Office of the Ombudsperson opens to communities

The Office of the Ombudsperson, created as part of WWF’s broader commitment to accountability, has reached a key milestone and is now open to receiving complaints relating to environmental and social concerns about WWF’s activities. This moves the Office from its foundational phase toward full operation.  

The Office functions as a dedicated, independent channel through which individuals and communities can raise concerns related to WWF’s activities. It forms part of WWF’s Environmental and Social Safeguards Framework (ESSF) and plays a key role in improving WWF’s environmental and social outcomes, enhancing accountability, and strengthening relationships with communities. 

The opening builds on the groundwork laid during the development of the Office’s Operational Framework with extensive consultation with stakeholders including partners, experts, civil society, and local communities and Indigenous Peoples – a process which also included a period of public consultation.  

A new website has launched which provides stakeholders with an online complaints portal to submit their concerns directly to the Office. While concerns can still be raised via WWF’s national or project-level grievance mechanisms, this platform enables stakeholders to bring matters directly to the Ombudsperson.  

Grievance mechanisms are a critical part of stakeholder engagement and vital for safeguarding people and nature in conservation. The launch of this platform supports that effort and helps further embed rights-based approaches across WWF’s work.  

Adil Najam, WWF International President, said: “As the Office of the Ombudsperson moves to being fully operational, it represents an important step towards enhancing transparency and accountability. Communities are at the heart of all successful conservation work and the Office of the Ombudsperson affirms WWF’s commitment to firmly and proactively anchor and integrate human wellbeing and rights into all its conservation practices.” 

Appointed in July 2024, Susana Rodriguez serves as the Ombudsperson, bringing deep expertise in mediation, stakeholder engagement, and operationalizing grievance mechanisms in complex contexts.  

Susana Rodriguez, Ombudsperson, said: “We’ve taken deliberate steps to establish a credible, effective mechanism – one shaped by consultation and grounded in openness and delivering results for communities. I look forward to the Office playing a meaningful role in advancing conservation that supports people, their rights, and the places they call home.”