WWF i Tridom

Sammanfattning: The NGO WWF runs conservation projects in the Tridom rainforest area to preserve biodiversity. They have financed and trained eco-guards whose task is to protect the forest from poaching. In the same area, the indigenous population Baka lives off and in symbiosis with the rainforest. Testimonies and reports have revealed how the eco-guards have committed violent and deeply offensive acts against the Baka people for no reason. WWF has been aware of the atrocities but have failed to take responsibility. In this case study, the practices of legitimation and mechanisms of accountability that were present in the case are identified. The aim is to better understand how NGOs achieve legitimacy in global governance and to what extent they can be held accountable when their power is being misused. This is done by applying two theoretical frameworks. One by Karin Bäckstrand and Fredrik Söderbaum concerning legitimacy and one by Ruth W. Grant and Robert O. Keohane concerning accountability. The result is a complete descriptive mapping of the case ´WWF in Tridom´ which can hopefully evoke general knowledge on NGO legitimacy and accountability and be of value for future research.