Tiskové zprávy
WWF Velká Británie: Nový rok... a nové výzvy
23. prosince 2004 | WWF Velká Británie
The Chief Executive and staff of WWF in the United Kingdom offer you our warmest wishes for 2005. None of our work to conserve biodiversity and address global threats to people and nature would be possible without the continued backing of our members, supporters and donors. We are grateful to you all.
One of WWF's great strengths, which sets it apart from other environmental organisations, is that we are a truly global network operating in more than 100 countries with vastly different cultures and political systems. No single organisation can defeat global threats such as climate change, toxic chemicals or the unsustainable use of natural resources on its own, which is why WWF continues to develop partnerships that will help us achieve our conservation goals. Some of these partners are international aid agencies such as the UK's Department for International Development, which contributes substantial funding and resources to our programmes. Others are conservation and corporate partners who work on the ground with us on specific initiatives around the world.
Campaigning for change
As we develop our programmes and campaigns during the coming year, we will be asking for your help - and as past experience has proved, our supporters' backing can be powerfully effective. For example, our Chemicals and Health campaign was targeted to coincide with the EU's review of its legislation that regulates man-made industrial chemicals. Our intention was to make a direct input into this critical piece of environmental legislation - and this we have done.
During the year, WWF tested people from 18 European countries, every one of whom was found to be contaminated with a cocktail of hazardous man-made chemicals in their blood. Then, together with our campaign partners, The Co-operative Bank and the National Federation of Women's Institutes, we delivered a 77,000-name petition to the European Parliament, where we lobbied MEPs to legislate for safer chemicals in everyday products and an end to the contamination of children and wildlife.
Meanwhile, WWF's One Million Sustainable Homes campaign worked closely with Andrew Stunell MP, whose Sustainable and Secure Buildings Bill became law in September 2004. As a result, all building work in the UK will now have to take into account issues related to sustainable development and the environment - "in a nutshell, it widens yet tightens building regulations, so it's a huge victory for the environment," declared OMSH campaign director Paul King.
Here, also thanks to your support, are just a few examples of our further work and successes during the past year...
The Budget
WWF achieved success in the 2004 Budget, when the Chancellor announced tax breaks for landlords installing energy-efficient equipment in their properties. This concession was a key feature of the OMSH campaign, which was acknowledged by the Treasury as the inspiration for the initiative.
Primate success
In a triumph for WWF's conservation work, Brazil's golden lion tamarin was moved from "critically endangered" to "endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plants and animals.
Investing in Fish
The first project in the Invest in Fish initiative was launched in Plymouth by the Prince of Wales. This innovative project aims to demonstrate how recovery of fish stocks can be achieved in the Celtic Sea. Invest in Fish is a broad partnership led by WWF-UK, Marks & Spencer and the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, and is being tracked closely by the UK government and interested stakeholders as a tangible way forward for an industry in decline.
Tiger crisis averted
WWF joined forces with the Indian government to avert a major crisis facing the country's tigers after water resources dried up in two reserves. We funded the drilling of six wells to replenish a series of ponds throughout the reserves - without which as many as 50 tigers and most of their prey species would have been forced into outside areas, facing almost certain poaching.
Darwin Mounds saved
Following sustained lobbying by WWF, the EU finally agreed permanently to protect the Darwin Mounds, Britain's unique cold-water coral reefs off the north-west coast of Scotland, from being trashed by deep water fishing activities. This is the first time that the EU has prioritised environmental protection over fishing.
Catastrophe forestalled
WWF questioned the legality of EU funding for Spain's National Hydrological Plan - an environmentally catastrophic scheme to extract water from the already depleted River Ebro and pump it 900km to golf courses, subsidised fruit farms and tourist resorts. In March, the newly-elected government halted the plan with immediate effect.
New elephant discovered
WWF and the Sabah Wildlife Department in Malaysia led DNA work that identified a genetically distinct subspecies of Asian elephant - the Borneo pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), which is smaller and more mild-tempered than other elephants. It is believed to have become separated from other elephant populations some 300,000 years ago.
Protecting nature in Europe
WWF lobbied the UK government to increase its list of Special Areas of Conservation - protected areas for rare and endangered species and habitats which form part of the international Natura 2000 network. We have helped secure an increase from the initial 340 sites to 605 now agreed with the European Commission. Our experience has helped the EU's new member states protect their own special areas - for example, Poland's wetlands and forests - and again demonstrates WWF's influence among decision-makers.
Land management
WWF and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation signed an agreement to develop a model for managing land owned by religious organisations throughout the world. It's estimated that the 11 major faiths involved own around seven per cent of the habitable surface of the planet.
Panda conservation
The Vodafone Group Foundation announced a donation of £600,000 to WWF's panda conservation programme in China, and £400,000 for our programme to protect 4,600km of east Africa's coastal and marine environment.
