IUCN - The World Conservation
Union
Founded in 1948, IUCN - The World Conservation Union
brings together states, government agencies and non-governmental
organizations in a unique world partnership. Its mission is
to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the
world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and
to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and
ecologically sustainable. Areas of focus include biodiversity;
business; climate change; economics; ecosystem management; education
and communication; environmental law; forest conservation; gender,
marine and protected areas; social policy; species; wetlands
and water. Details about IUCN's organizational structure, members,
news updates; publications, online bookstore and contact information
are available online.
http://www.iucn.org/
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran,
in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework
for national action and international cooperation for the conservation
and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently
138 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1328 wetland
sites, totaling 111.9 million hectares, designated for inclusion
in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
http://www.ramsar.org/
Ramsar Sites Database Service
The Ramsar Sites Database Service provides information
on wetlands designated as internationally important under the
Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, 1971). These wetlands are commonly
known as Ramsar Sites. Information on wetland types, land uses,
threats, hydrological values of the sites are available in this
searchable database. Other components include the Ramsar Sites
Directory, a summary of why the Site is important, and full
scientific names of key species recorded. Graphical profiles
include a core set of (thematic) maps and graphical analyses
such as maps of the world and each region, showing the current
distribution of the Contracting Parties and Ramsar sites or
global distribution maps of Ramsar Sites with wetland types
which have been identified as being under-represented.
http://www.wetlands.org/RSDB/default.htm
Wetlands International
Wetlands International is a global non-profit organisation
dedicated to the crucial work of wetland conservation and sustainable
management. Its mission is to sustain and restore wetlands,
their resources and biodiversity for future generations through
research, information exchange and conservation activities,
worldwide.
http://www.wetlands.org/default.htm
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
IUCN - The World Conservation Union, through its Species
Survival Commission (SSC) assesses the conservation status of
species, subspecies, varieties and even selected subpopulations
on a global scale in order to highlight taxa threatened with
extinction, and therefore promote their conservation. It provides
the most comprehensive, apolitical global approach for evaluating
the conservation status of plant and animal species. The goals
of the IUCN Red List Programme are to identify and document
those species most in need of conservation attention if global
extinction rates are to be reduced; and provide a global index
of the state of degeneration of biodiversity.
http://www.redlist.org/
WWF - Pakistan
Established in 1970, WWF - Pakistan (WWF-P) contributes
towards conserving Pakistan's unique natural diversity in a
way that takes into account the future needs of its people.
It is working to achieve the conservation of nature and ecological
processes by preserving genetic, species and ecosystem diversity;
ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
both now and in the longer term and promoting actions to reduce
pollution, and wasteful exploitation and consumption of resources
and energy.
http://www.wwfpak.org/
International Waters Learning Exchange
and Resource Network (IW:LEARN)
The International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource
Network's (IW:LEARN) mission is to build an Internet-based "global
knowledge community" to protect, restore and sustain the
world's aquifers, great lakes and river basins, coastal zones,
seas and oceans. Sponsored by the Global Environment Facility
(GEF) and its United Nations and World Bank partners, IW:LEARN
specifically builds capacity among transboundary water resource
projects worldwide.
http://www.iwlearn.org/
WWF International
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 promoting the reduction of pollution and
wasteful consumption. Its focus areas include climate change,
forests, freshwater, marine, species and toxics. Cross-cutting
issues include trade and investment (World Trade Organization
rules), indigenous and traditional peoples (intellectual property
rights), and the impacts of tourism. Particular attention is
paid to the root causes of biodiversity loss, such as poverty,
migration, macroeconomic policies, and poor enforcement of environmental
legislation.
http://www.wwf.org
& http://www.panda.org/
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