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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What's at Stake
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.
Climate & Nature
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.
Our Impact
Strong Forests
0.4% deforestation rate
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.
Thriving Biodiversity
45,000 trees
80 elephant-friendly farms*
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
Our Work: Forests & Biodiversity
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.
The World’s Best Forest Guardians: Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples and local communities have an unsurpassed connection to the Earth's forests.
Community: The Secret to Stopping Deforestation in Guatemala
The forest concessions of the Maya Biosphere Reserve have boasted a near-zero deforestation rate for 20 years.
Indonesian Coffee Farmers Help Conserve Biodiversity in Iconic National Park
We're training coffee farmers in the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park buffer zone to help them conserve biodiversity and improve their livelihoods.
All resources for Forests & Biodiversity
Building the Bridge from Deforestation-Free Pledges to Lasting Benefits for Forests, People and the Planet
In its new position paper published today, “Halting Deforestation and Achieving Sustainability,” the Rainforest Alliance addresses the recent surge in deforestation-free pledges. Timed to coincide with an Innovation Forum event in Washington, DC on “How Business Can Tackle Deforestation,” the paper argues the deforestation-free trend is an exciting development, but needs definition, focus, and accountability […]
New report finds that community production forestry is an effective approach to conservation
A new report published today by the Climate, Nature and Communities in Guatemala (CNCG) project analyzes deforestation trends in the 2.1 million-hectare Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), the largest protected area in Mesoamerica. The report confirms that production forestry in the hands of local communities can conserve forests as effectively as strict reserves. CNCG is a project financed […]
Deforestation Trends in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala (2000 – 2013)
Covering close to 2.1 million hectares, Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) is the largest protected area in Central America and home to about 180,000 people, as well as globally important biodiversity and cultural heritage. This report by the Rainforest Alliance, Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP), and the Wildlife Conservation Society analyzes deforestation trends in […]
Rainforest Alliance’s Evaluation of Asia Pulp & Paper’s Progress to Meet Its Forest Conservation Policy Commitments Released
Moderate progress made, more work to do. An independent evaluation by the Rainforest Alliance released today reports that Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) has made moderate progress to meet its Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) Commitments, which were announced two years ago. Early in 2013 APP approached the Rainforest Alliance to conduct an independent evaluation of […]
The GuateCarbon initiative and REDD+ readiness in Guatemala
As one of the only such projects in the world that is building on community-based production forestry and enterprise, GuateCarbon is generating important lessons with global significance.
Working Toward Cooperative Non-timber Forest Product Management
As part of the Rainforest Alliance’s Kleinhans Fellowship, researchers with Indiana University and Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC) in Brazil examined the importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for supporting family income and promoting forest conservation in the western Amazon. The project compared seven sites representing one extractive reserve, three agro-extractive settlements, and three colonization […]