FUNDRAISING AND ANIMAL ADOPTIONS
Q. Where does WWF-Australia's funding come from?
Each year, WWF's sources of income are published in our Annual Report - a document available to our supporters and the public through our website.
The majority of our funding comes from individual supporters who make a vital contribution to our work. In the 2009/10 financial year individual supporters made up 66 per cent of our income. Contributions from the WWF Network (15 per cent), government grants (7 per cent), and corporate partnerships (4 per cent) are the other major areas.
Q. How is WWF-Australia's funding spent?
In the last financial year (2009/10) just under two thirds of our funds went directly to our conservation programs, while 6 per cent was spent on community education and 11 per cent was spent on administration.
22 per cent of our funding was invested in growing the number of WWF supporters, which will enable WWF-Australia to build stronger on-the-ground conservation work over the next 5 to 10 years.
Q. How do WWF's animal adoptions work?
Adoptions were created as a way of building a connection between individuals and WWF's conservation work.
Animal adoptions support WWF's conservation programs to protect threatened species and their habitats. Each animal represents the work that WWF does to conserve that species and its native habitat.
For example, funds from the 'adoption' of marine turtles are used for turtle conservation, as well as our work on the Great Barrier Reef, coral triangle and climate change; as ecosystem impacts and climate change are two of the biggest factors affecting endangered marine turtles.
Q. How did you select the species for adoption?
The animals in WWF's adoption program are icons of the environment we live in. We choose species that are either priority species in WWF's global conservation program or that are prevalent in global priority eco-regions, where there are related conservation programs which require funding.
A species adoption is symbolic and provides a way of demonstrating our complex conservation work by focussing on a single animal and its habitat.
Q. How is adoption money allocated between conservation work with the specific species, and WWF's wider work?
Funds from WWF's animal adoptions are split between conservation work to protect that species and its habitat, and WWF's broader conservation work.
Q. Is the business of fundraising driving conservation more than the needs of people and the environment?
The objective of fundraising by WWF isn't profit. Fundraising produces the resources that an organisation like WWF needs to carry out its conservation work. Fundraising is a necessary part of WWF's work - without the contributions of our members, supporters and corporate partners, we would be unable to carry out the conservation work that has helped to protect and preserve some of our planet’s most iconic species and fragile places.
WWF's CONSERVATION PRIORITIES
Q. How does WWF set its conservation priorities?
WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of our planet's natural environment, and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.
We do this through innovative partnerships that combine on-the-ground conservation, high-level policy and advocacy, and work to make business & industry more sustainable.
We are strategically focusing on conserving critical places and critical species that are particularly important for their habitat or for people. We are also working to reduce humanity's ecological footprint - the amount of land and natural resources needed to supply our food, water, fibre and timber, and to absorb our carbon pollution.
Our work is not about keeping people out of nature, or turning back the clock, or preventing countries or communities from developing. It is about finding practical solutions for a healthy planet.
Species
Q. What are flagship species, and why does WWF work with flagship species?
Flagship species are iconic wild animals that provide a focus for raising awareness and stimulating action and funding for broader conservation efforts.
These species inspire conservation efforts for themselves - and for the thousands of lesser-known, but vitally important, plants and animals with which they co-exist. WWF works with these animals not only to protect them but also because they represent some of the most important habitats on earth. By protecting the flagship species and its natural environment, we are protecting the entire eco-system.
In the words of WWF founder Sir Peter Scott: "We shall not save everything, but we shall save a great deal more than if we never tried." Using the awe-inspiring beauty of some of nature's flagship species can help us all to value our planet more. This will be essential if we are to secure a future in which both people and nature thrive.
Q. How does WWF decide which species to focus on?
Conservation efforts are needed for threatened species whose survival cannot be guaranteed by conserving their habitat alone.
WWF is focusing efforts on a select group of priority species that are especially important, either for their ecosystem (including species forming a key element of the food chain; which help the stability or regeneration of habitats; or which demonstrate broader conservation needs), .or for people (including species important for the health and livelihoods of local communities; species exploited commercially; and species that are important cultural icons).
