Australian Conservation Foundation

Adnairah Ebrahim
11 -STEM 1
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental
organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for
Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability.

One high-profile campaign was ‘Save the Whales’, which ended commercial whaling in
Australia, following widespread protest against the huge slaughter. Another was to
protect the vulnerable Great Barrier Reef by classifying it as a Marine Park, from which
mining, drilling and trawling were banned. By 2000, ACF initiatives extended across a
wide range of agendas, such as climate change, clean energy, rainforest preservation,
greenhouse pollution and land tenure reform in the indigenous communities.

ACF is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organisation focused on advocacy,

policy, research and community organising, with a membership of 700,000. Its
President, as of 2022, is M Origins
Discussions regarding the need for an Australian conservation organisation originated in
the 1960s through HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a founder of the World Wide
Fund for Nature pivotal in establishment of the conservation movement in Australia. The
head of the World Wide Fund, Philip Crowe, visited Australia in 1965 to advocate for
more meaningful conservation action, recommending federal coordination, tax
deductible donations for conservation and a national wildlife survey as three important
measures.[1] The Australian Conservation Foundation was established at a meeting of
founders in Canberra, with the objective of supporting "conservation policies and
schemes that need special encouragement by whatever methods are most appropriate,"
with funding obtained by public appeal for "material as well as moral support" to its
work.[2] Sir Garfield Berwick was elected as the foundation president and governance
was by a member-elected council.

Campaigns and programs

The Australian Conservation Foundation campaigns on a wide range of environmental
issues, including climate change, environmental law, clean energy, nuclear energy,
economics, drivers of unsustainability, water management, and Indigenous land rights.
Campaigns and programs are selected predominantly for their capacity to contribute to
reforms of national significance. This means that ACF tends not to become directly
involved in local environmental issues, except where action on these contributes to
achieving broader goals, such as highlighting examples of national problems or
generating examples of solutions with larger potential. An example is the Stand up for
Straddie campaign, which highlighted the effects of sand mining on Stradbroke Island.
The organisation is acutely aware of its limited resources and strives to apply these
strategically. This said, ACF is often called upon to comment on local issues and will
often lend local environmental groups a helping hand. More often than not, ACF will
work closely with other environmental groups – large or small – on the understanding
that more can be achieved through co-operation. An example is ACF's collaboration
with The Wilderness Society and others on the Places You Love campaign and role in
the Stop Adani alliance.

In August 2007, ACF launched a new campaign – Who on Earth Cares – with Cate
Blanchett as its ambassador, aiming to provide online community spaces for people to
show they care about climate change in Australia, and who want to see Australia reduce
its greenhouse pollution. ACF joined a number of other Australian conservation
organisations to launch the Places You Love campaign ahead of the September 2013
Federal election. The organisations are all concerned with the Council of Australian
Government's' proposals to wind back Australian environmental laws.ara Bún.