Eutrophication is deemed by many to be the most serious and most urgent problem facing the Baltic Sea. Yet, none of the governments of the 9 countries bordering the sea has come close to implementing satisfactory measures to address this problem. As a first step to raise the pressure on governments, the campaign issued an online petition to collect signatures to deliver to the nine Prime Ministers, demanding immediate action to stop eutrophication.

As a result of our campaign, the issue of eutrophication is already higher on the media and political agendas in the Baltic Sea countries. The campaign has also presented detailed descriptions of measures that need to be taken to stop eutrophication from agriculture and other sources. It will not happen tomorrow, but the pressure is now on the Prime Ministers to show leadership and take some real action.

The campaign will continue, and with the help of all of you who signed the petition we are now even stronger than we were before. Thank you! With your help, we are making a difference.

More than 16,000 of you answered the call and sent emails to Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and Prosecutor General Boris Velchev.

This pressure, together with local lobbying and daily street protests organized by WWF and our partners prompted the authorities to finally act. The Bulgarian parliament quickly adopted an amendment to the Protected Areas Act, which stipulates that once established, protected areas cannot be repealed in court. This saved not only Strandzha Nature Park but also other protected areas in Bulgaria from being abolished on the same technical arguments used by developers.

But it is not all good news. The fate of Kamchiiski pyasytsi – the largest sand beach in Bulgaria – is unfortunately unclear as its protected status was removed by court decision before the law was amended. The authorities say that they will reestablish the protected area, but the process is currently stalled.

Meanwhile, more protected areas in Bulgaria are still threatened by illegal construction. WWF and its partners are now working to raise public attention to the problem and put pressure on authorities to take appropriate action to ensure that the country’s protected areas are truly protected for future generations.

Thanks to everyone who took this action – you have helped us hold on to some of Europe’s greatest natural treasures.

Following this action, WWF joined a coalition of other conservation organizations in Peru and wrote a strong open letter to the President of Peru in the run up to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting, which took place in The Hague in June 2007. This letter called upon the Peruvian government to take concrete steps to effectively implement CITES for big-leaf mahogany - particularly to reduce the Peruvian quota to a sustainable level, and to deal with illegal logging, especially in protected and indigenous areas.


Peru agreed to reduce its export quota to 4,983 cubic metres of verified and approved mahogany and made several other commitments including to stem the tide of illegal timber leaving the country.

The Peruvian delegation also committed to strengthen its policy of "zero tolerance" for illegal logging, to not base quotas on harvest from previous years, and to improve measures in favour of indigenous communities. Peru also committed to only allow exports for approved and verified concessions.

Recent changes in a U.S.-Peru trade agreement also include measures to stop the flow of illegally logged timber from Peru.

This is the first bilateral trade agreement to recognize and seriously address this globally pervasive problem.

Whilst this is good news, WWF will continue to keep a close eye on the situation in Peru to ensure these commitments are put into practice.

Thank you to everyone who took this action. With your help we really are making a difference!

Parties to the international wildlife convention also urged China to phase out its large-scale commercial tiger farms.

Prior to the decision WWF and other conservation organizations unveiled the massive two-storey-high tiger mosaic, made up of more than 26,000 photos, outside the conference centre urging world leaders to end all trade in tigers. Delegates had to walk past the mosaic on their way to the tiger debate.

4 countries with wild tigers - India, Nepal, Russia and Bhutan - were joined by the United States in advocating for a strong decision for tigers. India called on China to phase out the country's privately run "tiger farms," which house nearly 5,000 big cats and are pushing the Chinese government to allow legal trade in tiger parts. With leadership from these countries, the 171 member countries of the CITES convention adopted a strong tiger trade decision by consensus.

China has said that it will not lift its ban without listening to scientific opinion from around the world. The world spoke and urged China not to reopen any trade in tiger parts and to increase protection for tigers in the wild.

Thank you to everyone who took action and added their photo to the tiger mosaic. Without your help this would not have been possible!