The Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, officially renamed the Fauna and Flora International, was founded in 1903 as the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire by a group of British naturalists and American statesmen in Africa. It was then called the Fauna Preservation Society, before being renamed Fauna and Flora Preservation Society in 1981. The goal of the society was to safeguard the future of southern Africa’s large mammal populations, which had declined alarmingly due to over-hunting and habitat encroachment. Working in tandem with landowners, government and sport hunters, the Society helped pass legislature which controlled hunting in vast stretches of East Africa and South Africa. This ultimately paved the way for the formation of National Parks like Kruger National Park and Serengeti National Park.

The Society has been referred to by many historians as the world's first conservation society, and the society's early work in Africa was also trend-setting eco-tourism. The organization also played a key role in establishing much of today’s global conservation infrastructure - including The World Conservation Union (IUCN), The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

The logo of the society is the Arabian Oryx, after the very successful flagship Arabian Oryx captive breeding project of the society.

Significant Landmarks

• 1903 - First publication of the society’s journal, the precursor of Oryx - The International Journal of Conservation
• 1962 - Operation Oryx helps rescue the Arabian Oryx from extinction through a captive breeding program, with successful reintroductions into the wild in Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia. This was one of the world's first successful captive breeding and reintroduction efforts for an endangered species.
• 1966 - Peter Scott, Chairman of IUCN Species Survival Commission, becomes Chairman of FFI and devises the Red Data Books, a systematic study of all endangered species.
• 1971 - Launch of the 100% Fund (now the Flagship Species Fund), set up to support small-scale projects where urgent conservation action is needed to protect endangered species around the world.
• 1972 - Gerald Durrell's initiative caused the society to start the World Conference on Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity as an Aid to their Survival at Jersey, the first knowledge sharing among scientists regarding ideas of captive breeding.
• 2000 - Alexander Peal, President of the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia, whose work FFI has supported since 1996, receives the Goldman Environmental Prize, one of the highest honours for a conservationist.

Environmental organizations

Fauna & Flora International