The World’s Best Forest Guardians: Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples and local communities have an unsurpassed connection to the Earth's forests.
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Indigenous people have lived from the forest since time immemorial, using its resources sparingly and carefully so that it might continue to produce its riches. What the Rainforest Alliance brings to this age-old model are the tools and support to make it economically viable in today’s world. We connect local and indigenous communities with markets, provide technical and business support, and work to improve human well-being—all while conserving the forest.
This page features information about the Rainforest Alliance's work to promote community forestry and links to all our related content and resources.
Working with forest communities, governments, companies, and civil society organizations, we promote more sustainable forest management practices throughout the tropics. We provide training, tools, and knowledge to communities; promote youth inclusion and gender equality; work to increase forest cover, biodiversity, and carbon capture; promote secured rights to forests; and provide access to alliances, finance, and markets, so that forest communities—and forests—may thrive.
This paper outlines our principles and strategies for stopping forest degradation and supporting forest communities in vulnerable tropical regions.
Our Kleinhans Fellowship supports research that seeks solutions to the challenges faced by the community forestry model.
Our Forest Allies initiative leverages the enormous power of our partnerships to support forest communities as they address the climate crisis and combat deforestation.
This paper summarizes our lessons learnt from twenty years of global experience in community forestry.
Indigenous peoples and local communities have an unsurpassed connection to the Earth's forests.
The forest concessions of the Maya Biosphere Reserve have boasted a near-zero deforestation rate for 20 years.
Sitting in the heart of the Congo Basin, the 36,000 square kilometer Salonga National Park (SNP) is the largest protected area of dense rainforest on the African continent.
We are working to grow Mexico’s domestic market for sustainably produced products.
As people around the globe mark World Rainforest Day, Mohammad Zainuri Hasyim of the Rainforest Alliance in Indonesia says we must start recognizing the power of Indigenous and local communities in preserving this vital natural resource.
When Guatemala created a major reserve 30 years ago, environmentalists complained that too much land was entrusted to local people and not converted to parks. Now, the parks have been overrun by ranches linked to drug traffickers, while the community-run lands are well preserved.
Healthy forests are key to tackling both climate change and pandemics.... Continue Reading
Peru: Where indigenous knowledge, climate science, and global markets meet.... Continue Reading
The government of Guatemala, through the Honorable National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP), has granted a 25-year extension to the community-managed forestry concession of Carmelita.
Sustainably harvested wood is at the heart of this new business run by indigenous Maya women.... Continue Reading