Keeping Forests Standing
Illegal logging. Over-harvesting. Agricultural conversion. Forests are disappearing before our very eyes. The result? At unprecedented rates, wildlife habitat is being destroyed, species are going extinct, soils are eroding, water safety is declining and the effects of climate change are intensifying.
What We’re Doing
The Rainforest Alliance develops innovative and sustainable alternatives to forest destruction. While we recognize the universal need for forest products like lumber and paper, we are helping businesses produce and source timber sustainably, without overharvesting or destroying the habitat of countless species. Similarly, rapid global population growth requires that farmers produce more food -- and we know this can be done without excessive fertilizer use or the destruction of vegetation that protects streams, prevents soil erosion and provides habitat for wildlife.
Our solution? Through training, certification and verification, the Rainforest Alliance and its partners provide forest managers, farmers and tourism entrepreneurs with the tools to steward their lands responsibly. We help them prevent deforestation and forest degradation, increase forest cover and conservation areas and generate the goods and services upon which we all depend. We also help communities in biodiverse locations establish sustainable tourism businesses -- which attract conservation-conscious travelers and provide local communities with a sustainable alternative to potentially damaging activities, such as illegal logging.
Evaluating Our Impact
To make sure that we are as effective as possible, we routinely conduct and evaluate impact studies on our work and continually adjust our approach. Find out what these studies have to say about how we are conserving ecosystems.