Our Mission to Protect the World’s Forests
We are working in 60+ countries to build sustainable, rural economies—a proven strategy to keep our forests standing.
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Forests are critical to every living thing on Earth. Not only do they give us clean air, shelter, and rain, they house 80 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Alarmingly, humans have destroyed half of the world’s tropical forests and driven extinction rates up thousands of times higher than what is natural.
Forests are a powerful natural climate solution. As trees grow, they absorb and store carbon emissions, while releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. Conserving forests could cut an estimated 7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year—the equivalent of getting rid of every car on the planet.
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in the forest concessions of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala*
In Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve, twelve community forestry concessions safeguard around 417,269 hectares of the largest and most important tropical forest north of the Amazon. These community-run concessions boast a near-zero deforestation rate—a remarkable feat given that adjacent areas suffer some of the highest deforestation rates in the Americas.
*Community forestry concessions in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve have demonstrated a near-zero deforestation rate, since data collection began in 2000. Data accurate as of December 2019.
From 2020 through 2021, farmers we work with in the buffer zone of Indonesia’s Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park planted 45,000 trees in the area directly bordering the park. In addition, we identified 80 farms that sit in a wildlife corridor used by the critically endangered Sumatran elephant. We supported these farmers in planting species that suit the elephants’ diet.
*Data accurate as of December 2022
Together with forest and farming communities, Indigenous leaders, companies, governments, and global citizens, the Rainforest Alliance works in 58 countries to promote more sustainable land management practices while cultivating thriving rural economies—the most widely proven strategy to restore biodiversity and keep our tropical forests standing.
We are working in 60+ countries to build sustainable, rural economies—a proven strategy to keep our forests standing.
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.
We're training coffee farmers in the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park buffer zone to help them conserve biodiversity and improve their livelihoods.
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.
Our certification criteria reduce emissions, conserve natural resources, and promote the humane treatment of cattle.... Continue Reading
Healthy forests are key to tackling both climate change and pandemics.... Continue Reading
The Rainforest Alliance is supporting tea farmers in Kenya by developing inexpensive, accessible renewable energy sources and reducing deforestation.
The global Rainforest Alliance has released its latest annual report, detailing projects with over two million certified farmers in over 70 countries on key social and environmental challenges including farmer livelihoods, child labour and deforestation.