Science Projects

  • Wildlife Crime Technology Project

    Over four and a half years, the Google.org-funded Wildlife Crime Technology Project (WCTP) provided WWF a platform to innovate and test a number of innovative technologies, many of which have the potential to change the course of the global fight against wildlife crime. 

    Group of people stand around an open jeep looking at a hand-held device with keyboard
  • Environmental DNA

    By taking samples of soil, water, snow, or even air, we can access the environmental DNA (or eDNA) that animals naturally shed—like hair, skin, and feces—as they move through their environment. eDNA can then be used to detect endangered species, study the impacts of climate change, alert us to invisible threats such as pathogens, and assess the overall health of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

    A man wears blue plastic gloves and pours liquid from a white bottle into a clear bottle and stands in front of a lake with pine trees and a mountain range in the background
  • 2012 Fuller Symposium: Conservation Crime

    Global leaders shared their insights on the growing crisis of wildlife crime at the 2012 Fuller Symposium. The symposium was held on November 14, 2012 at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.

    We are in the midst of a crisis. The criminal exploitation of nature — the illegal killing, capture, and trade of wild species — has escalated to the point where it could undo generations of conservation efforts.
  • 2011 Fuller Science for Nature Symposium

    The 2011 symposium titled “Conservation Forward” brought together a diverse group of conservation leaders and change makers to answer one critical question: What are the most promising new ideas and innovations for effecting conservation?

  • Conserving Snow Leopards, Securing Water Resources, and Benefiting Communities

    In October 2012, WWF began a four-year project to conserve snow leopard habitat, promote water security, and help communities prepare for climate change impacts in Central Asia. The USAID-funded, $7.3 million Conservation and Adaptation in Asia’s High Mountain Landscapes and Communities project will conduct field activities in and build alliances among six of the snow leopard’s 12 range countries: Bhutan, India, Nepal, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan. The project will run through September 30, 2016.

    Snow Leopard