a given place, taking into consideration each region’s particular set of conservation assets and challenges.
Closing Asia's Ivory Markets
Illegal killing of elephants for ivory decimates global populations. Estimates indicate that each year poachers slaughter close to 20,000 elephants, mostly for their tusks. Fueling this rampant poaching is a steady consumer demand for ivory. Overall, we see demand increasing in East Asian and Southeast Asian markets, with the greatest demand in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand. WWF is working to shut down the illegal markets in Thailand, and helped end the legal ivory trade in China. By tackling these markets now as part of a pan-Asian approach, WWF aims to leverage China’s recent actions to ban the ivory trade to prevent further displacement of the current China ivory trade to nearby countries.
Projects
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WILDLABS.NET: Connectivity and collaboration to save the planet
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Conserving Wildlife and Enabling Communities in Namibia
Namibia is home to an array of wildlife, from ostriches and zebras roaming the gravel plains to penguins and seals chilling in the Atlantic currents. It was the first African country to incorporate protection of the environment into its constitution. With WWF’s help, the government has reinforced this conservation philosophy by empowering its communities with rights to manage and benefit from the country’s wildlife through communal conservancies.
Publications
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Living Planet Report 2020
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Guidelines for the Safe and Humane Handling and Release of Bycaught Small Cetaceans in Fishing Gear
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Silence of the Snares: Southeast Asia's Snaring Crisis
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Summary of findings: Opinion Survey on COVID-19 and Wildlife Trade in Five Asian Markets
Experts
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Robin Naidoo Senior Conservation Scientist and Lead Wildlife Scientist
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Nilanga Jayasinghe Manager, Wildlife Conservation
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Leigh Henry Director, Wildlife Policy, Wildlife Conservation
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Crawford Allan Senior Director, TRAFFIC
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Dennis Jorgensen Bison Initiative Coordinator, Program Officer, Northern Great Plains
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Kristy Bly Senior Wildlife Conservation Biologist, Northern Great Plains Program
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Rachel Kramer Deputy Chief of Party, Targeting Natural Resource Corruption
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Chris Weaver Managing Director, Namibia
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Colby Loucks Vice President, Wildlife Conservation Program
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Jan Vertefeuille Senior Advisor, Advocacy, Wildlife Conservation
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Ginette Hemley Senior Vice President, Wildlife Conservation
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Eric Becker Conservation Engineer, Wildlife Conservation Program
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Elisabeth Kruger Manager, Arctic Wildlife
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Dechen Dorji Senior Director for Asia, Wildlife Conservation
How You Can Help
Sign On to Stop Wildlife Crime
We are dead serious about stopping wildlife crime. Stand with WWF. Together, we will make a difference. Sign the pledge today.
Adopt a Tiger
Make a symbolic tiger adoption to help save some of the world's most endangered animals from extinction and support WWF's conservation efforts.