Moscow has labelled the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) "an undesirable organization," saying the independent nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the environment and protecting endangered species was "being used as a facade to carry out projects that create threats to the country's security in the economic sphere."
The move, which follows a decision by Russia in March 2022 to label the organization a "foreign agent," forces the nonprofit to cease all activities in Russia.
According to a statement from the Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office on June 21, the WWF posed a threat to economic development, specifically citing activities it said were meant to hinder Russia's extraction of natural resources from the Arctic.
WWF campaigns against oil and natural gas industries were aimed at “shackling” Russia’s economic development, the statement added.
The Prosecutor-General's Office also said it believes that the fund is developing restrictions that may become the basis for "transferring the Northern Sea Route in the direction of the U.S. exclusive economic zone” though the WWF’s website makes no mention of such a project.
The WWF did not respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
The fund, which works closely with the United Nations, operates large environmental advocacy programs for many causes, including deforestation, freshwater preservation, and endangered species protection.
The "undesirable organization" law, adopted in 2012, was part of a series of regulations pushed by the Kremlin that have forced scores of nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations to halt operations as the government stifles civil society.
The Prosecutor-General's Office statement also notes that WWF, formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund, provided support to Russian nonprofit organizations, such as Friends of the Baltic and Sakhalin Environmental Watch. The two organizations are included in Russia's register of so-called foreign agents and were found liable for uncoordinated, unauthorized climate protests.
The move against the WWF comes after Russia shut down Greenpeace, another major environmental NGO, in May. Also labeled as “undesirable,” Greenpeace was similarly accused of intervening in internal affairs.
The WWF was founded in 1961 and is active in nearly 100 countries with the goal of “building a sustainable future for people and the planet.”
The WWF was unsuccessful in its appeal against the Russian Ministry of Justice’s decision to enter it into the register of foreign agents in March 2022.
