The Pact with the Panda: What the WWF Is Hiding (German: Der Pakt mit dem Panda: Was uns der WWF verschweigt) is a 2011 German television documentary directed by Wilfried Huismann about the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The documentary examines alleged questionable practices of the WWF and its relationships with major corporations and other interest groups.
The film was co-produced by WDR and SWR under the editorial supervision of Tibet Sinha and Martin Schneider.Der Pakt mit dem Panda, Das Erste. Retrieved 22 June 2011. Huismann worked on the documentary for approximately one year.
The film premiered in Bremen on 22 June 2011.NordwestRadio, Gesprächszeit, 22 June 2011.
Content According to its own figures, the WWF is the world's largest environmental conservation organization, receiving approximately €500 million in annual donations. Since its founding in 1961, it has become one of the world's most influential lobbying organizations for nature conservation and species protection, maintaining close relationships with senior political and industrial decision-makers.
In the documentary, Wilfried Huismann argues that these relationships create a constant tension between genuine environmental engagement and susceptibility to corporate influence.
The documentary alleges that the WWF cooperated with companies such as Wilmar International, owned by Robert Kuok, which cleared forests on the Indonesian island of Borneo to establish palm oil plantations. According to the film, this threatens orangutan populations that the WWF claims to protect. The documentary further alleges that the WWF received donations from palm oil companies while supporting sustainability certification through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Huismann characterizes this as a form of modern indulgence trading or greenwashing. The film notes that in October 2008 approximately 250 environmental and social organizations, including twenty from German-speaking countries, published a declaration criticizing the RSPO, arguing that large-scale palm oil monocultures cannot be environmentally sustainable and that the organization primarily serves as a mechanism for greenwashing.
The documentary further states that the WWF maintains partnerships with major companies in the energy and agricultural sectors. It argues that the organization has accepted genetically modified soybeans produced by Monsanto, thereby enhancing their public legitimacy. The film asks whether such partnerships with industry genuinely contribute to protecting the world's remaining ecosystems or instead accelerate their destruction.
Huismann interviews Argentine agricultural entrepreneur Hector Laurence, who, according to the documentary, led negotiations in 2003 on a national biodiesel strategy while simultaneously serving both as head of WWF Argentina and as president of an agricultural association and director of a biotechnology company. During the interview, Laurence defends genetic engineering, stating: "I believe genetic engineering and biodiversity are perfectly compatible."
The documentary also features Jason Clay, Senior Vice President for Market Transformation at WWF US, appearing at an event organized by the Global Harvest Initiative, whose members include Monsanto, Cargill, ADM, and the WWF. The film includes footage in which Clay states:
According to the documentary, Clay advocates extending genetic engineering beyond grain crops to numerous other cultivated plant species. The film notes that Clay repeated these views in subsequent publications,Jason W. Clay, Agriculture from 2000 to 2050 – The Business as Usual Scenario (pre-publication draft, Global Harvest Initiative, 2010). including an article published in the journal Nature in July 2011.Jason Clay, "Freeze the Footprint of Food", Nature, 21 July 2011.Thomas Pany, "Acht Keile gegen den Hunger", Telepolis, 21 July 2011. Clay oversees WWF initiatives relating to forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and aquaculture.Die Welt, 1 August 2011. He has also publicly supported genetic technologies to increase livestock productivity.Central Association of German Pig Production, 8 July 2011.
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