World Wildlife Fund (After The Cold War)

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) coordinates the environmental activities for the League of Nations, which for the foreseeable future means investigating the damage and other effects caused by The Cold War. It was re-established as a result of the LoN Conference for the Human Environment in June 2009, where it was decided that while a noble cause, most nations were not capable of contributing to environmental endeavors. As a result, it was decided that the LoN would provide some minimal support to repair the WWF, which would then coordinate efforts until the League is ready to undertake the tasks themselves. It has its headquarters in Auckland, Common wealth of Australia and New Zealand. The WWF also has seven regional offices and member organizations in various countries.

The mandate of the WWF is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action.

Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world's biodiversity: forests, freshwater ecosystems, and oceans and coasts. Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, pollution and climate change, especially as a result of the events of the Cold War.

Pre-Cold War
The organization was formed as a charitable trust in 1947, in Morges, Switzerland, under the name World Wildlife Fund. It was an initiative of Julian Huxley and Max Nicholson, who had thirty years experience of linking progressive intellectuals with big business interests through the Political and Economic Planning think tank.

The WWF set up offices and operations around the world. It originally worked by fund-raising and providing grants to existing non-governmental organizations, based on the best-available scientific knowledge and with an initial focus on the protection of endangered species. As more resources became available, its operations expanded into other areas such as the preservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of natural resources, the reduction of pollution, and climate change. The organization also began to run its own conservation projects and campaigns, and by the 1980s it had started to take a more strategic approach to its conservation activities.

Cold War
The WWF lost many of its members in the fires caused by the Cold War, and many of its offices were destroyed or abandoned. Because of this, the organization as a whole collapsed due to a lack of funds and support, and devolved into different environmental organizations where its organization had survived.

As a net result, the more powerful and intact of the remaining areas of the organization, the ANZUS and Alpine Confederation branches, were the only active parts of the organization.

Post-Cold War
In 2008, the League of Nations was created. The earth and its Climate had changed somewhat after the Cold War. These changes brought joy to some species and threatened others, so the LoN decided to hold a conference at its headquarters about what should be done about it. The LoN Conference for Human Environment was thus held among the representatives at headquarters in June of 2009. The result of this conference was the revival of the WWF but as a organization semi-attached from the LoN. The surviving branches in the ANZUS and the Alpine Confederation, having been the strongest branches left after the Cold War, were the leaders in this, as as a result, the headquarters was to be selected from between the two. In the end, it came down to access to the ocean, and as a result, it was established in Auckland, New Zealand.

The WWF's current strategy for achieving its mission specifically focuses on restoring the populations - if needed - of 36 species which are important for their ecosystem or to people, including elephants, tunas, whales, dolphins and porpoises, and big-leaf mahogany, attempting to conserve 35 globally important ecosystems around the world, such as the Arctic, the Amazon rainforest, the Congo Basin, the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Plains, and the Coral Triangle, and reducing people’s ecological footprint in 6 different areas.

The organization also works at a local level in the more established nations on a number of global issues driving biodiversity loss and unsustainable use of natural resources, including finance, business practices, laws, and consumption choices. Local offices also work on national or regional issues.

The WWF works with a large number of different groups to achieve its goals, including other organizations, governments, business, investment banks, scientists, fishers, farmers and local communities. It also undertakes public campaigns to influence decision makers, and seeks to educate people on how to live in a more environmentally friendly manner.

WWF scientists and many others have identified 238 eco-regions that represent the world's most biologically outstanding terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, based on a worldwide biodiversity analysis which the organization says was the first of its kind.

Currently, the main project that the WWF is working on is studying the extent of the climate change brought on by the Cold War, with the filling of the Great Salt Lake and the flooding of the Netherlands being examples of what has occurred. The project is investigating what other changes may have occurred elsewhere as a result.

Currently, there is extensive debate in many corners over the practicality of the organization, given the current state of the world, though the WWF has stated with that regard that while it is true, the environment suffered immensely at the time too, and should not be forgotten.

Because of where current funding is coming from - the NAU has been a large contributor since contact was made in 2009 - most work is being done inside North America at this time, though it is hoped more funding will come from elsewhere soon.

Unlike the LoN itself, the WWF does include those nations not internationally recognized due to territorial disputes it its organization.

