WWF stamp catalogue

5,142 items

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) – of which the Dutch branch is called the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the American World Wildlife Fund – is a worldwide operating organization for the protection of nature. The giant panda is the symbol of the organization More

Four British wildlife enthusiasts decided in 1961 that there was an urgent need to set up an international organization dedicated to protecting global wildlife. They included biologist Sir Julian Huxley, ornithologist and businessman Guy Mountfort, the head of The Nature Conservancy in England Max Nicholson, and naturalist and painter Peter Scott, the son of polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Scott also designed the original logo (a black and white panda).
The foursome asked Prince Bernhard to become president of the new organization. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was established in Switzerland on September 11, 1961. Prince Bernhard was named president, Peter Scott became vice president.
Immediately after its founding, national chapters of the WWF were established all over the world. On August 11, 1962, the Netherlands Nature Emergency Fund was established in the Netherlands, the name of which was changed a few years later to World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Prince Bernhard also became president of the Dutch organization.

In the early years, the WWF focused solely on the protection of animal species, but it soon became clear that this work could only succeed if the habitats of animals were also protected. Therefore, the name was soon changed to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The WWF aims to build a future where people live in balance and harmony with nature by: