Publications

WWF’s Guide to Traceability—published by WWF's Forests Forward corporate engagement program—supports companies, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders to understand, improve, and implement effective traceability for key forest-risk commodities.

Traceability is essential for the responsible sourcing of specific forest and agricultural commodities linked to deforestation, conversion, illegality, and human rights violations, such as timber, palm oil, rubber, soy, cocoa, coffee, and leather/beef. However, traceability can be challenging due to complex global supply chains, mixing of commodities from different origins, and the absence of standardized data collection.

The guide seeks to address these challenges and support responsible, deforestation- and conversion-free sourcing of forest-risk commodities by:

• Clarifying the key elements that traceability tools and systems should incorporate to be as effective as possible, given current knowledge and technology
• Driving the development and enhancement of these tools and systems
• Providing a road map to companies that want to establish effective traceability

Companies play a key role:

• Large, downstream companies such as brands and retailers have an extremely important role to play in driving the development and implementation of effective traceability
• Well-resourced primary suppliers that source raw materials from farms and forests are best positioned to gather and transmit needed data, exercise controls, and support responsible production within their supply areas

Traceability is a means to an end. Leadership companies need to go beyond using and supporting the development of traceability tools and embrace additional approaches that strike at the roots of the problems and advance durable solutions.

In the United States, almost 100% of conventional corn, 60% of soy, and 50% of wheat seed have a seed coating that includes neonicotinoid pesticides. These systemic insecticides were first introduced in the 1990s as a less harmful alternative to more traditional pesticides, but the beneficial impacts of these seed treatments on farmers’ yields have been shown to vary by geography, crop, and weather. In fact, since their release, many studies have shown that while neonicotinoids allow farmers to take a more preventative approach to pest-management through seed-coatings, their persistence in the soil and their highly water-soluble nature has, by many accounts, caused significant environmental harm and sometimes decreased crop yields. To explore these claims of benefits versus unintended environmental and economic consequences, this literature review has included North American studies that looked at whether neonicotinoid seed treatments (NSTs) impact yield and profitability for farmers with a focus on corn, soy, and wheat crops. To do this, we collected North American studies that compared the yield and/or economic return on investment between crops grown from seeds coated with neonicotinoid insecticides and crops grown from seeds without these products. The authors of this review hope that by doing so, we can guide a more thoughtful, assess-and-decide approach to use that will reduce the widespread impacts on pollinators, songbirds, humans, and more.

Invasive species are a major environmental, economic, and social threat. To support a novel approach to fighting invasive species, WWF has created a ‘Market Uses for Invasive Species’ framework to help address this scourge in an environmentally, economically, and socially beneficial way in support of our broader mission of protecting the natural world and its resources.

Recognizing a need to advance a systems-based, circular economy approach to material use, WWF published this vision statement.

In this white paper, WWF provides an overview of technical considerations on the impact of fiber-based packaging through the entire system. The paper offers a comprehensive overview across the fiber-based packaging lifecycle—from sourcing to paper and fiber packaging production to use and to end of life.

In this white paper, WWF outlines the fundamentals of systems thinking when considering the lifecycle impacts of packaging. The paper provides an overview of system optimization and the function of packaging, then connects these points to end-of-life considerations, the waste hierarchy, and product impact considerations.

In this white paper, WWF provides an overview of technical considerations on the impact of plastic packaging through the entire system. The paper offers a comprehensive overview of potential impacts through the plastic packaging lifecycle—from sourcing to production to use and to end of life.

The recycling system in the United States is broken, and we need to create a circular economy that collects all recyclable materials so they can be remade into new products. The linchpin to a circular economy is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) on a national scale, and WWF and the American Beverage Association (ABA)--organizations with distinct missions--have aligned behind principles for a consistent and flexible EPR framework in the US.

This report provides the most comprehensive global assessment to date of migratory freshwater fishes, documenting the scale, urgency, and opportunity for coordinated international action under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). It identifies hundreds of migratory, transboundary freshwater fish species in decline, explains why these species are ecologically, economically, and culturally vital, and highlights how river fragmentation, altered flows, overexploitation, pollution, and climate pressures are driving widespread losses. Drawing on global data and a focused Amazon Basin case study, the report pinpoints priority species and river basins where cooperation can deliver the greatest conservation gains, and outlines practical CMS pathways—such as species listings, action plans, concerted actions, and memoranda of understanding—to restore connectivity, align management across borders, and turn science into tangible recovery for some of the world’s most imperiled and important freshwater migrations.

For the first time, a comprehensive review of laws in 12 tiger range countries exposes critical gaps in legislation that may help facilitate the trafficking of tigers.  

The new report, Law of the Tiger: A Comparative Study of the Laws Governing Tiger Trafficking in 12 Tiger Range States, reveals critical legal gaps and inconsistencies that unless addressed would hinder efforts to counter the trafficking of tigers — undermining decades of conservation efforts and putting wild tigers at risk. 

The report found significant gaps and inconsistencies across multiple countries and provides recommendations for legislative reform and policy priorities for national governments.