Projects
The WWF established several projects after Doomsday to study the damage done by the attacks to ecosystems of the world. Sadly, their lack of members and funds have caused these to be far more minimal than they would hope. They have confirmed reports of lakes rising in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, and recorded the impact on the environment as a result. Currently they are operating major projects in the following areas:

Spain
Because of the nuclear blasts vast areas of the Iberian Peninsula have become largely empty of human life and have been recovered by the wilderness. In Spain much of this is along the Guadalquivir River in southwest Spain. The marshes now dominate the landscape there, and have been spreading into the La Mancha area again, were they have not been in a very long time. In general the temperature has risen a few degrees, increasing desertification in the south, and precipitation has become more erratic and violent. The forest has retreated, giving way to scrub. In terms of species, the conifers are replacing deciduous. WWF representatives have discovered that a few species have been severely hurt by the events of Doomsday, and yet others are recovering very nicely from damage caused to them by humans, such as the Iberian Lynx, which while still rare, is recovering far better than could be expected. Packs of feral dogs have also appeared in the region, and have caused representatives much grief in their travels.

Netherlands
On September 26, 1991 the Netherlands and its neighboring countries were hit by several nuclear missiles. These completely destroyed several urban areas and killed millions. As a side affect several of the dikes and polders set up in these areas were destroyed as well, causing minor flooding in these areas. More serious and lasting however was the lack of manpower set up for maintaining Holland's drainage system. The drainage pumps, lacking fuel, skills and people to operate them, remained inoperative after the Cold War. Slowly these areas began sinking back into sea from which they came.

Over the next few years almost half of the country began to fill up with brackish water, subsequently transforming the areas into a radiation infested lake. Meanwhile plant life began to reclaim the area and cover the swamped cities and towns. Soon the only signs of past civilization left were crumbling ruins of former settlements halfway or even completely covered with water. There remain very few people who still live in these cities. Although a few nomads and reclusive inhabitants can be sporadically found living in the area, they number in the mere thousands in a region which once held over 10 million people.

Only Friesland and parts of Groningen managed to escape this fate, due to a lack of proximity of the blasts meaning that they could maintain their infrastructure.

The fate of the Dutch Wastelands remains uncertain. Although radiation levels have dropped they remain too high for safe rehabilitation at present, especially with continued radiation from the Rhine and Meuse rivers. Although there have been talks of eventual resettlement by the Netherlands Antilles, these remain minor and unofficial. It is most likely, barring major rehabilitation, the Dutch Wastelands will sink completely beneath the North Sea over the next few decades, becoming a shallow, irradiated bay of the North Sea.

The birds population has grown immensely in the last few years, and use the Dutch Wastelands as a nesting ground with the rooftops of the remaining buildings as their nests. However, WWF representatives have been unable to find out anything else in the region as of this time due to the radiation. They have, however, managed to confirm that the Black-headed gull, due to the warmer climate, is now actually saying in western Europe permanently than before. Strangely, the largest member of the grouse familyx western capercaillie, has spread into the Netherlands.

The Great Salt Lake, Nevada, and California
Because the Great Salt Lake is one of the lower points of the Great Basin, it is actually a pluvial lake. With the change in the climate brought on by the nuclear blast, removing the doldrums of the Equator and pushing the monsoon climate farther north, the Great Salt Lake has begun to rise from its height in 1991 of 1400. It is expected that with an increase over the prior 2.9 million acre-feet per year flowing into the Great Salt Lake, the level will continue to rise until a new outlet is breached.

Because of this growth, the citizens of Utah have constructed three dikes in the southwest corner of the Cache Valley, just north of Lehi and northwest of Delta. These dikes effectively protect the habitable centers of Utah from increasing flood. It is expected that the new Mormon Sea will crest around 2000 or 2200 feet. The Curlew Sluice has been cut and graded to this end, using the drainage of Raft River as its drainage into the Columbia River basin. Ongoing efforts are underway to lower the level of the sea to 1800 feet, if possible, however the volume of earth to be moved is prohibitive.

Since the Lake has grow many species of fishes and birds are increasing in number. Some of the birds that depend on these marshes include Wilson's phalarope, the American avocet, the black-necked stilt, the marbled godwit, the snowy plover, the western sandpiper, the long-billed dowitcher, the tundra swan, the white-faced ibis, the California gull, the eared grebe, the peregrine falcon, the bald eagle, plus large populations of various species of ducks and geese.

The population of shrimp in the lake has also bloomed to massive proportions, which attracts even more of the birds. Some birds that aren't from the Great Salt Lake, Nevada, or California (such as spoonbills, flamingos, swan geese, scarlet ibis, etc) either came from parts of South America, had escaped from abandoned zoos/safari parks, or both. Strangely enough, there are now seabirds including albatrosses, seagulls, etc. because they migrated their due to the effects of the cold war in some of their native ranges.