Q. Why is WWF concerned about species loss?
The rapid loss of species that we are witnessing today is conservatively estimated by some experts to be between 100 and 1,000 times higher than the "background" or expected natural extinction. Unlike the mass-extinction events of geological history, the current extinction phenomenon is one for which a single species - ours - appears to be almost wholly responsible.
Q. Why are species declining?
The greatest threats to ecosystems and biological diversity are:
- Habitat loss
- Unsustainable trade
- Bycatch
- Climate change
- Invasive species
- Pollution
- Human-animal conflict
Some species are impacted by only one of these factors, while others are hit by a combination.
The good news is that many species can rebound if provided adequate protection and habitat, for example tigers in the Russian Far East, pandas in China and many others. If governments, scientists, conservationists, and local communities work together, we can protect and recover species and their habitats.
Q. What is WWF-Australia doing to protect the marine environment and its species?
WWF-Australia continues to work tirelessly to conserve some of the world’s most precious marine ecosystems here in Australia and in our region.
Through our work on the Great Barrier Reef, we aim to protect this global icon and its precious species including turtles, dugongs and dolphins so that it is a thriving ecosystem for generations to come. We are doing this by reducing the effects of pesticides and pollutants on coral and sea grass, and partnering with Indigenous communities to research the health and habitat of turtles. In our region, we are working with local communities, businesses and governments to protect an area known as the Coral Triangle – stretching across six countries from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste. This area is the centre of the world’s marine biodiversity and is thought to be home to 76 per cent of reef-building coral species and 37 per cent of coral reef species.
Working with local communities
Q. Does WWF accept that local communities have a role to play in conservation?
WWF works closely with Indigenous communities in Australia to protect our native plants and animals and their habitats so as to deliver enduring conservation outcomes.
We collaborate with Traditional Owners across Australia but particularly in Queensland, on our work to protect the Great Barrier Reef, and in Western Australia, which is home to the Kimberley and diverse Southwest.
In Queensland, WWF is working closely with Traditional Owners, the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation and Gudjuda Reference Group Aboriginal Corporation, to monitor and protect marine turtles. Their knowledge and experience is invaluable to us.
Human Rights
Q. What is WWF's current policy on human rights and project work?
WWF is dedicated to stopping the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a sustainable future for people and wildlife. In order to ensure we carry out all of our work in an ethical fashion, we are committed to follow the guiding principles set out in our Global Program Framework.
As part of the GPF, we have committed to:
- Involve local communities and indigenous peoples in the planning and execution of our field programs, respecting their cultural as well as economic needs
- WWF has participated in the Conservation Initiative on Human Rights - a consortium of 8 NGOs looking to improve human rights practices. We have produced policies on how we work with indigenous people in the field and on poverty and conservation and have a Conservation and Human Rights Framework and ethical labour code of conduct
Q. What is WWF's policy regarding human rights and business partnerships?
We champion sustainable livelihoods where the basic needs of poorer communities can be met while protecting the local environment. For example, we work with communities to support income generation from keeping forests standing and national parks intact - replacing earnings from unsustainable logging.
Ensuring the benefits from renewable natural resources are shared fairly across the world is a big part of human rights and our work at WWF.
Working with businesses
Q. Why does WWF work with business?
WWF's approach to business is constructive, collaborative and challenging, because we are convinced that the business community offers one of the most effective routes to finding sustainable solutions to the world's pressing environmental challenges. We believe our vision can be achieved to maximum effect by working in partnership with business and by harnessing the influence, expertise, and financial support of companies committed to sustainable business practices.
Q. Do businesses have to donate money to WWF before you'll work with them?
No. We have a number of ways of working with business, some of which involve a financial relationship and others which don't.
We work at a sector level, for example our work on the Global Forest and Trade network. This does not involve donations to WWF, although companies will cover some costs, such as GFTN membership fees.
WWF will also enter into a partnership with an individual company if the engagement provides a 'strategic fit' to WWF's key objectives and if we are convinced there is real commitment to progress, which is both 'monitor-able' and 'communicable'. We will expect the company to cover WWF's costs in such a partnership and usually expect the company to commit to supporting WWF's wider conservation work with a financial donation.
We will also occasionally seek funding from low-impact companies without programmatic engagement, although it is always our aspiration to encourage positive change from the companies that we engage with.
