Sustainable Use of Wildlife

WWF works in more than 100 countries. To effectively achieve our conservation mission, we work within the legal framework and local realities of these culturally diverse places. One lesson we have learned in 50 years of conservation work is that local people who rely on and manage natural resources to support their livelihoods have a deep and nuanced understanding of the importance of careful stewardship. Our mission is a world in which people and nature both prosper, where they thrive together.

For these reasons, WWF supports many locally-led conservation efforts that are based on the sustainable use of natural resources. For instance, we know that timber and seafood are vitally important to people, and we help create and implement effective, innovative ways for making the most efficient use of these resources and ensuring their continued robust supply. In some places, sustainable natural resource use may include locally managed, sustainable hunting. We have seen in specific circumstances where strong standards are in place, that such programs can reduce poaching, lead to species population growth and recovery, provide valuable income to local communities for conservation and development projects, and provide incentives for communities to engage in wildlife conservation for the long-term.

The emphasis here is on the creation of incentives for communities to live with wildlife and strict enforcement of strong management standards. For example, in Namibia, the national government in 1996 enacted legislation to conserve the country’s wildlife by giving communities regulated rights for the management and sustainable use of local wildlife populations within areas known as communal conservancies. Local communities and species have benefited from this innovative and popular conservation approach through the creation of new jobs, additional food, and diversified livelihoods – thereby creating incentives for communities to protect local wildlife populations and to conserve the habitat such populations depend upon.

In the case of Namibia, several species populations, including elephants, black rhinos, and lions have rebounded remarkably—with communal conservancies driving or playing a significant role in these conservation gains. In fact, the black rhino population in northwest Namibia has more than tripled since 1982, making it the largest population of free-roaming rhinos in the world. Namibia now boasts the largest free-roaming black rhino and cheetah populations in the world and is believed to be the only country in Africa where giraffe and lion populations are expanding in both numbers and range.

In the Arctic, sustainable use of wildlife is a lived practice. For generations, Arctic Indigenous People and subsistence communities have managed wildlife sustainably with deep knowledge of seasonal cycles, migrations, and habitats. As climate change accelerates with melting sea ice and shifting prey distributions, these communities increasingly confront challenges to food security, culture, and well-being.

WWF works alongside Arctic partners to support sustainable harvest systems, such as co-management frameworks that balance traditional knowledge and scientific monitoring to ensure that subsistence practices—whether marine mammal hunts, migratory bird harvesting, or fishing—continue to be viable, respectful, and resilient. By anchoring sustainable use in local governance, benefit sharing, and adaptive management, we aim to safeguard both Arctic wildlife and the communities that depend upon them.

Updated September 19, 2025