Contents page 1 — I of the environmental protection organization enough for human rights? Page 2 — In regions of conflict, we are at the beginning of a long road On a page to read
The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) wants to be one of the Good guys. However, in early March of this year, the online magazine Buzzfeed News published a series of articles that painted a different picture of the conservation organization. In the space of serious allegations since The WWF is Ranger trained, equipped, or paid to have committed serious crimes. The allegations range from Rangers, the houses destroyed and their inhabitants expelled, on torture, obstruction of Justice to abuse and even murder.
The German section of WWF commissioned in March, the former human rights of the Federal government, Markus Löning officer, in order to investigate the “human rights due diligence processes” at the WWF Germany. It was not in the report is to examine the specific allegations – the umbrella organization of the WWF International commissioned a British law firm. Instead, it should Lönig examine how well the System of the German WWF responds to potential human rights conflicts. The results of the environmental protection organization, need to catch up some.
The nearly 50-page report to appear on Wednesday, it is TIME ONLINE exclusively in advance.
Löning and his Team observed in particular on the processes within the environmental protection organisation: How they are designed, is decisive for whether or not human rights are respected. Prior to the start of a project must, for example, the risk analyses, that the injury will be committed and how to deal with complaints in the project areas will be dealt with.
General structures
sites were Investigated, One of the most common and most important tasks of the WWF, the Management of protection. Because national parks belong to the government, environmental organisations work with the national authorities. Many of the projects are located in countries with unstable political Situation: the second largest contiguous rain forest area of the earth is located in the Congo basin, and stretches across countries such as the democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, all countries with weak legal enforcement. “The likelihood and Severity of human rights violations in these areas are significantly higher than in other regions”, – stated in the report. This is the risk we have to know in the planning of projects.
A key challenge is the increasing militarisation of nature protection. Necessary, especially in Africa, where highly professionally operating gangs hunting elephants or rhinos to sell their body parts for a huge profit. The consequence – namely, that gamekeepers are equipped with better weapons, they are specifically trained for the fight against poaching and the need for the armed struggle communicates to the mountains, the risk that “‘the military are considered-focused’ approaches of nature conservation as inevitable and thus, conflicts in the affected regions will be stoked,” says the Report.
