WWF Helps Industry More than Environment

[xchrom]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/wwf-helps-industry-more-than-environment-a-835712.html

***SNIP

Illusion of Aid

But can the WWF truly protect nature against human beings? Or do the organization's attractive posters merely offer the illusion of help? Fifty years after the organization was founded, there are growing doubts as to the independence of the WWF and its business model, which involves partnering with industry to protect nature.

The WWF, whose international headquarters are located in Gland, Switzerland, is seen as the world's most powerful conservation organization. It is active in more than 100 countries, where it enjoys close connections to the rich and the powerful. Its trademark panda emblem appears on Danone yoghurt cups and the clothing of jetsetters like Princess Charlene of Monaco. Companies pay seven-figure fees for the privilege of using the logo. The WWF counts 430,000 members in Germany alone, and millions of people give their savings to the organization. The question is how sustainably this money is actually being invested.

SPIEGEL traveled around South America and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to address this question. In Brazil, an agricultural industry executive talked about the first shipload of sustainable soybeans, certified in accordance with WWF standards, to reach Rotterdam last year, amid a flurry of PR hype. The executive had to admit, however, that he wasn't entirely sure where the shipment had come from. In Sumatra, members of a tribal group reported how troops hired by WWF partner Wilmar had destroyed their houses, because they had stood in the way of unfettered palm oil production.

[kristopher]

1. You might want to bear this in mind when reading articles like this

Right wing stepping up attacks on renewable energy
A network of ultra-conservative groups is ramping up an offensive on multiple fronts to turn the American public against wind farms and Barack Obama's energy agenda.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112714465


ALEC Says It Plans To Craft Legislation To Take Down State Renewable Energy Targets
Two leading conservative political organizations say they are stepping up coordinated efforts to repeal state-level renewable energy targets.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/112715562

Especially see the strategy outlined at post 12 for the first link above.

Perhaps it could become a game to see how these various reports fit into that strategy.