Word: wwf
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...highlands have a great value in themselves, especially because Europe is so densely populated," says Arni Finnsson, chairman of the Iceland Nature Conservation Association, a leading opponent of the Kárahnjúkar project. "This area is far too beautiful to destroy." Environmentalists like Finnsson, supported by the WWF Arctic Program, the International Rivers Network and others, argue that construction will ruin this beauty by redirecting rivers, wiping out waterfalls and wildlife habitats and encouraging soil erosion. But Sigurdur Arnalds, spokesman for Landsvirkjun, the national power company, which is developing the Kárahnjúkar project, downplays...
China's environmental policies are rarely worth celebrating, but with Beijing's help, the giant panda appears to be making a comeback. In the most comprehensive survey of the giant-panda population ever taken, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Chinese State Forestry Administration have found almost 1,600 of the endangered pandas in the wild?nearly 50% more than were previously known to exist...
...increase is "very encouraging news," says Li Ning, a communications officer at WWF China?especially since attempts to boost the panda population in captivity have been getting increasingly desperate. Efforts by Chinese researchers?from attempting to mass-produce the animals by cloning to encouraging intercourse using sex dolls and pornographic videos?have had little success; there are still only 161 pandas in captivity worldwide, according to the WWF...
...These setbacks have helped solidify Beijing's commitment to preserving the animals in the wild. A commercial-logging ban in 1998 allowed the WWF and provincial governments to establish numerous wildlife reserves?there are now more than 40, compared with 13 when the last panda survey was taken in the late '80s?along with bamboo-forested corridors linking them. These corridors are crucial, explains Li, because they connect the fragmented panda habitats and, in theory, allow the animals to find mates more easily...
...Although the panda population is undoubtedly larger than 20 years ago, the WWF says that it has also simply gotten better at counting. Satellite photography, computers and better access on the ground give researchers a more accurate reading. If the giant panda population is to grow further, China must continue to expand its network of linked nature reserves?which Li says will also benefit some of China's other endangered species, such as the golden monkey and the takin. If that happens, China's environmental critics will have even better news to celebrate...