Advocacy year in review 2023

WWF announced Alexia Leclercq as the winner of the 2022 Conservation Leadership Award. This prestigious award seeks to celebrate the accomplishments of outstanding young leaders who are pushing the needle for environmental conservation. It provides a monetary award as well as access to a global platform and experts.

Leclercq is a grassroots organizer, educator, scholar, and artist whose primary focus is the realm of environmental justice. They are the co-founder of the Colorado River Conservancy and the environmental justice education non-profit Start:Empowerment. Leclercq is currently a graduate student at Harvard University and has been instrumental in fighting against pollution and injustice in their community of East Austin, TX.

Celebrating the 50th year anniversary of the Endangered Species Act

In September, with Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, American Bird Conservancy, and the Endangered Species Coalition, WWF held a fly-in celebrating the 50th year anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. As we’re seeing more frequent attacks on this very popular and successful law, the need to highlight the importance of the ESA and prevent any congressional attacks comes at a crucial time. In all, 70 participants representing 12 key states met with their representatives’ offices in support of the ESA.

This fall, countries put to paper what the global plastics treaty should look like with the release of the “zero draft.” The draft is just a starting point, but it provides the foundation as negotiations turn from exploratory discussions to content negotiations. Over the course of the negotiations, countries have provided their inputs, and the draft reflects where countries currently stand and what they collectively agree and disagree on.

Early in the year, EPA issued its Final Determination on protections for Alaska’s Bristol Bay under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act, a major victory for Bristol Bay as well as Alaska Native communities. The decision rightly follows scientific consensus and the wishes of the majority of Alaskans. Home to the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world, Bristol Bay supports a sustainable fishery worth over $2 billion and more than 15,000 jobs.