WRI is committed to producing high-quality research, including reports, issue briefs, guidebooks, working papers, technical notes, and practice notes. Our research publications are subject to peer review, and are held to traditional "academic" standards of excellence, such as objectivity and rigor. We also ensure that all of our research publications are timely, fit for audience, and rooted in a strategic plan for achieving positive change in the world. If you notice an error in our research or have concerns about quality, please contact the authors and copy Vice President for Research, Data and Innovation Janet Ranganathan.
All of our research is freely available to download.
The World Resources Report is the flagship publication of World Resources Institute. The inaugural edition, An Assessment of the Resource Base that Supports the Global Economy, was published in 1986. Subsequent editions have been published at regular intervals and have provided in-depth analyses of issues ranging from human health and the environment to climate change, ecosystem services and environmental governance. Every World Resources Report builds on a strong evidence base to develop fresh insights that can help decision-makers evaluate and implement the most effective solutions.
Sustainably feeding nearly 10 billion people by 2050 is possible – but it will require significant innovation and investment by the public and private sector.
The World Resources Report: Towards a More Equal City focuses on helping cities in rapidly urbanizing regions alter their development trajectories as demand for infrastructure and services grow.
This paper proposes a framework with four important areas that we need to focus on to build an enabling ecosystem for a linked energy and development agenda. The paper also details actions that energy and development sector actors—specifically, African governments, the donor community, the private sector, and civil society can take to create better links.
We urgently need to understand how to improve energy access through demand-based approaches. This new study discusses how to implement demand-based approach by examining the results of a pilot project, in which health-care providers in Kenya were able to select renewable energy options to improve the continuity of power supply.
This paper introduces the methods and data used in Energy Access Explorer – an online, open-source, interactive platform that uses satellite imagery and local data to visualize energy supply and demand in East Africa, equipping electricity planners, investors and clean energy entrepreneurs with the data they need to close the electricity gap.
This case study in the World Resources Report, Towards a More Equal City, examines transformative urban change in Johannesburg, South Africa, through transit-oriented development (TOD). The Corridors of Freedom program aims to help reduce spatial inequality in the city by extending bus rapid transit to many new areas and spur new or improved infrastructure for non-motorized transport, social facilities and public infrastructure.
The fourth working paper of WRI’s flagship World Resources Report (WRR), "Towards a More Equal City”, examines different approaches that cities have taken towards the informal self-employed workers and their livelihood activities. After presenting recent data on the size, composition, and contribution of the informal economy, the paper highlights a series of actionable areas for urban change agents to make cities more inclusive and productive.
This report is the first major survey of Tanzania’s mini-grid sector. We shed light on lessons from Tanzania that can help accelerate mini-grid deployment across countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Encroaching on Land and Livelihoods examines whether national expropriation laws in 30 countries across Asia and Africa follow the international standards established in Section 16 of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs).
In a world grappling with the challenges of food insecurity, climate change, landscape degradation, and rural poverty, regreening offers a path forward, especially in dryland areas.
This working paper reports on a series of three regional workshops in which participants from governments in Latin America, Africa and Asia reflected on the main technical, policy, and capacity challenges to monitoring climate finance, and exchanged experiences on efforts that are under way in th
The world’s food production systems face enormous challenges. Millions of farmers in developing countries are struggling to feed their families as they contend with land degradation, land use pressures, and climate change.
The world’s population will rise from just over 7 billion in 2012 to nearly 9.6 billion by 2050. Most of the world’s regions have already achieved or are close to achieving replacement level fertility.
The Orange-Senqu River Basin (ORB) Study provides details of the data, sources, methodology, and maps for 14 water-related indicators across the Orange-Senqu River Basin in Southern Africa. The ORB Study is primarily designed for research organizations for analysis and research purposes.
Production of staple crops, such as maize, is under increasing risk in Africa because of climate change and depleting soil fertility. The potential consequences for food security are dire. Climate change and food security must be tackled together.
Climate Change and CCS
In Central Africa, most governments have introduced mechanisms to redirect more of the benefits from the extractive use of forests to the regions where logging is taking place. Several governments are in the process of designing or implementing
This report presents the findings of research on critical incentives and disincentives to legislative representation in Africa and provides a number of policy and program recommendations.
Four critical aspects of representation are discussed in detail:
Protected areas are a traditional means for pursuing wildlife management and have become increasingly central to conservation strategies in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. In East Africa, the future of biodiversity rests largely on the security and sustainability of the protected estate.
There is increasing demand by individual consumers and national governments for wood products that have been harvested in a legal, socially responsible and sustainable manner, particularly in the US and European marketplaces.