And finally...
Again, we express our gratitude to all our supporters and well-wishers - not least the 13,813 people who took direct online action here on our website - and we offer our good wishes for 2005.
One of WWF's great strengths, which sets it apart from other environmental organisations, is that we are a truly global network operating in more than 100 countries with vastly different cultures and political systems. No single organisation can defeat global threats such as climate change, toxic chemicals or the unsustainable use of natural resources on its own, which is why WWF continues to develop partnerships that will help us achieve our conservation goals. Some of these partners are international aid agencies such as the UK's Department for International Development, which contributes substantial funding and resources to our programmes. Others are conservation and corporate partners who work on the ground with us on specific initiatives around the world.
Campaigning for change
As we develop our programmes and campaigns during the coming year, we will be asking for your help - and as past experience has proved, our supporters' backing can be powerfully effective. For example, our Chemicals and Health campaign was targeted to coincide with the EU's review of its legislation that regulates man-made industrial chemicals. Our intention was to make a direct input into this critical piece of environmental legislation - and this we have done.
During the year, WWF tested people from 18 European countries, every one of whom was found to be contaminated with a cocktail of hazardous man-made chemicals in their blood. Then, together with our campaign partners, The Co-operative Bank and the National Federation of Women's Institutes, we delivered a 77,000-name petition to the European Parliament, where we lobbied MEPs to legislate for safer chemicals in everyday products and an end to the contamination of children and wildlife.
Meanwhile, WWF's One Million Sustainable Homes campaign worked closely with Andrew Stunell MP, whose Sustainable and Secure Buildings Bill became law in September 2004. As a result, all building work in the UK will now have to take into account issues related to sustainable development and the environment - "in a nutshell, it widens yet tightens building regulations, so it's a huge victory for the environment," declared OMSH campaign director Paul King.
Here, also thanks to your support, are just a few examples of our further work and successes during the past year...
The Budget
WWF achieved success in the 2004 Budget, when the Chancellor announced tax breaks for landlords installing energy-efficient equipment in their properties. This concession was a key feature of the OMSH campaign, which was acknowledged by the Treasury as the inspiration for the initiative.
Primate success
In a triumph for WWF's conservation work, Brazil's golden lion tamarin was moved from "critically endangered" to "endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plants and animals.
Investing in Fish
The first project in the Invest in Fish initiative was launched in Plymouth by the Prince of Wales. This innovative project aims to demonstrate how recovery of fish stocks can be achieved in the Celtic Sea. Invest in Fish is a broad partnership led by WWF-UK, Marks & Spencer and the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, and is being tracked closely by the UK government and interested stakeholders as a tangible way forward for an industry in decline.
Tiger crisis averted
WWF joined forces with the Indian government to avert a major crisis facing the country's tigers after water resources dried up in two reserves. We funded the drilling of six wells to replenish a series of ponds throughout the reserves - without which as many as 50 tigers and most of their prey species would have been forced into outside areas, facing almost certain poaching.
Darwin Mounds saved
Following sustained lobbying by WWF, the EU finally agreed permanently to protect the Darwin Mounds, Britain's unique cold-water coral reefs off the north-west coast of Scotland, from being trashed by deep water fishing activities. This is the first time that the EU has prioritised environmental protection over fishing.
Catastrophe forestalled
WWF questioned the legality of EU funding for Spain's National Hydrological Plan - an environmentally catastrophic scheme to extract water from the already depleted River Ebro and pump it 900km to golf courses, subsidised fruit farms and tourist resorts. In March, the newly-elected government halted the plan with immediate effect.
New elephant discovered
WWF and the Sabah Wildlife Department in Malaysia led DNA work that identified a genetically distinct subspecies of Asian elephant - the Borneo pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), which is smaller and more mild-tempered than other elephants. It is believed to have become separated from other elephant populations some 300,000 years ago.
Protecting nature in Europe
WWF lobbied the UK government to increase its list of Special Areas of Conservation - protected areas for rare and endangered species and habitats which form part of the international Natura 2000 network. We have helped secure an increase from the initial 340 sites to 605 now agreed with the European Commission. Our experience has helped the EU's new member states protect their own special areas - for example, Poland's wetlands and forests - and again demonstrates WWF's influence among decision-makers.
Land management
WWF and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation signed an agreement to develop a model for managing land owned by religious organisations throughout the world. It's estimated that the 11 major faiths involved own around seven per cent of the habitable surface of the planet.
Panda conservation
The Vodafone Group Foundation announced a donation of £600,000 to WWF's panda conservation programme in China, and £400,000 for our programme to protect 4,600km of east Africa's coastal and marine environment.
And finally...
Again, we express our gratitude to all our supporters and well-wishers - not least the 13,813 people who took direct online action here on our website - and we offer our good wishes for 2005.
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