WWF 25 years anniversary

The World Wildlife Fund's collaboration with the Russian Federation began in 1988, and soon an understanding of the work's importance led to the creation of the Fund's national representation in Russia. The following decades were full of bright victories and painful defeats, but on July 1, the environmental organization have a holiday - the WWF Russian branch is 25 years old!

It’s not a shame to sum up the work of the Fundation's representation. For a quarter of a century, tremendous progress has been achieved in various areas of activity - in the development of the protected areas of the country, in the preservation of rare animal species, in the improvement of the legal framework and much more.

For 25 years, the WWF has implemented more than 1,000 projects in 47 regions of Russia, photo © WWF России

For two and a half decades, WWF initiated and helped to create almost a hundred and fifty reserves, national parks and other protected areas with a total area of 54 million hectares. Now the national parks "Call of the Tiger", "Anyuysky", "Russian Arctic", "Bereginya" and others protect the habitats of rare animals and unique natural landscapes. Last year, at the initiative of the Foundation, the largest federal reserve of the country was created - the “Novosibirsk Islands” occupy more than 6.5 million hectares, three quarters of which is the marine area.

Federal natural reserve "Novosibirsk Islands", photo WEB

The organization has implemented global projects for the conservation of endangered animal species. The project of the Amur tigers protection stabilized the number of these cats at the level of about 530 species in Russia and connected other states where they live. Through the efforts of the Fund, six hundred bison graze in the forests of the country, which in the late 1990s were on the verge of extinction. Photo traps purchased with charity funds allowed us to watch the snow leopards, and the online database created now stores over 60 of their “electronic passports”. “Bear patrols” in the Arctic are fighting for the preservation of polar bears and at the same time protect local people from these predators. WWF also initiated amendments to the legislation to toughen penalties for the extraction of valuable animals. In 2013, the President of the Russian Federation signed them.

The population of the Amur tiger steadily keeps at the level of 530 species, photo WEB

The struggle of the Foundation against commercial projects that are harmful to nature is worthy of respect. So, thanks to the loud campaign, the underwater pipeline of the Sakhalin-2 project changed the route and passed the habitat area of gray whales. Not without the help of WWF, it was possible to protect the ecosystem of Lake Baikal from the construction of the pipeline. The struggle ended with victory against the construction of the Evenk Hydroelectric Power Plant and the dam complex on the Amur River. At the initiative of the Foundation, retail trade of sturgeon caviar and salmon fishing nets is prohibited.

A lot of work has been done by the organization in terms of the conservation of wild Russian forests. With the help of the Fund, in recent years, Russia has become the second country after Canada in FSC certified forest area. WWF’s long-term war for the preservation of the Korean cedar ended with victory - it cannot be cut down in our country since 2010, and since 2015, the Cedar space monitoring system has been launched to detect deforestation. Recently, in the Pskov region, a new system of forest management proved to be effective, bringing profit and preserving the habitat of flora and fauna representatives.

Russia imposed a total ban on Korean cedar felling in 2010, photo © WWF России

The organization actively engages the people of Russia in solving environmental problems, raising public awareness and at the same time influencing global processes. Thanks to the signatures of ordinary citizens, dozens of petitions have saved forests in the Bikin river valley, changed the legislation regarding the protection of the seas from oil pollution and frozen oil production projects in the Arctic. Millions have been collected for the implementation of programs for the preservation of endangered animals and actions have been held dedicated to rational use of the resources of the planet.

WWF launched a new information company to its anniversary. Its materials are reminiscent of the extinction of animals through the fault of man, demonstrating how dead members of the fauna leave an irreplaceable void behind them. The heroes of the project are eight endangered species, including the snow leopard, the Amur tiger and others. “We will not be able to save everyone, but we will save more than those who do nothing”, said Peter Scott, the founder of the Foundation.

The first WWF office was located in a two-room Moscow apartment 25 years ago, photo © WWF России

Having crossed the quarter-century milestone, on its day, WWF Russia continues to preserve the country's biodiversity and to improve its ecology. Averybody who is not indifferent can join the nature protection movement, because even the small contribution to the common cause has paramount importance.

Victoria Romanova, Russia, Moscow

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