Conservation Influencers is a directory of 60 of the most prominent NGOs from the animal activist, environmental and ecological lobby, which analyses their history, mission, methodology, funding and reputation. It assesses their influence on the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the framing of the conservation debate globally.
From 1990 until 2015, Franz Weber Foundation (FFW) managed the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park in Togo, which was, according to an in-depth investigation by Duke University, ‘established by forcing the local communities off their land and without taking into consideration their point of view’. That same study cited convincing evidence from reports published in 1990, confirming that competition for land use was already ‘creating conflict between the local communities and park managers’. In 2015, Togo refused to renew FFW’s contract because, the report says, ‘local communities were still excluded from the management of the natural resources of their land’ and FFW had ‘failed to fulfil its contract’. Franz Weber Foundation plays a major role within CITES because it funds and manages from Switzerland the African Elephant Coalition (AEC), which represents 32 African range states, some of which have barely any elephants and others none at all. Contrary to the wishes of the range states in Southern Africa, which manage most of the world’s wild elephant populations, the AEC at CITES’ CoPs repeatedly tables proposals to put all of the world’s elephants in appendix I. And the AEC uses its voting power to keep in place prohibitions on ivory sales and all other trade in elephant-related derivatives, including skins and hair, which Southern African nations wish to legalise.
From 1990 until 2015, Franz Weber Foundation (FFW) managed the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park in Togo, which was, according to an in-depth investigation by Duke University, ‘established by forcing the local communities off their land and without taking into consideration their point of view’. That same study cited convincing evidence from reports published in 1990, confirming that competition for land use was already ‘creating conflict between the local communities and park managers’. In 2015, Togo refused to renew FFW’s contract because, the report says, ‘local communities were still excluded from the management of the natural resources of their land’ and FFW had ‘failed to fulfil its contract’. Franz Weber Foundation plays a major role within CITES because it funds and manages from Switzerland the African Elephant Coalition (AEC), which represents 32 African range states, some of which have barely any elephants and others none at all. Contrary to the wishes of the range states in Southern Africa, which manage most of the world’s wild elephant populations, the AEC at CITES’ CoPs repeatedly tables proposals to put all of the world’s elephants in appendix I. And the AEC uses its voting power to keep in place prohibitions on ivory sales and all other trade in elephant-related derivatives, including skins and hair, which Southern African nations wish to legalise.
Conservation is not about living in harmony with nature, it is about putting people first and managing natural resources responsibly for the benefit of humanity
There are 8 billion people on the planet. Most of them live in cities. IWMC promotes the interests of aboriginal, rural and coastal communities (ARC) because they are frontline custodians harvesting nature’s bounty. They also suffer most from human wildlife conflicts, which IWMC works to resolve or minimise. Meanwhile, people in cities and towns consume what the harvesters harvest. Hence, IWMC supports the consumptive use of wildlife and defends all cultures that enjoy its benefits. According to the PEW charitable trusts, there are 260 million marine fisheries jobs worldwide. Many millions more are employed on the land. IWMC stands up for these workers and their communities informed by the principle of responsible, sustainable, wise use. We also firmly believe in the right of nations to manage their wildlife as they see fit.
Wildlife Betrayed is the forward-looking, reforming manifesto which 21st-century conservation and sustainable development has lacked. It is in the form of a short book-length document, ideal for online propagation. It has six Case Studies ranging from Elephants to COVID showing how populist “hands-off” conservation and animal welfare campaigns are pursuing a well-funded and relentless campaign to mislead the public and hijack multilateral institutions, especially CITES.
The book will be available soon, in print and all popular digital formats.
Contact IWMC for more information.
“There is good reason to suggest that any CITES ban on trade on any wildlife animal species may encourage hitch-hiking zoonoses because of its encouragement to illegal and unscrutinised trade.”
“The good news is that the whale did not become extinct on our watch, and that there are more whales now than at any time since their large-scale exploitation got into full swing, and in some cases are returning to pre-exploitation levels.”
“What CITES might call its elephant successes, such as they are, are mostly the result of it being bent out of recognisable shape. It has made compromises over elephants which are heroic or unholy depending on what side of the fence you’re on, but which certainly risk the operation of the Convention becoming incoherent.”
There will be much more in the book that will confound those that think animals are beyond managed conservation and trade for consumptive use.
Indigenous, non-indigenous campaigners and experts who attended the world’s first Our Land Our Nature Congress released a manifesto calling for a total halt to the creation of new
How do you read the allegations in the video?
Towards the Sustainable Use of Aquatic Living Resources Prologue On 1 July 2019, five small-type whaling vessels left the port of Kushiro and one factory-ship
Report on the Transplantation Project of Precious Corals in Japan SUMMARY In response to growing evidence of the effects of climate change and to address
How do you read the allegations in the video?
@peta Ineffective? Perhaps @PETA missed the fact that the COVID-19 vaccines that have saved millions of lives across the world were first tested successfully on animals?
Read MoreNew on IWMC's website, plus an introductory comment, The Marseille Manifesto: a people’s manifesto for the future of conservation, issued by the Our Land Our Nature Congress in Marseille.
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this web site do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the IWMC World Conservation Trust or official policies of the IWMC.
