Species & People: Linked Futures

Species conservation programmes can and do reduce poverty, increase participation by women in society, improve governance structures, increase food security and, of course, deliver a sustainable environment for future generations.

Species are essential to human societies as cultural and religious symbols, commodities, food, fibre, and transport. Species also play a vital role in ensuring environmental services such as clean water and fertile soil, and are vital to the lives and well-being of rural communities dependent on them for their survival.

Species and People - Linked Futures
Around the world, billions of dollars are being spent to reduce poverty and promote sustainable economic development - often with inadequate attention to the link between sustainable development and a healthy environment.

In many parts of the world, the dynamics which threaten species are also those which contribute to poverty, such as loss of habitat and its riches, unsustainable depletion of the natural resource base, inequitable access to natural resources necessary for life, and a lack of appropriate governance and management mechanisms.

Working towards our mission
WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by: conserving the world's biological diversity; ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable; and reducing pollution and wasteful consumption.

Forging partnerships for conservation and development
The challenge for governments, scientists, industry, nongovernmental organizations and communities is to embrace both the challenges and the opportunities of species conservation and to deliver integrated conservation and development outcomes. The results will improve the status of species and the communities, which, ultimately, are the custodians of their habitats and populations.