About the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is a non-government organization that works on many issues involving living things around the world. It is actually the world's largest independent conservation organization that has well over 5 million active supporters worldwide. There are more than 100 countries who officially support the World Wildlife Fund around the globe. These 100 countries support 1,300 conservation and environmental projects.
The World Wildlife Fund is primarily supported by funding from individuals. These individuals make up approximately 57% of of the total received funds in the year 2010. In the same year, governments only contributed about 17% of the total yearly contributions. Also, in 2010 corporations contributed 11% almost reaching the total amount contributed by governments. As you can see companies and governments only contribute a fraction of what the WWF receives each year. It is extremely popular among individuals which is why they make up such a huge percentage.
The World Wildlife Funds mission aims to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. This mission is very clearly stated on the WWF official website and in world wide publications. The WWF has a history of sticking to this mission statement and continues to do its best at combating these issues.
The WWF tends to focus its research on three major areas of the Earth. They are the oceans and coastlines, forests, and freshwater sources such as rivers. In addition to these major focus area the WWF aims to help endangered species, pollution, and climate change. All of these issues contribute to the majority of the problems that the Earth is currently facing. These problems are also closely monitored by the media and by other smaller organizations worldwide.
The World Wildlife Fund symbol, the Giant Panda is one of the most recognizable symbols today. This symbol was actually derived from a real Giant Panda named Chi Chi. Chi Chi was transferred from the Beijing Zoo to the London Zoo during the same time the WWF was being established. Chi Chi ended up being the only Giant Panda that lived in the Western world at this time. This was a very exciting time for endangered species. Since the Giant Panda was and still is an endangered species it made the perfect symbol for such a great organization. In addition, the Giant Panda is adored and loved around the world especially due to its looks. For these reasons the WWF embraced the Giant Panda as their symbol of conservation for the world.