After some of the more isolated of the ranches and parks were abandoned after the Cold War, many Dromedary camels and other adaptable herbivores escaped and prospered in the desert environment of the southwest. At the same time many other domesticated animals did the same, and have prospered in some areas as well.

The Great Plains
At the crossroads of the continent, the Great Plains partakes of many influences. The desert of the American southwest contributes drought-adapted plants. The eastern deciduous forest sends woodland species out from its margins to try their luck amongst the grasses. The northeastern third felt the crush of the Pleistocene glaciers, which left behind some near-Arctic species when they retreated. Drought and flood, extremes of heat and cold, fire and the hand of man are constantly reshaping the area.

The Great Plains is subtle in its details. There are no craggy, snow-capped mountain ranges in some areas, but there are more isolated mountainous areas. The Black Hills of South Dakota and the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma are examples. These areas are like islands in the prairie and often contain species whose nearest relatives may be hundreds of miles away. There is no ocean shoreline, but the edge habitat along rivers, streams and the many natural and man-made lakes provide abundant opportunities for aquatic plants and the animals that depend on them. The wetland habitats of the prairie are very significant. Cheyenne Bottoms, located near Great Bend, Kansas, is officially recognized as a wetland of international importance. Half of all North American shorebirds stop over there during the spring migration.

The grass has grown extensively since 1991, and Bison population has greatly expanded. The Pronghorn population has done so as well. Herds of feral cows, sheep, goats, camels, and horses have also appeared, though these are shadows of what they were after the Cold War because of the activities of ranchers to recapture them. Surprisingly, there are zebras, cape buffaloes, and other non-indigenous herbivores because they escaped from zoos, safari parks, and private collections after they were abandoned due to the Cold War. Yet, the most strange and impressive of all is that lions have appeared in the portions of the plains, possibly because they escaped from zoos and private collections.

Texas and New Mexico
This project is the newest one undertaken by the WWF, actually going on since March 4, 2010. Surprisingly, many native wildlife such as coyotes, prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets, and others have recovered from damages caused by humans. Although the project is new and ongoing, they have discovered some interesting things, like herds of gemsboks in and around the former White Sands National Monument of Southern New Mexico, and populations of Scimitar Oryx, native to North Africa, have also appeared in parts of Western Texas, possibly because they escaped from isolated ranches and parks that were abandoned after the Cold War. On July 22, 2010, 16 Scimitar Oryx were even photographed in open pasture in central Brewster County, West Texas.

Northern Black Sea
On December 22nd, 2010, the head of the WWF, Denise Church of New Zealand, announced in Auckland that in concert with the Transylvanian and Crimean governments, and largely financed by them, they would begin their newest project to investigate the radiated soils present in that region sometime in the fall of 2011. Tentatively, it would be based in the Crimean port of Yalta. Support and small amounts of funding would also likely be received from other area nations as well.

A spokesman announced on August 16th, 2011, that the project would indeed be based in Yalta as planned, and would formally begin on October 7th. Further announcements in New Byzantium by the Greek government have meant overall funding will increase, and the project will likely be able to last longer.

The project began as scheduled, with the findings to be announced as they are observed.

Currently, the active portions of the project had been completed in the Fall of 2012, though the additional funding will likely lengthen this. Representatives will remain in the region, however, to observe afterwards, as has been the case with all of the other projects.

African Grasslands
This project is focussing on the protection of endangered African species. The WWF office in Africa is in Arusha, Tanzania. They are continuing to protect lions, elephants, zebras, buffaloes, antelopes, and other native species of Africa.

After the Cold War, many zoos and safari parks were abandoned by people, left alone to die without care, but some animals such as camels, bison, elks, bears, tapirs, and other species escaped from these abandoned parks and now live in Africa.

Regional Offices
Besides their headquarters in Auckland, the WWF also has seven regional offices:

Male, Maldives

Krasnoyarsk, Socialist Siberia

Isheyemi, Nigeria

Arusha, Tanzania

Caracas, Venezuela

Crescent City, Municipal States of the Pacific

Husum, North Germany

St. John's, Canada

Sacramento, California

In addition, they have the following locations where their projects are based:

Ljouwert, Friesland

Mercia, Republic of Spain

Fillmore, Utah

Scottsbluff, United States

Midland, Republic of West Texas, United States

Yalta, Crimea