Word: wwf
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...reconnect them, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)--with the Indian and Nepali governments, Save the Tiger and other groups--launched the Terai Arc Landscape Program in 2001. The plan, which is projected to take 50 years to complete, aims to unite 11 reserves into one functioning ecosystem--providing habitat for tigers as well as elephants, rhinos and deer but without displacing farmers or herders. "The future of conservation in Asia is about zoning," observes Eric Dinerstein, chief scientist for the WWF. "We have to figure out how agriculture can coexist with wildlife...
...program has been a success in southern Nepal's Bagmara Forest, where the WWF and the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation helped local people set up a tree nursery. Tigers returned to the area, and locals are able to harvest timber, fuel wood and grasses according to a strict management plan. Local people also benefit directly from the return of wildlife. They collected about $73,000 last year from tourists who came to see tigers, elephants and rhinos in their forest...
...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...
...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...