Q. Does WWF partner with businesses that have a high impact on the environment?
It's vital that we work with companies that have very high impacts on the environment, those which are perhaps only just setting out on the journey towards sustainability, or that may even have some practices we profoundly disagree with, as well as partnering with companies that consider sustainability to be a priority and part of their business strategy at the highest level.
If we want to achieve the greatest possible benefit for people and nature, we need to work with those who can make the biggest difference, in order to succeed in our aim of safeguarding our planet for the future.
Q. What due diligence do you do on companies before you partner with them?
We look to have a clear and full understanding of an organisation's position and practices in relation to human rights and labour issues and we also consult other social and labour NGOs before going into a relationship.
We also look at other impacts of a potential partner's work, such as their production policies, relations to indigenous communities, souring of raw materials, water use and so on, as well as their relationships with local authorities.
WWF agreements also include wording that allows WWF to terminate the agreement, if there are breaches of the agreement. WWF would consider termination of a partnership if an organisation or company: continually fails to deliver on environmental commitments made as part of the partnership, enters into a new business activity that presents a serious conflict with WWF's work ceases its willingness to take ongoing action around sustainability
Palm Oil
Q. What is the RSPO and what is WWF’s role in it?
The RSPO is a multi-stakeholder initiative dedicated to promoting sustainable production of palm oil worldwide and includes palm oil growers, oil processors, traders, consumer good manufacturers, retailers, investors and social and environmental NGOs. WWF currently holds one of the two seats on the Executive Board designated for environmental NGOs.
WWF is deeply concerned about the loss of tropical forests and associated social conflicts due to expanding palm oil production. Working with various business partners, WWF was instrumental in organising the first palm oil roundtable meeting in August 2003 in Kuala Lumpur, and went on to become a founding member of the RSPO, which was formally established in 2004 as an association according to Swiss civil code.
Working with the RSPO is not the only way that WWF tries to mitigate the environmental and social impacts of palm oil expansion. WWF also works on a suite of inter-related strategies such as promoting transparent land-use planning, working with governments in both producer and market countries, and developing finance and investment screens that are compatible with RSPO principles. WWF also engages directly with businesses in the palm oil sector, both in Australia and internationally.
In Australia, WWF has been campaigning for transparent labelling of palm oil, and we are happy to report that a Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling - Palm Oil) Bill passed the Senate in late June.
Q. Can the RSPO criteria really ensure "sustainability"?
The RSPO Principles and Criteria provide valuable guidelines for sustainable palm oil production - or, to be precise, for responsible, more sustainable production, as sustainability is not a fixed state but has to be strived for through continuous improvement. The RSPO criteria set a benchmark level of performance that represents a balance between economic, ecological and social interests. RSPO Principle 8 embraces the continuous improvement aspect of "sustainability".
Q. What are the requirements for joining the RSPO?
Membership of the RSPO is open to any organisation working in the palm oil supply chain from investor to retailer and to organisations that have an interest in the sustainability of the industry such as NGOs and academic institutions. Membership is approved by the RSPO based on the general good standing of the organisation in question. Members sign a Code of Conduct which requires them amongst other things to support and promote the RSPO and sustainable palm oil; for members operating within the supply chain to pursue 100% certification (either as a producer, trader or user of palm oil) and to continue to improve their performance. Members are required to report annually on their progress towards certification.
Dinant
Q. Who is Dinant?
Corporación Dinant, owned by Miguel Facusse, produces 60% of all palm oil exported by Honduras.
Q. What is WWF's relationship with Dinant?
In April 2010, WWF signed a MOU with Exportadora del Atlántico, a subsidiary of Corporación Dinant. The MOU focused on improving their environmental performance, and work was focused on the plantations in the Lean valley close to Tela.
Work included studying the chemical products used on the land, looking at the way the organisation used water and thinking about how they engaged with local people in managing the ecosystem as a whole. As a result of the program, better agricultural practices were implemented, specifically the production of compost to substitute the use of fertilizers, and Dinant invested approximately USD 300,000 in reducing their own environmental impact Late last year WWF became aware that there were allegations against the company concerning human rights abuses, specifically regarding a land dispute. This deeply concerned us, and at the beginning of December last year, we decided to suspend further work with the organisation pending further investigation.
