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    1. What We Do

Critical places & regions

We can conserve most of life on Earth by protecting the most exceptional ecosystems and habitats. Places that are particularly rich in biodiversity. Places with unique animals and plants. Places like no other.

WWF is focusing on conserving 35 global priority regions.

These terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecoregions have been scientifically identified as:

  • being home to irreplaceable and threatened biodiversity, or
  • representing an opportunity to conserve the largest and most intact representative of their ecosystem.

We are also working in a number of regional priority areas that are locally important and have a long history of WWF conservation success.

2020 Places Goal

By 2020, biodiversity is protected and well managed in the world’s most outstanding natural places.
Click on a region to find out more...


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More information

Aren't there lots of parks already?

Protected areas (like national parks, sanctuaries, and reserves) cover around 12% of the Earth's surface.

Why then are the world's natural places still under threat?

One reason is that many protected areas are not well managed. Another is that many vital habitats are often not included, like mangroves, swamps, and grasslands. There are also long-term, global threats, like climate change and over-extraction of water from rivers.

And there's not always enough support from governments, business and industry, development agencies, and sometimes local communities to ensure the long-term success of protected areas.

So while it's true that a tremendous amount has been done, there's still a lot more to do to ensure enough of our planet's ecosystems and habitats are properly conserved.

Photos and graphics © WWF or used with permission. Text available under a Creative Commons licence.

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