The vast continent of Asia contains an astonishing diversity of landscapes and distinct ethnic groups—as well as wildly divergent threats to its forests, people, and wildlife. Asia’s abundance of plant and animal species, as well as its wealth of indigenous knowledge, hangs in the balance.
The world’s third largest tropical forest, after the Amazon and Congo rainforests, is in the archipelago of Indonesia. But forests here have been cleared at an alarming rate to make way for paper pulp and oil palm plantations. And every fall, fires set to clear forests for agricultural expansion rage, threatening not only precious forests and wildlife, but the communities in the region.
The Rainforest Alliance works across many commodities in Asia, from forestry to tea and coffee production. Despite centuries-old challenges in some countries, we’ve achieved substantive gains in livelihoods and the health of forests and biodiversity.
on certified farms vs. noncertified farms*
In Tamil Nadu, India, a study of 300 farmworkers on seven Rainforest Alliance Certified tea estates and one noncertified estate found a significantly higher percentage of workers on certified estates had contracts and annual paid leave, sick leave, and maternity leave. Read the report
*Source: 2013. Assessing the poverty impact of sustainability standards: Indian tea. Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, London.
on FSC certified forests in Kalimantan*
In Kalimantan, Indonesia, FSC® certification significantly reduced deforestation by five percentage points and air pollution by 31 percent, compared to the rates of control villages in noncertified logging concessions. Read the report
*Source: 2015. Social and Environmental Impacts of Forest Management Certification in Indonesia. PLoS ONE
The Rainforest Alliance works with farm and forest communities across Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, Myanmar, and China. While training and certification cannot solve entrenched poverty or systemic inequities, they are powerful tools for widespread, incremental improvement to the health of ecosystems and communities.
We help local farmers embrace climate-smart growing techniques designed to adapt to and prepare for common climate threats—from unpredictable weather patterns to outbreaks of crop pests and disease.... Continue Reading
Tea industry expert Harki Sidhu explains the realities of Assam’s struggling tea estates.... Continue Reading
We're training coffee farmers in the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park buffer zone to help them conserve biodiversity and improve their livelihoods.... Continue Reading
Our field trainer shows tea farmers that reducing herbicide use can protect forests, soil, and water.... Continue Reading
Sri Lanka boasts a wide array of ecosystems and one of the highest concentrations of species in the world. But it's also home to more than 22 million people, so an ongoing effort is needed to conserve biodiversity. ... Continue Reading
Since 2019, the Rainforest Alliance has worked in Sintang with the District Sustainable Oil Palm Platform, Lingkar Temu Kabupaten Lestari (LTKL - Sustainable Districts Platform), and local farmers to tackle deforestation, boost incomes, and promote more sustainable land use.... Continue Reading
The Rainforest Alliance, in collaboration with GIZ, is launching a project in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province to address social and environmental challenges in the coffee industry by providing training to 1,000 smallholder farmers, with a focus on sustainability and inclusivity.... Continue Reading
Trinh Tan Vinh’s dedication to regenerative farming practices has transformed his coffee farm into a prosperous business. Read about his journey in this article.... Continue Reading
This new tailor-made program in partnership with JDE Peet’s, aims to strengthen JDE Peet’s tea supply chain—and the Turkish tea sector more broadly—by training thousands of local tea farmers on improved sustainability practices.... Continue Reading
We've trained more than 7,600 farmers in child labor prevention, monitoring, and remediation strategies.... Continue Reading