IUCN welcomes WWF International to the IUCN Conservation Centre

“We are delighted to have our Member WWF International move its offices to the IUCN Conservation Centre,” says IUCN Director General Inger Andersen. “IUCN and WWF have a long history of collaboration on important environmental and development issues. We hope this move will strengthen the ties between the two organisations, and we look forward to working more closely together on addressing today’s most pressing global challenges.”

An IUCN Member since 2012, WWF International was established in 1961 as an international fundraising organisation to support the work of existing conservation groups, including IUCN.

The financial support provided by WWF was critical in producing the World Conservation Strategy, published by IUCN in 1980. The strategy helped define the concept of ‘sustainable development’. It recognised the limited capacity of the world’s natural resources to support the growing human population, and the importance of considering the needs of future generations.

IUCN and WWF have since worked closely on a number of issues. In 1976, the two organisations created the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, which today is a leading global wildlife trade specialist. WWF also participates in the IUCN Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel process, which involves an independent panel of scientists advising Sakhalin Energy and other parties on conservation of the Western Gray Whale.

The IUCN Conservation Centre also hosts other conservation organisations, including the Ramsar Convention, the MAVA Foundation and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. It is one of Europe's greenest office buildings. It incorporates innovative green building techniques such as the use of rainwater for toilets and irrigation, geothermal heating, a decentralised carbon dioxide-controlled air supply system, and heat recuperation from refrigerators to produce hot water.