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Fauna and Flora International

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Fauna & Flora International
AbbreviationFFI
Formation1903 (1903)
TypeINGO
PurposeConservation charity
HeadquartersCambridge
Chairman
Andrew Sykes
Chief Executive
Mark Rose
Main organ
Council
Websitewww.fauna-flora.org

Fauna & Flora International (FFI), formerly the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, is an international conservation charity and non-governmental organization.

History

FFI was originally founded in 1903 as the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire by a group of British naturalists and American statesmen in Africa. It later became the Fauna Preservation Society, before being renamed Fauna and Flora Preservation Society in 1981. The goal of the society was to safeguard the future of southern Africa’s large mammal populations, which had declined alarmingly due to over-hunting and habitat encroachment. Working in tandem with landowners, government and sport hunters, the Society helped pass legislation which controlled hunting in vast stretches of East Africa and South Africa. This ultimately paved the way for the formation of National Parks, such as Kruger National Park and Serengeti National Park.

FFI has been referred to by many historians as the world's first conservation society, and the society's early work in Africa was also trend-setting in ecotourism. The organization also played a key role in establishing much of today’s global conservation infrastructure – including the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

Activities

The Society's scientific journal – Oryx – The International Journal of Conservation[1] – is published on its behalf by Cambridge University Press.[2]

FFI has a seven-step approach to conserving biodiversity:

  1. Building local capacity for conservation
  2. Integrating biodiversity and human needs
  3. Direct protection of species and habitats
  4. Securing land for conservation
  5. Emergency response to conservation needs
  6. Influencing policy and the practice of conservation
  7. Bridging the gap between business and biodiversity

In line with its seven-step approach to conservation, Fauna & Flora International has endorsed the Forests Now Declaration, which calls for new market based mechanisms to protect tropical forests.

Structure

Fauna & Flora International is constituted under English law as a company limited by guarantee[3] and is a registered charity with its head office in Cambridge.[4] FFI has sister organisations in the U.S. and Australia, and a subsidiary in Singapore.

The logo of the society is the Arabian oryx, after the very successful Operation Oryx, a flagship Arabian oryx captive breeding project undertaken by the society.

Queen Elizabeth II is FFI's patron, and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands is the president of the organization. FFI also has a number of high-profile vice-presidents, including Sir David Attenborough, David Bellamy, Stephen Fry, Charlotte Uhlenbroek, Rove McManus, Judi Dench and Lord Browne of Madingley.[5]

FFI has members in over 80 countries.

Significant landmarks

  • 1903 - First publication of the society’s journal, the precursor of Oryx - The International Journal of Conservation
  • 1962 - Operation Oryx helps rescue the Arabian oryx from extinction through a captive breeding program, with successful reintroductions into the wild in Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. This was one of the world's first successful captive breeding and reintroduction efforts for an endangered species.
  • 1966 - Peter Scott, Chairman of IUCN Species Survival Commission, becomes Chairman of FFI and devises the Red Data Books, a systematic study of all endangered species.
  • 1971 - Launch of the 100% Fund (now the Flagship Species Fund), set up to support small-scale projects where urgent conservation action is needed to protect endangered species around the world.
  • 1972 - Gerald Durrell's initiative caused the society to start the World Conference on Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity as an Aid to their Survival at Jersey, the first knowledge sharing among scientists regarding ideas of captive breeding.
  • 2000 - Alexander Peal, President of the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia, whose work FFI has supported since 1996, receives the Goldman Environmental Prize, one of the highest honours for a conservationist.

References

  1. ^ Oryx The Journal
  2. ^ ISSN 0030-6053
  3. ^ Registered Company Number 2677068
  4. ^ "Fauna and Flora International, registered charity no. 1011102". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  5. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/13/stephen-fry-last-chance-to-see
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