Have you ever seen the black and white panda on the logo of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)? The inspiration for the logo came from Chi-Chi, a giant panda. It had arrived at the London zoo in the year 1961, when the organization was being created. WWF founders realized that they needed a strong, recognizable symbol that would attract people’s attention to their cause. So they chose the furry, cuddly animal with its appealing, black-patched eyes.
The World Wildlife Fund was founded in 1961 when a small group of scientists, naturalists, politicians, and business people joined forces to create an international fund on behalf of endangered animals. This group of committed individuals signed a declaration which stated; “All over the world today a vast number of fine and harmless wild creatures are losing their lives or their homes, as a result of thoughtless and needless destruction.”
The WWF has become the world’s largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, in more than 100 countries. The group’s objective is to halt the damage to our planet’s natural environment, and build a future in which humans lives in harmony with nature. The fund takes concrete actions in number of areas. For example, I works with governments to reduce poaching of tigers and to set aside land to increase the size of liger habitats. The land to increase the size of tiger habitats. The WWF reports that humanity is already using nearly 50 percent more natural resources than the Earth can replace. To address this problem, it is developing and implementing new ways of growing crops, managing fisheries, forests, and wetlands, generating energy, and dealing with waste.
In order to carry out its conservation mission, the organization works with businesses and receives many donation and contributions from supporters, as well as help from hundreds of volunteers. Here is what two of them have to say about WWF.